English outruns Pierpoint to line in 25th Great Race
By Dick Sparrer
It was a race to the finish line, and Desmond English outran Kevin Pierpoint on the stretch down Santa Cruz Avenue in Los Gatos to win the 25th annual Great Race.
Pierpoint was the defending champion in the annual run from Saratoga to Los Gatos, but English wrested the title away when he finished in 19:35 to win the 2002 running of the event. Pierpoint was a close second in 19:37.
The Great Race, sponsored by the Los Gatos Rotary Club, was born back in 1978 and was meant to be a friendly competition between the communities of Los Gatos and Saratoga. But it's grown to become one of the top races in the Bay Area, and this year attracted more than 2,000 runners.
English raced to a win in this year's event, with Pierpoint second, running 12 seconds faster than he did a year ago when he won the event.
Race Results: Top finishers in all divisions.
Rounding out the top 10 for the men were Jason Spong, third in 19:47; Joe Sanders of San Jose, fourth in 20:05; Eric Ollila of Sunnyvale, fifth in 20:12; Brian Cullum of Mountain View, sixth in 20:53; Bob Tapia of San Jose, seventh in 20:59; Robert Pickens, eighth in 21:05; Pete Kain of Cupertino, ninth in 21:10; and Erich Ackermann of Castro Valley, 10th in 21:15.
It was a similar finish in the women's division, but not quite as close. Susan Dahm was the winner in the women's class, running 22:20 for the victory. Twelve seconds back in second place was Becky Gibbs of San Jose, last year's women's champ. Gibbs ran 23:12 to win the event last year, and this year finished in 22:32.
Among the other top female finishers were Yvonne Lund, third in 23:33; Barb Acosta, fourth in 24:00; Oralia Vejinez, fifth in 24:10; former Westmont track and cross country star Lisa Renteria, sixth in 24:24; ex-Lynbrook cross country sensation Stephanie Hovancik of San Jose, seventh in 24:29; Shoshanna Ziblatt, eighth in 24:44; Dina Farage, ninth in 24:53; Honor Fetherston of Los Gatos, 10th in 25:06; Jackie McLearly of Los Gatos, 11th in 25:12; Barbara Silverberg, 12th in 25:17; and Liz Nast of Saratoga, 13th in 25:27.
Los Gatos runners taking age-group titles were Hilary May (26:24), girls 13-and-under; Matthrew Petrillo (23:18), boys 13-and-under; Norman Saucedo (26:51), men's 60-69; and Bette Pestka (37:43), women's 80-95.
Runners from Saratoga winning their age groups included Adam Sato (22:51), boys 14-18, and Dan Tellep (34:38), men's 70-79. Prospect's Danielle Zelinski won the girls 14-18 title in 26:59.
Winning titles in male age groups were Pierpoint (19-29); English (30-39); Tapia (40-49); Jim Gorman of Palo Alto (50-59); and Shepherd (80-95).
Other winners in the female age divisions included Gibbs (19-29); Dahm (39-39); Acosta (40-49); Silverberg (50-59); Trudi Hofman (60-69); and Joy Johnson of San Jose (70-79).
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
