The winners of the 5K and 10K at the Matchstick Race Friday night through the streets of Downtown Wadsworth know a thing or two about distance running.
Both Thomas Scott, who won the 5K and Jordan McKelley who won the 10K, are cross country coaches who teach their athletes how to compete in distance races. When the cross country season starts later this year, their distance runners better listen up.
The 26-year-old, from Lima, Ohio, is the Cross Country Coach at Ashland University. He covered the 5K distance, or 3.1 miles in 15:38. Coming in second was Jacob Sussman of Wadsworth with a time of 16:06. Finishing in third was Bobby Over of Wadsworth. His time was 16:31.
Scott says he used the Matchstick Race as a tune-up for road races he will be participating in later this year. “I loved the fact that this was a night race. The course was a challenge mostly uphill in the beginning and downhill at the end. It was great”.
The 24-year old McKelley, from Canton, was a Cross Country Coach at St. Thomas Aquinas High School last year. In 2015, McKelley will be at Malone University as a graduate assistant coach. McKelley had to hold off Matt McConnell of Wadsworth at the finish line to win. McKelley finished with a time of 32:47 for the 10K. McConnell finished second at 32:53.
Erik Vogtmann of Wadsworth finished third at 38:41 and Beth Woodward of Orrville finished fourth at 40:41.
McKelley says he was surprised to see so many youngsters and recreational runners in the event. “It goes to show you that running is a sport that you can compete in for life”.
There were 327 runners who finished the 5K Matchstick race and 148 who completed the 10K. Among those who competed in the 5K, there were eight runners who were 9 years old, three who were 8 years old and two who were age 7.
