Saturday, December 2nd, Mrs. Oelrichs and National Honor Society hosted another successful, fun-for-all-ages Jingle Jog 5K. For the fourth year running, this event drew in many runners from our community. Many of the younger runners, like some of NHHS’s Cross Country boys, came for the friendly competition with their friends.
This year, just like in past years, the categories of runners were determined by age and gender.
The division for boys 9 and younger had only one runner, while the girls had four runners. For the boys in this category, Nick Kuntz had a finishing time of 30:18.84. Samantha Fleer finished the race with a time of 35:30.68, putting her in first for the category. Chloe Cronin, coming in second, had a time of 38:36.89. Just seconds behind, Maisy Hook, with a time of 38:38.53, came in third.
In the 10-13 age group for both boys and girls, there was a total of 23 runners. The girls’ first place runner, Alaina Worland, had a time of 23:31.68, while the boys’ first place runner, Andrew Rethemeyer, had a time of 20:55.40. The second place runners for both categories had times that were just minutes apart-- for the boys, Dylan Loeker had a time of 23:43.80. For the girls, Cierra Loeker had a time of 26:37.33.
For ages 14-19, both boys and girls had very close times, all just minutes-- sometimes even seconds-- apart. The top three male runners were Nathan Ford, Austin Tegeler, and Gavin Frick, finishing with times of 18:14.17, 22:03.72, and 22:48.02, respectively. The top three female runners were Mikayla Reed, Emma McIntyre, and Mckenzie Overschmidt, finishing with respective times of 18:15.71, 22:03.94, and 22:48.84.
With only women representing the category of 20-29, Rachel Horstmann finished first with a time of 35:41.30. Coming in second, Sahra Nelson finished with a time of 52:49.70. Last, but not least, the third place competitor, Alicia Roberts, finished with a time of 54:40.45.
Although there were fewer men competing in the 30-39 division compared to the women who ran, the men hung in close with the other competitors. Ed McNew came in first in the men’s category with a time of 23:35.43. Just minutes behind him came Will McFerrin, finishing with a time of 27:14.74. Alicia Brehe finished first in her category with a time of 25:07.59. Melissa Frick, coming in second, beat Karen Scheer by just 14 seconds, with times of 27:21.72 and 27:35.66, respectively.
For the category 40-49, both men and women gave it their all with times in between 23 minutes and 36 minutes. In first, for the men's category, was Mike Hagedorn with a time of 23:07.46. After him came Brian Tooley finishing with a time of 30:36.41. The victors in the women’s category were Elizabeth Bennett, Traci Unnerstall, and Tricia Fleer; with respective times of 31:43.98, 33:27.98, and 35:42.16.
In the 50-59 male division, Steve Roth finished with a time of 30:10.63. Then, for the women, Lisa Gerlemann finished in first with a time of 26:54.76.
Although only a total of four runners competed in the 60+ categories, the runners held in there with all the others. In the women's category, Carol Kuhlmann finished first with a time of 36:20.86. Coming in second, Jody Maune finished with a time of 40:13.78. For the men’s category, Tom Worland finished with a time of 32:25.90, putting him in first place. Behind him came Darrell Harren with a time of 43:32.30.
The runners with the overall best times were Nathan Ford with a time of 18:14.17, Mikayla Reed finishing with a time of 18:15.71, and Andrew Rethemeyer with a time of 20:55.40.
The most festive runner was Will McFerrin. The runner with the ugliest sweater was Nick Kuntz. Jenny and Aubrey Southerland had the best group attire. And finally, the winner of the Daily Run Company Gift Card drawing was Darrell Herron.
As you can see, the 2017 Jingle Jog was indeed a wintery success. Good job to all the runners and be sure to come back next year!