Saratoga News

Palmer, Acosta romp to Great Race wins

By Dick Sparrer

It was a great race for Bobbie Palmer, great in more ways than one.

The event was the annual Great Race from Saratoga to Los Gatos, and Palmer ran a great race, covering the 3.8-mile distance in 19:33 to edge rival Kendrick Sealy by just a second.

The 26-year-old Palmer outsprinted Sealy to the finish gate. Both runners averaged 4.53 minutes a mile, and they were close together heading into the final stretch. But Palmer pulled out the win, with the 30-year-old Sealy finishing a close second at 19:34.

Ben Turman, last year's Great Race winner, ended up hot on the heels of the two leaders, finishing third in 19:49. He had run an impressive 18:25 to win the race a year ago.

Eric Ollila of Sunnyvale finished fourth overall in 19:52, with Jimmy Clarke of Santa Cruz fifth in 20:05.

Mike Donahue of Los Gatos was the top local finisher, romping to sixth place in 20:10. Colin Solomon of San Francisco was seventh in 20:24, with Rick Reitz of Livermore eighth in 20:26, Carmelo Rios of San Francisco ninth in 20:36 and Patrick Moreton of Berkeley 10th in 20:37.

Nearly 3,000 runners were entered in the popular local race, and more than 2,200 of the starters reached the finish line.

Barbara Acosta defended her title in the women's division, finishing well ahead of the field in 21:57.

The 40-year-old Acosta, who won the Great Race in 21:03 a year ago, finished almost a minute ahead of her nearest rival, and ended up 35th overall in the race field.

Susan Dahm of Los Gatos ran a solid second in 22:49, with Kristin Jacobs of Los Gatos third in 23:01.

Linda Gill of San Anselmo was fourth in 23:14, with Louise Kobin of San Jose fifth in 23:24, Jackie McCleary of Los Gatos sixth in 23:41, Robin Cannon seventh in 23:44, Michelle Deasy of San Francisco eighth in 23:47, Julie Rohloff of Los Gatos ninth in 23:53, Janet Thomas of Sunnyvale 10th in 24:12 and Elizabeth Nast of Saratoga 11th 24:19.

Other local finishers in the women's top 20 Mary Vidovich (Los Gatos), 15th in 25:59; Gayle Rohner (Saratoga), 16th in 26:04; and Susie Blake (Campbell).

But Palmer and Acosta weren't the only winners in the annual Great Race. There were also a number of runners who romped to individual titles in age group competition.

Palmer was the men's 19-29 age group winner with Turman second, Ollila third, Clarke fourth and Donahue fifth. Sealy cruised to the title in the men's 30-39 class.

Saratoga's Bernie Lahde, Jim Reitz of Livermore, Karl Misner of San Jose and Ken Nash of San Jose were other individual men's champions in the race.

Lahde took the men's 40-49 title in 21:32. Dirk Rohloff of Los Gatos was third with Bill Shawhan of Los Gatos sixth.

In the men's 50-59 division, Reitz was first in 22:58 with Fabio Hernandez of Sunnyvale second in 23:21. Steve Lorenz of Los Gatos was fourth with Douglas Helmuth of Saratoga eighth, Bill Meinhardt of Los Gatos ninth and Jim Jacobsen of Los Gatos 10th.

Misner was the winner in the men's 60-69 division. Top local finishers in the class included Ken Napier of Los Gatos, third; Robert Meyer of Los Gatos, seventh; Floyd Okade of Saratoga, ninth; and Harold Gambill of Saratoga, 10th.

Nash rambled to a win in the men's 70-95 division in 32:49. Glenn Sievert of Cupertino was second, with Keith Johnsgard of Los Gatos third, Ray Cobb of Los Gatos fourth, Woody Riley of Saratoga fifth, Cal Morris of Los Gatos sixth and William Cilker of Los Gatos eighth.

Acosta coasted to a win in the women's 40-49 age division. Sumner was second, with Rohner third. Debbie Follmar of Saratoga ended up fourth in the division in 26:39.

Dahm was an easy winner in the women's 19-29 division, with Kobin second. Paige Desoto of Los Gatos finished fifth in 26:49.

Jacobs romped to a win in the 30-39 class. McCleary, Rohloff, Thomas, Nast, Smith, and Vidovich were other local runners among the top finishers in the division.

Great Race veterans Judi Shade of Los Gatos, Diane Bromstead of San Jose and Joy Johnson of San Jose were winners.

Shade was first in the women's 50-59 division in 26.55. Local runners finishing among the leaders in the group were Carol Fara of Saratoga, fourth; Elaine Smith of Saratoga, sixth; Lee Hickengood of Los Gatos, seventh; Betty Root of Campbell, eighth; Marcia Hall of Saratoga, ninth; and Joanne O'Rourke of Saratoga, 10th.

Bromstead took the women's 60=69 title in 34:25. Gerri Lysn of Los Gatos was third with Carolyn Keen of Saratoga fourth, Florence Reily of Los Gatos fifth, Marilyn Johnson of Los Gatos seventh and Sylvia Moore of Los Gatos eighth.

In the women's 70-95 age group, Johnson was an easy winner in 33:50. Betty Bogart of Saratoga was second, with Marie Antonowicz of Los Gatos fourth.

In youth divisions, Steven Garza of San Jose and Celeste Dunlap of Cupertino each ran to titles in the 14-18 age division.

Garza took the boys' race in 21:11 with Russ Martin (Los Gatos) fifth, Jedd Martin (Los Gatos) sixth, Brian Parker (Los Gatos) ninth and Nic Van Biene (Los Gatos) 10th.

Dunlap won the girls' race in 26:59, with Sarah High (Los Gatos) second, Sarah McAleer (Los Gatos) third, Rachel Wiseman (San Jose) fourth, Lindsay Leonard (San Jose) fifth, Leslie Conover (Los Gatos) sixth, Beverly Havner (Campbell) seventh, Andie Knudsen (Los Gatos) eighth and Megan Hubbard (Los Gatos) ninth.

Matt Bordoni of Los Gatos ran to a win in the boys' 6-13 age division. Locals placing high included Wayne Hopp of San Jose, second; Pearce Selleck of Los Gatos, third; Marco Costa of San Jose, fourth; and Jeremy Cleveland of Los Gatos, sixth.

Anne Richards of San Jose was the girls' 6-13 champ, with Kira Sarkisian of Saratoga second, Alicia Follmar of Saratoga third, Rachael Foush of Saratoga fifth and Ashley Kraus of Saratoga ninth.

In the 1-5 age group, Suzanne Christensen of Los Gatos was the girls' winner.

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