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WHITE HAVEN — Robert Moulton and Marina Martino ran to victories and set course records in the 6th annual Wyoming Valley Striders 20K Run on Sunday at Lehigh Gorge State Park.

Moulton, 27, of Wilkes-Barre, led a record field of 201 runners, finishing in 1 hour, 12 minutes and 38 seconds. Mario Zarate, 33, of Meshoppen, finished second in 1:16:32. John Novak, 27, of Taylor, finished third, just one second behind Zarate.

“I went out at a decent pace and tried to stay consistent,” said Moulton, who is a running coach at King’s College. “On the way back, there’s a slight hill. So I battled mentally through that. The weather wasn’t too bad, but my hands were cold. So that was tough.

“But what’s cool about this race — because it’s an out-and-back course — is while running in one direction, there are runners heading in the other direction, yelling words of encouragement to you. And that’s really cool.”

And speaking of cool — there were snow flurries in the below freezing temperatures as attested by Martina, who won top female honors with a fifth-place finish in 1:18:44.

Martino ran away with the female division. The second-place female, Olivia Lanza, 25, of Pittston, finished 26th in 1:32:41. And the third-place female, Pat Buzinkai, 44, of Kingston, finished 32nd in 1:34:33.

“It was a little chilly,” said Martino with a smile, which obviously meant, it was down right cold. “I tried to run my goal marathon pace, which is between 6:15 and 6:18 per mile. And I finished at a 6:17 pace. So as long as I’m within that range, I’m happy. At 12 miles, I could see I was falling off my pace a bit. So in order to maintain my goal marathon pace, I had to pick it up a bit.”

Martino plans on running in the 9-mile Run for the Diamonds in Berwick on Thanksgiving. She is a past winner of that race.

The 20K was the final leg of the Striders’ new Vince A. Wojnar Memorial Triple Crown. The first leg of the Triple Crown was the Winter’s End (4.5-mile) Run at Penn State Wilkes-Barre in March. The second leg was the Cherry Blossom 5-Mile Foot Race in Kirby Park in May. Once the tallies are in, all of the winners will be made available, probably on the Striders’ Facebook page. The Triple Crown awards will be presented at the Striders Social at Rodano’s on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre on Nov. 22.

But it’s safe to say that unofficially Moulton is the Open Division overall winner. Martino didn’t run in all three races, so she’s not eligible to win.

“I had just given birth a month before the first Triple Crown race,” she said. “So that’s why I didn’t run.”

Wyoming ValleyStriders 6th annual 20K Run

(Final leg of Vince A. Wojnar Memorial Triple Crown) results

Top 20 finishers

Robert Moulton, 27, Wilkes-Barre, 1:12:38; Mario Zarate, 33, Meshoppen, 1:16:32; John Novak, 27, Taylor, 1:16:33; Paul O’Hora, 47, Scranton, 1:17:55; Marina Martino, 28, Dallas, 1:18:44; Mike Adamshick, 41, Dallas, 1:19:18; Ken Quigley, 48, Dunmore, 1:19:57; Nicholas Sommons, 27, Kingston, 1:20:02; Sean Robbins, 50, Dallas, 1:21:17; Chris Pahoski, 47, Dickson City, 1:21:56; Alexander Byrnes, 24, Tunkhannock, 1:22:47; Joe Rowley, 18, Ashley, 1:22:50; Kyle Franceski, Carbondale, 1:22:51; Stephen Rowley, 16, Ashley, 1:24:59; George Watson, 33, Scranton, 1:25:42; Wes Medvetz, 15, Mountain Top, 1:26:10; Marty Green, 48, Effort, 1:26:18; Thomas Haydt, 16, Mountain Top, 1:27:40; Paul Shaffer, 50, W. Pittston, 1:27:57; Brandon Whitman, 20, Wapwallopen, 1:29:03.

Male awards: Overall: Moulton, 1:12:38 (record). Age group winners: 19 & under: Joe Rowley, Ashley, 1:22:50. 20-29: John Novak, Taylor, 1:16:33. 30-34: Mario Zarate, Meshoppen, 1:16:32. 35-39: Dave Griffith, Hanover Twp., 1:49:08. 40-44: Mike Adamshick, Dallas, 1:19:18. 45-49: Paul O’Hora, Scranton, 1:17:55. 50-54: Sean Robbins, Dallas, 1:21:17. 55-59: Don Lavin, Scranton, 1:29:53. 60-64: Mike Bedrin, Mountain Top, 1:33:05. 65-69: William Cook, Scranton, 1:42:18.70 & over: Tony Cerminaro, Jerymn, 2:14:17.

Top 5 female finishers

Marina Martino, 28, Dallas, 1:18:44; Olivia Lanza, 25, Pittston, 1:32:41; Pat Buzinkai, 44, Kingston, 1:34:33; Emily Bell, 37, Bear Creek Twp., 1:35:03.

Female awards: Overall: Martino, 1:18:44 (record). Age group winners: 19 & under: Olivia Lanza, Pittston, 1:32:41. 30-34: Candice Pagnotti, Factoryville, 1:52:45. 35-39: Emily Bell, Bear Creek Twp., 1:35:03. 40-44: Pat Buzinkai, Kingston, 1:34:33. 45-49: Melissa Obmann, Mountain Top, 1:38:25. 50-54: Melissa Delfino, Dunmore, 1:38:46. 55-59: Susan Steinbach, Clarks Green, 1:51:52. 60 & over: Patti Turissini, Scott Twp., 1:58:17.

Field: 201 (record). Official starter and finisher: Vince P. Wojnar. Results: Tony Pszeniczny and Linda Wojnar (Wyoming Valley Striders). Race directors: Pszeniczny and John Martino.

Schedule

Thursday, Nov. 28 (Thanksgiving): Berwick Marathon Association’s (9-mile) Run for the Diamonds, Market and Second streets, Berwick at 10 a.m. Info: Margaret Livsey, 570-759-1300.

Marina Martino, left, and Robert Moulton both set course records in winning the female and male divisions of the Wyoming Valley Striders 6th Annual 20K Run.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_20K-winners.jpg.optimal.jpgMarina Martino, left, and Robert Moulton both set course records in winning the female and male divisions of the Wyoming Valley Striders 6th Annual 20K Run. Submitted photo

By Robert Miner

For Times Leader