Tijerina, Esposito Shine at Bear RunEsposito extends win streak to 8by David HerlockerWESTMINSTER, Feb. 3 -- Newcomer Mondo Tijerina and local standout Sherry Esposito captured their divisions at the Bear Run Four Miler, held on Super Bowl Sunday. Tijerina and Ted Poulos of McLean, Va., quickly separated themselves from the 31-runner field as they headed east from the fire hall through downtown Pleasant Valley. By the time Tijerina reached the two-mile mark in 10:50, he had a 35-second lead on Poulos, with the rest of the field scattered for most of a mile behind him. On the return portion of the course, Tijerina maintained the same pace, finishing in 21:52, more than two minutes ahead of Poulos, the first Masters runner. Poulos barely survived a late charge by Paul Miller. Gary St. Onge finished seventh as the top Grand Masters runner. Suspense in the female division was squashed quickly as Esposito won her eighth club race in a row. Esposito spent most of the race dueling with Masters runner Dave Griffin before unleashing a surge at the end that Griffin could not match. While Esposito was finishing fifth overall with a six-minute victory margin, Erika Tijerina, the smallest and youngest in the field, averaged 7:30 per mile to finish a solid second. Third place was earned by Grand Masters runner Judy Gilbert. Gilbert won her age group in last fall's Baltimore Marathon.
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