Half Marathon, 5K Races A Huge Success

OCEAN CITY- The annual Island to Island Half-Marathon and 5K races last week were once again a huge success with nearly 1,500 races competing in the two events combined on a picture-perfect Saturday in late April.

A total of 976 runners competed in the half marathon, while another 480 competed in the 5K. For the record, Tyler Muse of Bel Air won the half marathon for the second straight year, finishing in 1:13:07. Ho Kang of Rebersburg, Pa. was second, finishing in 1:21:01, while Jake Groenendyke of St. Louis, Missouri was third, finishing in 1:23:37. The top female finisher was Laura Danberg of Arlington, Va.

The Top 10 local finishers in the half marathon were Bobby Hammond, Selbyville, (5^th); Noah McAleer, Berlin (28^th); Alyson Brabitz, Berlin (41^st); Wayne Best, Ocean City (106^th); Mark Valenzano, Salisbury (119^th); Tom Pellinger, Berlin (130^th); Jeanne Vander Clute, Berlin (142^nd); Julie McCallum, Ocean City (162^nd); Nate Gregory, Bishopville (166^th); and Lauren Sharkey, Berlin (184^th).

In the 5K race, Marc Smith of Bishopville finished third overall. Local runners finishing in the top 100 in the 5K race included Smith (3^rd); Matthew Giardina, Berlin (39^th); Jessica Giardina, Berlin (41^st); Ashlee Perry, Selbyville (43^rd); Macy Dill, Berlin (65^th); Denny Bontempo, Bishopville (92^nd); Kourtney Duffie, Ocean City (96^th); Karen Bontempo, Bishopville (97^th); Jose Carrasco, Salisbury (99^th) and Luis Carrasco, Salisbury (100^th).