Two runners win the 2022 Boilermaker 5K on their first try

Had she known what the weather would be Sunday morning, Tricia Longo would probably have been running the 15-kilometer Boilermaker Road Race. Hot weather while training for the event prompted her to switch events and the Waterford runner is now a first-time Boilermaker 5K champion.

"It was just running in the heat the last two weeks; I was worn out," she said. "I decided to drop down (to the shorter race)."

The 32-year-old Longo completed the shorter course in 17:48.07, good for seventh place overall and a 40-second margin as the women's champion.

Michael Hennelly, a first-time Boilermaker participant from Suffern, was the men's champion and overall race winner.

Database: https://data.uticaod.com/utica-boilermaker-race-results/

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Longo is preparing to run the New York City Marathon for the first time this fall. She first ran Utica's 15K in 2018 and posted her fastest time for the race in the cooler October temperatures last year, shaving four minutes off her previous fastest time.

"I usually run longer distances but I am trying to do a couple of shorter races this summer," she said, adding that Sunday's time may be another personal best for the 5K distance.

The similarities to the October conditions, especially with the earlier start for the 5K, were not lost on her.

"It was perfect," she said. "You couldn't ask for a better day."

A similar day to the October 10, 2021, run.

"Running the 15K would have been nice today," she said, "but I can't complain about a win."

Cara Sherman, an experienced Boilermaker 15K runner who stepped down to run the 5K last fall and finished first overall, returned to the longer course Sunday.

Veronica Dailey of Addison ran second in the women's division, finishing in 18:28.86 Lejla Hrejla of Schenectady ran third, followed by Ashley Rathbun, the wife of last year's 15K champion, Stephen Rathbun, Mallory Kraeger from Lyons Falls, Debra Vertoske from from Lancaster, and Maria Stuhlman, the first Oneida County finisher from Whitesboro.

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The 22-year-old Hennelly has run cross country and track at Manhattan College with his older brother Patrick. His girlfriend, Rory Graham of Burnt Hills, has grandparents in Whitesboro and was also running the 5K Sunday.

"My girlfriend has family around here and I'm here with them," Hennelly said. "I was happy to do it. I had a great time."

The crowd impressed Hennelly on his first Utica run.

"The hardest part is the first hill at the beginning," he said. "The crowd picks you up. The energy is amazing. They bring you right in - all the help I needed."

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Tyler Vega, the 2019 race winner from Elkton, Maryland, ran second overall in 16:29.18, and was initially announced as the race winner at the finish line. D Casey Malloy, a New Hartford High School senior, was the third finisher in 16:58.20. Juan Angel Martinez from Jamesville and Matthew Hanna from Sauquoit completed the top five.

Graham ran eighth among the women.

Hennelly is the 12th different male and overall runner for the race which has been run 15 times starting in 2007. New Hartford's Kelan McKenna has been the lone repeat winner; he won four in a row 2013-16.

Sherman is the 13th female winner; Jessie Cardin won three years in a row 2012-14.

Jon Rathbun is a sportswriter for the Times Telegram. Email Jon at sports@timestelegram.com.

This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Runners earn wins in first attempts in 2022 Utica Boilermaker 5K