Villavicencio, Henderson Win Scenic City Half-Marathon Titles

Joseph Goetz Repeats As 5K Winner

  • Sunday, March 1, 2015
  • John Hunt

It was just a little bit nippy at Finley Stadium for Saturday morning’s running of the Scenic City Half-Marathon and 5K, but it was probably just about perfect for those who decided to compete.

Cristhian Villavicencio, a 42-year-old professional runner from Nicaragua who is currently living in Manchester with his coach, was the overall winner in the 13.1-mile main event as he crossed the finish line at the 50-yard line of Davenport Field in one hour, 14 minutes and 18 seconds.

Geno Phillips, who was third last year in 1:15:53, got outkicked in the final stretch and had to settle for the runner-up spot in 1:14:20 while Jack Findley was third in 1:15:16.

Dean Thompson was fourth in 1:18:45 while the women’s overall winner Teghan Henderson was fifth overall in 1:18:56.

Leah Thomas was the second female in 1:24:28 as she was 13th overall while Laura Henry followed in 19th with a time of 1:29:12.

Sara Gibson and Emily Findley completed the top five ladies with times of 1:33:19 and 1:33:43, respectively.

It was clear and cool for the Chattanooga Track Club’s first race of the 2015 season and a persistent wind took its toll at times, especially on the return trip along Riverfront Parkway. 

But on a day when conditions were ideal for racing, Villavicencio and Findley led the way for the first eight miles while Phillips was biding his time about 45 seconds back.  The leaders pace dropped from around 5:30 per mile to around 6:00 on the way back and that’s when Phillips made his move.

The 43-year-old social studies teacher and coach at Red Bank Middle School eventually caught the slender fellow who couldn’t speak English and they ran together for the last three miles before Villavicencio pulled away after they had re-entered Finley Stadium.

“This was a good training run for Christian,” said Frank Balt, his coach, shortly after the race ended.

“We knew the weather would be different here than in South America and he’s training for the Rock and Roll Music City Marathon in April.  I think he had a good race today, but I’m sure he would have liked a faster time,” the coach nodded.

Phillips was right in his element with some strong guys to race with.  He normally prevails in such situations, but it just wasn’t meant to be on the last day of February.

“It was good and fun.  I chased them for the first eight miles and I finally caught the leader about 10 miles,” Phillips explained.

“I tried to put a gap on him as we passed under the bridge just before we got back and I thought I had enough of a lead, but he got me at the end.  This is my best time on this course and much better than last year, but it really frustrates me to lose at the very end like I did today,” he added.

Findley, who was the runner-up last year in 1:14:49, felt like his race didn’t unfold like he had planned.

“We had some really good competition out there today and I like races like that as they always push you to better performances, but I didn’t have a very good day,” he expressed by phone later in the morning.

“At critical points along the way, I didn’t respond as effectively as I should have as I didn’t counter their moves very well.  I tried to work together with the guy leading and it didn’t work out very well.  We slowed down dramatically on the way back and that’s when Geno caught us, but you live and learn and I hope to do better next time,” the 28-year-old commercial insurance broker added.

Henderson is a 20-year-old junior at UTC who is redshirting during indoor track after suffering a stress fracture during cross country.  She’s another one of those outstanding Canadian runners from just outside Toronto who was running her first half-marathon.

Things seemed to turn out just fine as she appears to be about 100 percent recovered from her latest injury.

“I was aiming for something around 1:20.  The first few miles were good, but the middle ones were tough for me mentally and physically.  I developed a blister on my foot and worried about it a little, but I felt better in the second half of the race, knowing that I was on my way back.

“My last three miles were probably my best of the day as I was hoping to maintain six-minute miles the whole way.  I had one or two that were a little bit slower, but I closed the gap in the final few miles.  I tried to catch the guy in front of me, but I couldn’t quite do it,” she added.

Joseph Goetz was the 5K winner for the second year in a row, but his time of 17:15 was more than a minute slower than last year’s 16:05 when he had to really battle to hold off his younger brother Daniel by some three seconds.

The 5K competition on Saturday wasn’t nearly as close as last year.

“I really didn’t have any goals as I haven’t been real motivated since the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving.  I took the lead about the two-mile mark, but my time was more than a minute slower than last year.  I’m just glad that my little brother wasn’t here or he would have killed me,” the 31-year-old financial consultant for TVA explained.

Paul Stuart was the defending champion in the half-marathon, but like most of Henderson’s teammates, UTC's Stuart was out of town at the Southern Conference Indoor Meet and unable to race in Chattanooga.

(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@comcast.net)

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