newsminer.com

Thursday night was perfect for running a mile, so Maggie Callahan and Chad Carroll made the most of the situation.

Both turned in impressive performances to claim their respective divisions of the Flint Hills Mile at Lathrop High School as more than 100 runners turned out for the annual race that is part of the Flint Hills Series.

Callahan, who just completed her freshman season of cross country and track at the University of Arizona, ran away with the women’s division. She posted a time of 5 minutes, 18 seconds, finishing more than 30 seconds ahead of runner-up Maria Bray (5:55).

“For where my training is at right now, it’s fine,” Callahan said of her time. “I’m not very good at running by myself.”

Rounding out the top five women were Courtney Kisner in 6:12.5, Dorli McWayne in 6:12.5 and Susan Kramer, 6:22

Callahan, a former West Valley standout in the 800-, 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs, didn’t have any problem adjusting to college life or the much warmer temperatures of the Arizona desert.

“It was awesome,” she said. “We ran at 5:30 in the morning, so I didn’t have to handle the heat much, but it was still 80 or 90 degrees.”

Callahan added a new event to her repertoire while running for the Wildcats’ track team — the steeplechase.

“It’s completely new for me and it was a lot of fun,” Callahan said. “I think it will be the event that I’m going to stick with.”

A steeplechase is 3,000 meters and features jumping hurdles and water jumps.

“It’s the right distance for me, and I think I have a better chance of getting further in it than the 1,500 or 5,000,” Callahan said. “You have a lot more to think about in the Steeplechase, and I like to think when I run.”

Since there are more components to the steeplechase than there are in a standard run, Callahan feels she has a better chance to improve.

“There’s a lot more to improve on than just running faster,” she said. “There’s hurdling and water jumps and running faster to all think about and improve on.”

Carroll used a huge kick to pull away from a pair of Alaska Nanooks in winning the men’s race with a time of 4:38.6. Alaska freshman Matt Scerbak from Ann Arbor, Mich., outdueled senior Chris Eversman for second place. Scerbak finished in 4:44, while Eversman ran a 4:45.

“It was good, I was happy with it,” the grinning, 37-year-old Carroll said shortly after crossing the finish line. “My goal was to go under 5 minutes, so I’ll take 4:38 any day.”

It was Carroll’s first win in the Mile after a couple of close finishes several years ago.

“I was runner-up in this race by 2 or 3 feet a couple of times seven or eight years ago,” he said. “When (Scerbak) made a break on the third lap, I stayed relaxed and figured I could reel him back in.”

Carroll credited his race experience for his ability to outkick the youngsters.

“Knowing when it’s time,” Carroll said of his decision to start his kick coming out of turn two with about 300 yards left in the race. “I just wanted to see what they had left; it turned out I had a little bit more.”

Mark Lindberg, who led after the first lap, placed fourth in 4:51.4 and Roger Sayre rounded out the top five in 5:00.8.

Women’s age-group winners were: Haley Spencer, age 10-11; Gina Jensen, 12-14; Kisner, 15-17; Callahan 18-29; Bray 30-34; Kramer, 35-39; Tracey Martinson, 40-44; Erika Van Flein, 45-49; Beth Nava-Allard, 50-54; McWayne, 55-59; Monte Jordan, 60-64; and Barbara Wuttig, 70-74.

Men’s age-group winners were: Tigan Donaldson, 9 and under; Joe Bue, 10-11; Storm Williams, 12-14; Joshua Ray, 15-17; Scerbak, 18-29; Lamont Hawkins 30-34; Carroll 35-39; Chingliak, 40-44; Lindberg, 45-49; Sayre, 50-54; Jim Loftus, 55-59; Pete Hjellen, 60-64; Owen Hanley, 65-69; Jim Madonna, 70-74; and Glenn Hackney, 80 and over.

Complete race results are in today’s Sports Scoreboard on Page D2.

Contact sports editor Bob Eley at 459-7581.