Bessemer Hometown Run marks 34th year

By MEGAN HUGHES

news@yourdailyglobe.com

Bessemer — Bessemer hosted their 34th annual Hometown Run on Saturday, with more than 250 participants gathering at Bessemer City Hall early in the morning to start the day off with a run, or perhaps a brisk stoll.

This year’s race had 256 racers sign up, including 25 people who walked the 2 mile or 10K with strollers, according to Lori Bennetts, one of the organizers of the event.

It takes quite a few hands on deck to handle the annual event, and Bennetts was extremely grateful for all the work the volunteers put in.

“We had well over 30 volunteers. With all of our route volunteers and our sign up volunteers, I’d say we had easily over 30,” said Bennetts. “We had three water stops for the 10K racers and two for the 2-milers.”

She said a lot of the volunteers had worked with them in the past.

The Globe spoke to a couple of the races before the event began, and they agreed that the weather was a bit warmer than in previous years, but that it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Mariah Partanen and Katie Mazzon, both natives of Bessemer, have competed in the race before. Both were walking the event this year.

“I walked it last year, too,” said Partanen. “It’s pretty hot and humid out here today.”

Mazzon said she had run the race when she was in high school, but it had been a while since she had participated. This year she opted to walk it, also commenting on the weather.

Another racer, Abby Samardich, of Bessemer, had competed seven times before, and spoke highly about the race. “It’s a bit warm today, and I’m a bit nervous, since I’m running the 10K today.”

According to Bennetts, every racer who started the race completed it this year.

“It went really well, we didn’t have any issues that I know about, other than little things that could be taken care of on the fly. Everything went very smoothly,” she said. “We had the Gogebic County Sheriff’s Department to help us out with dealing with traffic.”

Organizers provided the following results from the 2-mile and 10k events.

2-mile Stroller Division

Overall Winner: Jessica Beckman of Ironwood, 16:17

Runner-up: Travis Anderson of Menominee, 17:55

1. Drew Bennetts of Bessemer, 18:38

2. Mary Beth Painter of Wakefield, 21:42

2-mile Run

Overall male: Jared Joki, Ironwood, 12:33

Runner-up male: James Cain, Pound, Wisconsin, 12:52

Overall female: Natalie Stone, Bessemer, 12:57

Runner-up female: Brandi Reed, Montreal, Wisconsin, 14:54

2-mile Age Groups

1-9 Male — 1. Wyatt Choronzy, Bessemer, 15:31; 2. Hudson Daniels, Colgate, Wisconsin, 19:28

1-9 Female — 1. Eliya Pairolero, East Lansing, 17:14; 2. Willow Daniels, Colgate, Wisconsin; 21:46

10-14 Male — 1. Drew Johnson of Bessemer, 14:16; 2. Judd Justinak of Ironwood, 14:23

10-14 Female — 1. Danika Spets, Weston, Wisconsin, 15:20; 2. Ashlyn Luther, Marshfield, Wisconsin, 26:21

15-19 Male — 1. Vincent Triggiano of Bessemer, 13:34; 2. Teddy Whittla-Sprague of Bessemer, 14:19

15-19 Female — 1. Keira Graham, Bessemer, 16:10; 2. Senya Caine, Pound, Wisconsin, 19:33

20-29 Male — 1. Cole Clements, Ironwood, 14:29; 2. Jess Mazzon, Port Orchard, Washington, 15:37

20-29 Female — 1. Paige Berwald, Ironwood, 18:48; 2. Emily DiGiorgio, Hurley, 19:06

30-39 Male — 1st Place: John Wilczewski, Bessemer, 15:02; 2. Ryan King, Bessemer, 15:20

30-39 Female — 1. Alyssa Miller, Duluth, Minnesota, 15:37; 2. Brooke Andjelich, Bessemer, 17:37

40-49 Male — 1. Scott Anchin, Arlington, Virginia, 15:34, 2. Thomas Richmond, Menominee Falls, Wisconsin, 16:13

40-49 Female — 1. Kathy Ruotsala, Ironwood, 15:45; 2. Jessica Danielson, Ironwood, 17:27

50-59 Male — 1. Don Peterson, Ironwood, 13:40; 2. Patrick Triggiano, Bessemer, 19:19

50-59 Female — 1. Careens Aijala, Hurley, 19:16; 2. Sheri Schmidt, Ironwood, 24:10

60-64 Male — 1. Tom Gjerde, Birchwood, Wisconsin, 0:37:19

60-64 Female — 1. Barb Adams, Bessemer, 27:13; 2. Laurie Kytola, Ironwood, 32:23

65-69 Male — 1. Bob Gribble, Madison, Wisconsin, 18:22; 2. Tom Richmond, Appleton, Wisconsin, 23:17

65-69 Female — 1. Susan Roberts, Bessemer, 30:32; 2. Teri Garvey, Appleton, Wisconsin, 30:42

70-74 Male — 1. Richard Miller, Naples, Florida, 30:31; 2. Jim Byrns, Ironwood, 49:41

70-74 Female — 1. Karen Burek, Am Arbor, 19:14; 2. Karen Byrns, Ironwood, 30:36

75-plus Male — 1. Richard LeBeau, Largo, Florida, 28:10; 2. Marty Celeski, Ironwood, 30:32

75-plus Female — 1. Carole Torreano, Largo, Florida, 25:20; 2. Felicia Santini, Hurley, 32:23

10K Run

Overall Male: Samuel Reade, Coeur Dalene, Idaho, 41:26

Runner Up Male: Dominic Beckman, Ironwood, 41:58

Overall Female: Abby Samardich, Bessemer, 47:11

Runner Up Female: Sabrina Spets, Weston, Wisconsin, 49:54

10K Age Groups

15-19 Female — 1. Serena Tauer, Bessemer, 1:03:42

20-29 Female — 1. Rachael Hendges, Ironwood, 1:04:18

30-39 Male — 1. Jordy Chiapuzio, Bessemer, 42:25; 2. Griffin Winkowski, Madison, Wisconsin, 45:53

30-39 Female — 1. Elizabeth Stempihar, Menominee, 55:28; 2. Carly Zwiazek, Ironwood, 56:12

40-49 Male — 1. Michael Riley, Wakefield, 49:49; 2. Thomas Ruppe, Ironwood, 55:42

40-49 Female — 1. Gabriella Kivi, Iron Belt, Wisconsin, 1:12:46

50-59 Male — 1. Jason Slining, Ironwood, 0:44:16, 2. Tim Somerville, Toronto, Ontario, 51:35

50-59 Female — 1. Susan Raykovich, Ironwood, 54:09; 2. Lori Flesvig, Valparaiso, Indiana, 58:06

60-64 Female — 1. Leah Nikula, Ironwood, 1:03:13; 2. Nancy Byrne, Ewen, 1:08:17

60-65 Male — 1. Neal Schroeter, Washburn, Wisconsin, 1:02:34

70-74 Male — 1. Ron Stempihar, Ann Arbor, 1:02:15

75-plus Male — 1. Francis Strong, Ironwood, 1:01:03