Wilborn, 27, picks up BRR 2K crown
Jeryl Wilborn is new to the Butler running scene, but showed Saturday he's not new to running.
In the 2K portion of the 34th annual Butler Road Race, the 27-year-old Summit Academy employee battled with 2007 champion Rob Miller, before a late surge crowned him the champion with a time of 6 minutes, 47 seconds.
Miller finished two seconds behind at 6:49 while Anthony Miller, 17, of Slippery Rock was third (6;58), Mitch Radella, 44, of Cranberry Township was fourth (7:07) and Tom Rumbaugh, 17, of Renfrew was fifth (7:17).
Wilborn, who moved to Butler about a year ago, was caught a little off guard with the start down Main Street.
"They surprised me. at the beginning, going out so fast," said Wilborn, who is a musician. "I tried to keep my own pace."
Wilborn, who is the oldest champion of the 2K since the inception of the distance in 2000 (Steve Banks, 20, 2006), had been doing repeats up South Main Street hill to prepare for the race.
"It was longer than I expected," said Wilborn, who ran at Milton High School and the University of Pittsburgh, the latter from which he graduated in 2006.Wilborn and Miller were battling the length of the course with Miller taking a brief lead before the finish."I tried to take the lead at the end, but I didn't have enough of a kick," said Miller.Miller, a Butler High graduate who attends the Pittsburgh Technical Institute, was happy just to be in the mix this year."I didn't think I would be in the top 10 because I haven't been running," said Miller. "I wasn't thrilled with my time compared to before ... but I'm fine with it."Miller won with a time of 6:33 in 2007 and was second last year at 6:41.Wilborn, however, made that last push to take the lead."I was thinking I could be competitive,"said Wilborn, "to be up with the leaders. It's so fun out here, elbow to elbow. This was great. It was just fun to compete."In the women's race, Seneca Valley senior Erin Lopresti, 17, won with a time of 7:23 — finishing 32 seconds ahead of Jessica Bennett, 17, of Butler — and finished seventh overall.Morgan Kiebler, 13, of Export (8:01), Ashley Crawford, 16, of Evans City (8:05) and Christy Monnie, 16, of Renfrew (8:10) rounded out the top five finishers.Lopresti was the highest female finisher in the 2K race since Leisl Soergel of Evans City was ninth in 2004. They are the only two who have cracked the top 10.Lopresti, of Cranberry Township, was the WPIAL Class AAA runner-up in the 800-meter run this past spring.
On Saturday, Lopresti took part in her first Butler Road Race at the urging of Up-N-Running owner Ed Doyle."He suggested I do it and it was my first year," said Lopresti, who admits she only runs a couple road races, usually in Cranberry Township. "I think I had a pretty good showing."Lopresti was battling with Bennett, who runs at Slippery Rock High School, but pulled away after the turn near Emily Brittain Elementary School on West Penn Street.As soon as I went around the turn, I started my kick," said Lopresti, "maybe a little too early," she joked.In training for the cross country season, Lopresti put in a seven-miler on Friday, not exactly ideal to prepare for this race."I can't compromise," said Lopresti.And in winning the race, she recalled Raiders' cross country coach Jim Nagle's approach to the race."Coach stresses the turtle method," said Lopresti. "Start slow and finish fast."
