Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Photograph by Lea Tauriello

Los Gatos runner Angela Gummow accepts her award for winning the girls' 13-and-under title.

Sealy runs away with title

Kennedy wins women's crown

By Dick Sparrer

Kendrick Sealy found himself in a sprint to the finish line when he won the Los Gatos Dammit Run a year ago.

But it was much different this year.

Oh, Sealy won another Dammit title. But there was no sprint to the tape--this year, he was running alone.

Sealy stopped the watch at 28:04.90 to win the rugged 5-mile run, finishing over a minute ahead of his nearest rival.

Last year it was much different. Sealy and Sunnyvale's Russell Hill were close together when they entered the track stadium at Los Gatos High to make the final lap to the finish line.

Sealy edged Hill by just 10 seconds to finish first, and only 32 seconds separated the top five finishers in the competitive field.

In the 23rd running of the Dammit, though, the 29-year-old Sealy was in charge. He ran alone into the stadium, and he had already passed through the finish gate before runner-up Gilbert Munoz even reached the track.

Race highlights follow: Munoz ended up second overall in 29:18.94 with Patrick Fear third in 29:31.95, James Cardoza fourth in 29:55.85 and Rob Nast fifth in 30:10.02.

Rounding out the top 10 men were 19-year-old Dave McDonough of Cupertino, sixth in 30:25.18; Sean Millar, seventh in 30:58.73; Nick Piellusch, eighth in 31:07.41; Bill Rice, ninth in 31:08.62; and Victory Cortes, 10th in 31:11.20.

As impressive as Sealy was in the men's division, so were Christine Kennedy and Susie Blake in the women's class.

The 41-year-old Kennedy held off Blake to win the women's division title, finishing just over 25 seconds ahead of the runner-up.

Kennedy finished first among the Dammit women in 32:25.35 with Blake second in 32:51.22.

Longtime Dammit competitor Julie Rohloff of Los Gatos was an impressive third in 34:08.55 with Elizabeth Nast fourth in 34:42.72 and Rosemarie Lagunas fifth in 34:48.59.

Deborah Bleisch was sixth in 36:08.62 with Sharlet Gilbert seventh in 36:10.38, Judi Shade eighth in 36:16.20, Nathalie McManomon ninth in 36:24.38, and Heather Iverson 10th in 36:32.40.

Sealy topped a list of seven runners who defended Dammit. titles in the 1996 running of the tough race.

Sealy ran to his second straight overall victory in the Dammit. Six others returned to win age group titles.

Russ Martin, Walter Radloff, Carlos Saldivar and Dick Yaeger defended their men's titles this year.

Martin ran a solid 34:14.38 to win the boys' 13-and-under crown for the second straight year. More impressively, the 13-year-old finished 46th overall in the tough field.

Radloff won the men's 50-54 age group as a 50-year-old, and won it again at 51. He clocked in at 33:36.48 to finish 35th overall in the field of 531 male runners.

Saldivar was 54th overall on his way to a second straight victory in the men's 55-59 division. Saldivar ran 34:37.45 to win his class.

The 67-year-old Yaeger of Los Gatos was tops in the men's 65-69 age division for the second year in a row. He won the division title in 42:42.71 with Lloyd Anderson second and Fred Walsh third.

Shade and Diane Bromstead were each defending champs in women's competition.

Shade won the women's 50-54 class a year ago, and she repeated this year at age 51. Her time of 36:16.20 not only gave her an age group victory, but also placed her eighth overall among female finishers.

Bromstead won another women's 55-59 crown, and she outrun longtime rival Ruth Geredes of Los Gatos to do it. Bromstead was first in 48:13.25 to win the title in her final year in the age division. Geredes was second with Gerri Lysne third.

Not only did Kennedy win the women's title in the Dammit, she ran away with the crown in the women's 40-44 age group.

Kennedy finished first with past Dammit winners Dee Gray and Debbie Follmar of Saratoga second and third, respectively. Gray won the women's 35-39 title last year and Follmar took the 40-44 top spot.

Rohloff, another former Dammit winner, was first in the women's 30-34 age group in 34:08.55. Nast was second and Lagunas was third.

McManomon was tops in the women's 35-39 class with Jannie Grant second and Susan Daugherty third. Gilbert was first in the 45-49 division with Mary Lanoford second and Sandra Sanchez third.

The list of winners follows:

Top 25 Overall Finishers

1-- Kendrick Sealy, 28:04.90; 2-- Gilbert Munoz, 29:18.94; 3-- Patrick Fear, 29:31.95; 4-- James Cardoza, 29:55.85; 5-- Rob Nast, 30:10.02; 6-- Dave McDonough, 30:25.18; 7-- Sean Millar, 30:58.73; 8-- Nick Piellusch, 31:07.41; 9-- Bill Rice, 31:08.62; 10-- Victor Cortes, 31:11.20; 11-- Alan Jackson, 31:16.31; 12-- Tempo Tiger, 31:28.50; 13-- Oscar Gonzalez, 31:37.13; 14-- Karl Malmsheimer, 31:38.23; 15-- Tom Dorst, 31:39.93; 16-- Steve Garza, 31:42.84; 17-- Jason Hervey, 31:51.63; 18-- J.D. Allegrucci, 31:56.19; 19-- Enrique Torres, 32:00.31; 20-- Peter Munoz, 32:05.69; 21-- James Green, 32:06.35; 22-- Ryan McGuire, 32:09.09; 23-- Dirk Rohloff, 32:16.01; 24-- Glenn Seiler, 32:22.83; 25-- Christine Kennedy, 32:25.35.

