Back to back
Winning at the Butler Road Race for the third time fits in with Nick Edinger's grand plan.
The 2009 Mars High School graduate led from start to finish in the men's five-mile race at the 42nd annual event Saturday morning, finishing in a time of 26 minutes, 20 seconds.
Butler's Noah Beveridge, 17, was second with a finish of 27:11.
Edinger, 25, who recently moved back to Mars after living in Ohio, also won here in 2013 and 2016. He became the first male to win the five-mile race in back-to-back years since Jake Kildoo accomplished the feat in 2010-11.
Edinger owns five school records at Geneva College and has a dream of qualifying for the trials for the 2020 Summer Olympics, to be held in Tokyo.
“Starting this September, you can earn a spot in the trials,” he said. “I will be running in the Chicago Marathon in October and will try to qualify then. Right now, it's all about trying to get more sponsors and everything is working out well.”
Edinger competed in last year's Indianapolis Marathon and placed third. He took part in last month's Pittsburgh Marathon for the first time, placing 10th overall and fifth among American men.
He turned in an effort of 25:25 in winning here last year.
“I don't really focus on time when I come here,” Edinger said. “It's a tough course and I am just getting back into shape after running in Pittsburgh. I took a decent break after that.”
Slippery Rock's Gar Bercury, 43, won the Master's Men division while Butler's Vern Morrow, 54, took the Grand Master's Men title.Leahanne Wirfel took the women's five-mile race for the second straight year, crossing the finish line over four minutes before her nearest competitor. Her time of 29:39 bettered her performance from last year by seven seconds.“I'm pretty competitive. I like to show up and win,” said Wirfel, 24, a native of Ebensburg who is currently enrolled in the physical therapy program at Slippery Rock University. She previously excelled athletically at High Point University, a Division I school in North Carolina. “This is a challenging course because it's a different distance than most people are used to. Plus, it was a fairly hot day.”Though her collegiate track days are behind her, Wirfel still enjoys preparing for and competing in races. She won the God's Country Half Marathon in Potter County June 3 with a time of one hour, 21 minutes and 21 seconds. She will compete in a 5K event in North Carolina later this summer.“I train on my own and this (BRR) fits in with that.”Claiming the Master's Women crown was Tina Seech, 55, of Upper St. Clair.Valencia's Debbie Deddo, 59, placed first in the Grand Masters Women division.
