LEONARD GRAY

2ND PHOTO: OVERALL WINNERS at Saturday’s Hale Boggs Bridge Run accept their medals at the post-race ceremony. From left, United Way executive director George Williamson, female winner Sherry Lein, Parish Parks and Recreation director Larry Matson and male winner Paul Kemei. (Staff Photo by Leonard Gray) LULING – The fifth annual Hale Boggs Bridge Run, held under sunny skies, enjoyed close to 2,000 participants, making it one of the biggest such runs in Louisiana, according to race officials. Managed by the New Orleans Track Club, the run began at the East Bridge Park in Destrehan and ended just under 15 minutes later as Paul Kemei, 21, of Jackson, Miss., crossed the finish line as the overall winner in the 5-kilometer race. His official time was 14:55. It was enough to place him second in the all-time best time list. The record still belongs to Passmore Furusu, who in 1997 finished with a 14:28 time and who finished in 1998 in 14:57. The overall female winner, Sherry Lein, 23, of New Orleans, posted her time of 18:52. Kemei, a native of Kenya who is completing a business degree at the University of Southern Mississippi, started running competitively in 1996. This was his fourth race this semester, he said. The toughest time for him was coming onto the westbound ramp onto the bridge and realizing “how hilly it was.” His warmup exercise prior to the race was a 10-mile run. Kemei took a quick lead and sprinted ahead of the pack the entire way. “I felt somebody was close to me, but I didn’t look back,” he said. In second place was Brenden Minihan Jr., 25, in 16:10. Bryan Smith, 38, finished third in 16.28. Lien said the toughest part of her race wasn’t the bridge itself but the surprise overpass near the bottom of the westside ramp which crosses the railroad track. “Minnesota has hills, I’m used to hills, but that last little hill was the killer!” she commented. Lien, a native of Minnesota who turned 24 Sunday, teaches health and physical education at Marian Central Middle School. She’s been running since eighth grade, competitively since college. In second place was Rachel Casanova, 24, in 20:06. Kathleen Welch, 44, was third in 20:59. Jara Roux of United Way of St. Charles Parish, reported that nearly $30,000 was raised at the run, as one of the major fundraising activities for the agency. The major sponsor for the race was Orion Refining Corp. in Norco. Overall Masters finishers for the 5-K run were Desmond O’Conner, 47, in 16:43; and Kimberly Hebert, 44, in 21.57. Overall Grand Masters finishers were J. Roger Brown, 52, in 18:57; and Yvonne Thomas, 57, in 24:02. Age group winners for the 5-K run were: • 10-under: male – Austin Marten, 9, 24:34, and Jamal Thornton, 10, 28:09; female – Mallory Guidry, 10, 24:47, and Lacey Culpepper, 8, 28:40. • 11-14: male – Cody Comardelle, 13, 22:25, and Taylor Domengeaux, 12, 23:02; female – Kelsie Gassen, 11, 26:30, and Brittany Schroder, 14; 28:50. • 15-19: male – Mark Williams, 19, 17:10, and Paul Champagne, 16, 20:32; female – Virginia LeBlanc, 18, 25:26, and Danielle Beard, 16, 28:40 • 20-24: male – Andrew Callais, 20, 17:31, and Ryan Barris, 22, 19:26; female – Hollie Delk, 20, 25:26, and Margaret Ann Minihan, 24, 27:10. • 25-29: male – Chris Kehoe, 28, 16:31, and Steve New, 26, 16:43; female – Brooke Hauer, 25, 23:31, and Connie Roth, 26, 26:50. • 30-34: male – James Fish, 33, 19:18, and James Stephenson, 32, 19:58; female – Countess Victorian, 34, 22:40, and Michelle Bennett, 32, 27:51. • 35-39: male – Wayne Chenet, 37, 16:37, and Tom Luongo, 39, 17:15; female -Sandy Johnson, 35, 23:02, and Jill Simon, 39, 23:26. • 40-44: male – Gregory Jones, 42, 17:26, and Paul Macaluso, 40, 17:55; female – Lilli Brown, 41, 24:12, and Leann Myers, 43, 24:22. • 45-49: male – Junius Nixon, 49, 17:42, and Leo Lafrance, 48, 18:40; female – Harriett Handshaw, 47, 22:56, and Rosa Bischoff, 48, 24:08. • 50-54: male – Tom Hopkins, 53, 18:29, and Boom Belkhouche, 50, 19:59; female – Mary Briner, 50, 26:05, and Hally McCrea, 52, 29:53. • 55-59: male – Brenden Minihan Sr., 55, 19:24, and Boyd Girouard, 56, 20:40; female – Isabel Rivera, 58, 27:34, and Sandy Giannobile, 57, 28:20. • 60-64: male – Sheldon Vice, 60, 25:33, and Gerald Lyons, 61, 28:20; female – Marjorie Freeman, 60, 52:00, and Shirley Gaubert, 61, 54:00. • 65-69: male – Gabe Abene, 66, 25:13, and John Johnson, 65, 26:46; female – Betty Waguespack, 65, 37:02, and Eva Petroline, 68, 40:11. • 70-74: male – Bob Allen, 73, 27:32, and Bill Cox, 72, 28:44; female – Lucy Troxler, 70, 46:12, and Amelia Gassen, 73, 54:00. • 75 and over: male – Arthur Gassen, 76, 30:12, and Jon Ellis, 35:42; female – Elisabeth Van Battum, 77, 29:11. Overall racewalker results were: Male, Glen Bodet, 39, 25:43, and female, Connie McCloskey, 37, 30:49. Overall Masters winners were: male, Steve Attaya, 52, 27:47, and female, Janice Watkins, 49, 33:39. Overall Grand Masters winners were: male, Bill Elrod, 64, 32:58, and female, Helen Amazeen, 68, 34:50. Age group winners were: • 39 and under: Sarah Springler, 10, 40:35; Roxie Martinez, 34, 32:55; and Kelly Gaubert, 37, 37:29. • 40-49: Cookie Draper, 46, 36:43; Renilde Lebouef, 44, 40:00; and Anna Menes, 47, 44:00. • 50-59: Robert Watkins, 52, 33:05, and Vince Salito, 56, 35:40. • 60-69: Dick Morgan, 66, 35:40; Cecil Broussard, 69, 44:25; and Martha Tolbird, 66, 47:10. • 70 and over: Gordon Gaille, 80, 40:08, and J.R. Lambert, 77, 40:09.