Top 20 Female Finishers

1-- Christine Kennedy, 32:25.35; 2-- Susie Blake, 32:51.22; 3-- Julie Rohloff, 34:08.55; 4-- Elizabeth Nast, 34:42.72; 5-- Rosemarie Lagunas, 34:48.59; 6-- Deborah Bleisch, 36:08.62; 7-- Sharlet Gilbert, 36:10.38; 8-- Judi Shade, 36:16.20; 9-- Nathalie McManomon, 36:24.38; 10-- Heather Iverson, 36:32.40; 11-- Dee Gray, 37:04.37; 12-- Debbie Follmar, 37:13.93; 13-- Louise Garvey, 37:41.55; 14-- Jannie Grant, 37:44.19; 15-- Mary Conner, 38:06.43; 16-- Heidi Dartel, 38:14.40; 17-- Lisa Renteria, 38:18.96; 18-- Sandy Medenos, 38:32.36; 19-- Janne Boone, 38:41.31; 20-- Caren Carlisle, 38:59.05.

Top Finishers By Age Group

Men's Open

1-- Kendrick Sealy; 2-- Patrick Fear; 3-- James Cardoza; 4-- Dave McDonough; 5-- Bill Rice.

Women's Open

1-- Susie Blake; 2-- Deborah Bleisch; 3-- Heather Iverson; 4-- Mary Conner; 5-- Heidi Dartel.

Boys' 13-and-under

1-- Russ Martin; 2-- Jesse Burson; 3-- Michael Bitter; 4-- Graham Nuttall; 5-- Shaun Sullivan; 6-- Corby Runyan; 7-- Bret Hampton.

Girls' 13-and-under

1-- Angela Gummow; 2-- Alicia Follmar; 3-- Rona Kupec.

High school boys

1-- Nick Piellusch; 2-- Victor Cortes; 3-- Oscar Gonzalez; 4-- Steve Garza; 5-- Peter Munoz.

High school girls

1-- Rachael Wiseman; 2-- Sonja Willis; 3-- Annette Holmquist; 4-- Veronica Garcia; 5-- Christine Silva.

Men's 30-34

1-- Rob Nast; 2-- Karl Malmsheimer; 3-- J.D. Allegrucci; 4-- James Green; 5-- Carl Cabico.

Women's 30-34

1-- Julie Rohloff; 2-- Elizabeth Nast; 3-- Rosemarie Lagunas; 4-- Louise Garvey; 5-- Caren Carlisle.

Men's 35-39

1-- Gilbert Munoz; 2-- Sean Millar; 3-- Tom Dorst; 4-- Glenn Seiler; 5-- Jim Nelson.

Women's 35-39

1-- Nathalie McManomon; 2-- Jannie Grant; 3-- Sue Daugherty; 4-- Jenny Cichowski; 5-- Mary Massa.

Men's 40-44

1-- Dirk Rohloff; 2-- Brian Conroy; 3-- Dan Johnson; 4-- Mike Rudd; 5-- Doug Bailey.

Women's 40-44

1-- Christine Kennedy; 2-- Dee Gray; 3-- Debbie Follmar; 4-- Theresa Garza; 5-- Sue Gales Forster.

Men's 45-49

1-- Norm Gould; 2-- Greg Burke; 3-- Jim Flanigan; 4-- Bob Stevens; 5-- Doug Brown.

Women's 45-49

1-- Sharlet Gilbert; 2-- Mary Lanoford; 3-- Sandra Sanchez; 4-- Susan Cronk; 5-- Nancy Blessing.

Men's 50-54

1-- Walter Radloff; 2-- Dick Chimenti; 3-- Jack White; 4-- Robert Schmitt; 5-- Roger Kern.

Women's 50-54

1-- Judi Shade; 2-- Betty Johnson; 3-- Elaine Smith; 4-- Gail Coles; 5-- Margaret Wylder.

Men's 55-59

1-- Carlos Saldivar; 2-- Joe Hurtado; 3-- Bill Comport; 4-- Peter Letchworth; 5-- Ray Taylor.

Women's 55-59

1-- Diane Bromstead; 2-- Ruth Geredes; 3-- Gerri Lysne; 4-- Carol Halter; 5-- Connie Sullivan.

Men's 60-64

1-- Jerome Lewis; 2-- Floyd Okada; 3-- Barry Southard; 4-- Mike Kearny; 5-- Richard Garcia.

Women's 60-64

1-- Joan Masui; 2-- Juanita Weiber.

Men's 65-69

1-- Dick Yaeger; 2-- Lloyd Anderson; 3-- Fred Walsh; 4-- Keith Johnsgard; 5-- Charles Barrena.

Women's 65-69

1-- Margie Sedillo; 2-- Angie Girven.

Men's 70-and-over

1-- Bill Wallace; 2-- Howard Powers; 3-- Bud Roberts; 4-- Jesse Nunez.

Women's 70-and-over

1-- Diane Ogilvie; 2-- Jaclyn Caselli.

Men's heavyweight

1-- Mike Kioan; 2-- Ross Malinowski; 3-- Rex Kusler; 4-- Bob Spisak; 5-- Sergey Savastuk.