SAINT CLAIR — No surprises here. Just sustained excellence.
In a word: Domination.
Orwigsburg’s Justin O’Brien and Saint Clair native Samantha Snukis completed their run through the Schuylkill County Triple Crown 5K Series on Sunday by capturing the individual titles at the 5th annual Rhoades Race 5K and 1-Mile Fun Run.
In late August, O’Brien and Snukis also won the 5K races at the Truskey Run and the Sol Lipton Run Fest.
“I ran all three races last year,’’ O’Brien said. “They’re three of the best races in the area, so I knew I’d be back at them.
“As soon as I heard that they were going to do a Triple Crown, it was a definite goal of mine, something I really planned on,’’ he added. “It
feels great to not only accomplish it but to win all three.’’
For Snukis, the series in general — and the Rhoades Race in particular — gave her an opportunity to come home.
“It was a lot of fun, really positive activities going on in Schuylkill County,’’ Snukis said.
She also encouraged others to challenge themselves in next year’s Triple Crown.
“They should. It’s a good series,’’ Snukis added. “It’s really good to be competitive and also support everyone, too.’’
Sunday’s race contained little drama — just frigid temperatures and gale-force winds.
Those winds slowed the runners early on, but O’Brien still posted a winning time of 16:36. Blue Mountain graduate and prolific distance runner Mike Carriglitto finished second in 17:17, with Snukis placing third overall in 18:24.
“It was really windy. For the first mile, actually the first mile an a half, it was pure wind,’’ Snukis said. “It was really bad.
“It’s a good course. It’s a fast course, but the conditions ...’’
Nothing seemed to bother O’Brien during the series. He defeated Jim Thorpe standout Johnathan Condly by nine seconds at Truskey and Carriglitto by 15 seconds at Sol Lipton.
Through the nine-week series, O’Brien maintained his focus.
“Just keep training, running every day. Having it as a goal and keep pushing me in workouts to get me out there running,’’ he said. “Having this as a goal was a good thing to push me through this fall time. It’s kind of between big races for me right now, so it was good to have these goals.’’
Though the 5K distance remained the same, the series featured extremely different weather challenges at each race. Truskey had cool conditions and rain; Sol Lipton opened on a muggy, misty morning; and the Rhoades Race ushered in wintry conditions.
The series came about to encourage more runners to participate and to motivate top runners to compete in all three races to determine the inaugural Triple Crown champions in the men’s and women’s divisions.
For their efforts, O’Brien and Snukis received large trophies recognizing their achievement. Schuylkill County commissioners and family members representing all three races joined in the presentation.
“I thought it was a great event,’’ O’Brien said. “For the first year, I think it went really smoothly. It’s three established races, so they all know what they’re doing. I hope it keeps growing and gets bigger next year and more people come.
“I’d like to see some people from out of the area come in and run for it.’’
A few factors made the Triple Crown viable. All three have 5K races and are in three different communities in different geographic areas of the county.
In addition, proceeds from all three races benefit the local community and fund college scholarships for area runners.
“I look forward to future years of this,’’ race organizer James J. Rhoades Jr. said after completing his third 5K of the series. “The first year we weren’t sure what to expect. I think each of our races got extra people in because of working together.
“We basically have a common cause of helping our communities and being able to offer scholarships for our youth,’’ he added. “That was an important thing for the Rhoades Foundation because of my dad (the late state Sen. James J. Rhoades) and what education meant.’’
Rhoades Jr. stressed the phrase “paying it forward’’ as the overriding theme of the Rhoades Race and the overall series.
“We love to pay it forward,’’ Rhoades Jr. said. “All three groups with a common cause, it worked out great. When they (Truskeys and Liptons) came to us and said, ‘What to you think?’ We were all over it. It’s exciting.
“We’re all in this together helping our communities,’’ he added. “I think this first year was a success, and we already have great ideas for future years in promotion and getting more people out. It feels really good.’’
5th annual Rhoades Race
5K and 1-Mile Fun Run
At Saint Clair Industrial Park
Sunday’s results
Triple Crown winners
Male — Justin O’Brien
Female — Samantha Snukis
William I Messerschmidt
Memorial Award
Jack Whitcomb, 77 years old
Master’s Division (40 and over)
Male — Ty Rothermel 18:47
Female — Kim Martinko 24:14
5K MALE
Overall
1. Justin O’Brien 16:36, 2. Mike Carriglitto 17:18, 3. John Martinko 18:41
13 and under
1. Cole Streisel 20:36, 2. Joshua Daubert 21:06, 3. Paul Hertz 21:58
14-19
1. Adam Bahrey 18:46, 2. Willie Streisel 18:47, 3. Sean McCabe 19:22
20-24
1. Jake Holman 20:47
25-29
1. None
30-34
1. Jason Svrcek 22:40, 2. John Pytko 23:01
35-39
1. Randy Nunemacher 22:05, Jamie Snyder 22:20, Tom Smith 22:58
40-44
1. Jason Setlock 20:15, 2. Dan Heaney 20:19, 3. Brian Senglar 21:48
45-49
1. George Kuba 23:18, 2. Anthony Blackwell 26:48
50-54
1. Mike Liptok 21:09, 2. Loren Sturchio 25:41, 3. Dave Eckert 26:27
55-59
1. Dave Holmes 23:02, 2. Mike Corby 23:22, 3. George Heffner 25:56
60-69
1. Jim Manzick 21:48
70 and over
1. Tony Karwacki 24:21, 2. Jack Whitcomb 29:12, 3. Joe Stankiewitch 43:29
5K FEMALE
Overall
1. Samantha Snukis 18:24
13 and under
1. Alexia Maccarone 25:37, 2. Meredith Rhoades 28:45, 3. Kendall Bernardyn 30:51
14-19
1. Payton Bernardyn 27:01, 2. Sadie Cresswell 33:29
20-24
1. None
25-29
1. Samantha Melusky 23:29, 2. Melissa Kergick 27:42, 3. Kim Moore 29:38
30-34
1. Chrissy Maccarone 23:33, 2. Kristin Buchholz 24:25, 3. Jill Markus 25:02
35-39
1. Lynn Kamarousky 22:50, 2. Stacey Lipton 24:32, 3. April Rothermel 24:33
40-44
1. Heather DiRenzo 25:40, 2. Sharon Smith 26:29, 3. Chrissy Muldowney 27:59
45-49
1. Kathy Snukis 24:20, 2. Amanda Albertini 25:51, 3. Bonnie Miller 28:43
50-54
1. Karen Kuperavage 28:35, 2. Jennie Raudenbush 30:34, 3. Teresa McBreen 31:57
55-59
1. Ginny Murray 30:11, 2. Susie McGeoy 31:29, 3. Theresa Pellish 32:41