Arbaugh, Esposito Capture Winfield Mile

Although News Year's Day dawned gray, gloomy, cloudy, and

seeming a whole lot more like Sunday than Wednesday, a surprisingly

large field of forty-eight runners ranging from ages 6 3/4 to 48

participated in the Winfield Mile, the first WRRC race of 2003.

One of the major reasons for the turnout was Bobby Ward, a

Liberty High graduate, who--after graduating from Widener University

in the Philadelphia area--returned to homebase to help with the

running program at Liberty.  His "suggestion" that his runners

participate in the Winfield Mile was certainly the cause for a

large concentration of cars in the South Carroll High School parking

lot fully forty-five minutes before race time.  The other major

reason was undoubtedly the word that race director Alan Pobletts

and family had made their annual post-Christmas trip to the local

WalMart to ravage the remaining Christmas candy, now on sale, as

the source of post-race prizes.

As the field made its made through beautiful downtown Winfield,

Darrin Arbaugh--a senior at South Carroll High, who hopes to

participate

in an NCAA Division I running program next year--led a pack of

hearty runners down the long but gradual hill which comprises much of

the

first two-thirds of the course.

By the time that the runners had passed the Winfield Volunteer Fire

Department building and had become visible to those at the finish line,

Arbaugh had established a small lead over Ward and Dave Hope, with high

school runners Nick Rigby and Scott Koleszar in hot pursuit.  Arbaugh

maintained that lead to finish as the only runner under five minutes.

Robert Buerger, father of an injured Liberty runner who blocked

the intersection near the start, thus allowing the runners to avoid

cross-traffic on Salem Bottom Road, finished sixth as the first masters

runner.  Surprisingly, in a time when the number of 50+ age runners in

the club continues to increase, none of them appeared for the race.

Maybe the recovery time from raucous nights also increases with age.

For Esposito, whose main competition was high school and middle school

runners, her status as the best female runner in the club continues.

Finishing

tenth overall, she won the female division by over fifty seconds, which

is a

lot in a one mile race.

Kelly Davis finished a strong second, with Caitlin Riebau edging Carly

Reed and Jody Sharp for third.  Treasurer-for-Life Liuda Galinaitis

arrived

a few minutes before race time with the latest issue of the newsletter,

warmed

up by running to the starting line, and finished as the first masters

female.

Dues for 2003 are now payable.  The newsletter shows that the dues are

now $5 for students (21 and under), $10 for adults, and $15 for family

units.

Send the money to Liuda or bring it to the next race, to be held at

12:00 noon

on Sunday, January 12, at the corner of Stone Chapel and Avondale Roads

west of

Westminster.