OKC runner sets course record in half marathon
Jul. 16—Four Ada residents were among the Top 10 in the 5K Race at the 2022 Fireball Classic held on the Fourth of July at Wintersmith Park.
Zander Wood of Shawnee won that race with a time of 18:07. Wood, who ran cross country at Shawnee High School, has signed with East Central University to continue his running career.
Alexander Porter, also of Shawnee. was second at 19:26 and Ivan Huerta of Purcell was third at 19:40.
Two Ada runners finished in the fourth and fifth spots. Ezekiel Griffin was fourth at 20:09 and Dallas Abbott was fifth at 20:29.
Other local runners who recorded Top-10 finishes were Thomas Yahola of Konawa in sixth with a time of 20:48; Huston Holder of Sulphur, seventh in 21:03; Caleb Biles of Ada in ninth at 22:33 and Danny Manuel of Ada in 10th at 22:59.
There were 206 total participants in the 5K Race this year.
There were also four Adans in the Top 10 in the 10K Fireball Classic race.
Lu Bounga of Houston, Texas, won the 10K championship with a time of 35:02. Andrew Call of Norman was second in 38:45 and Luciana Bartholomew of Aledo, Texas, was third in 39:51.
Rounding out the Top 5 were Logan Blackburn of Tishomingo and Brianna DeAngelis of Ada. DeAngelis, a former Byng High School cross country standout, is currently running for Rogers State University in Claremore.
Valerie DeAngelis, Brianna's mother, was seventh in the 10K in 48:28. Brayden Battershell of Ada was eighth in 50:20 and Bradley Craig of Ada was ninth in 52:09.
A total of 60 competitors competed in the 10K run.
Ada had three runners place in the Top 15 in the Fireball Classic half marathon.
Andrew Leahey of Oklahoma City won the race in 1:15.08. He set the course record for the half marathon and received a check for $1000 from Ada Sunrise Rotary.
Kyle McKinley of Edmond was second in 1:15.47 and Larry Filer of Wichita Falls, Texas, finished third in 1:19.12.
The top Ada runners were Jacob Jones, who ended up ninth in 1:38.45. James Monroe of Ada was 11th in 1:45.50 and Jessica Bryant of Ada was 12th with a time of 1:46.59.
A total of 35 runners finished the Fireball Classic half marathon.
The team with the most runners in the Fireball Classic was Crossroads Running Club with 41.
