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 ran 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.
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 Mc-Donough 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.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, August 28, 1996.
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