Bob Bezio captured the top spot by over a minute, cruising to a victory in the Northfield Road Race summer series event Thursday.
Bezio’s time of 20 minutes, 9 seconds put him atop the field in the 3.3-mile course.
Isaac Bingham was the runner-up in 21:19, despite the added challenge of pushing his son in a running stroller. Marcy Cabanas (21:46) took third overall and was the first female coming across the line.
Rounding out the top 10 were Eli Koester (fourth, 22:41), Robin McKeon (fifth, 26:00), Allison Kandel (sixth, 27:56), Anna Bingham (seventh, 28:02), Anthony Kandel (eight, 28:35), Laurie O’Brien (ninth,28:40) and Noah DeRuiter (10th, 28:48).
This week’s race theme was the “Race for Mediocrity,” with the runner who finished in the middle of the pack getting the grand prize. The average time of the 18 runners was 28 minutes, 2 seconds, making Anna Bingham the race-theme winner. The theme for next week is “Reverse Direction” and the runners will run the course in the opposite direction.
The race takes place every Thursday, beginning and ending at 105 Main Street in Northfield. Registration opens at 6 p.m. and the race start time is 6:30. For more information check on Facebook or contact Bob Emberley at rwemberley@gmail.com.
Montague Mug Race
The 37th annual Montague Mug Race is scheduled for Aug. 19, with the 5.5-mile road race “blasting” off at 8:30 a.m. from the Village Common.
Pewter Mugs are awarded to top male and female finishers, and coffee mugs will go to top finishers of each division. T-shirts are given to the first 90 runners. The course is well marked with plenty of water stops, and features a few challenging hills with a run along the Connecticut River.
Now in its 13th year, the Mini Mug Race will kick off at 8:35 a.m. This course measures two miles and is a great scenic route around the Old South Cemetery. Both races will finish at the ball field. All runners are entered into drawing for local prizes.
Registration forms are available at the YMCA, Body Shoppe, Montague Post Office and Parks & Recreation. Runners may also register by using runreg.com. Find it on the web: montaguemugrace.com. Proceeds will benefit Montague Old Home Days and the Fire Association. For more information, contact Ann Fisk at 367-2812 or shollow25@comcast.net.
Old Coach A 5K
Registration is underway for The Old Coach A 5K Run, intended to be a celebration of the coaching career of Southwick High School’s Dick Atkinson.
Coach A, a 1984 inductee into the Massachusetts State Track Coaches Association Hall of Fame, is a legend among runners in Western Massachusetts. During his 53-year tenure at Southwick he trained numerous WMass, State, and New England individual champions and earned numerous league and divisional team championships. Coach Atkinson is the founder of indoor track in the Pioneer Valley, a league which has grown to 27 teams. Proceeds from the race will be used to fund scholarships for runners and to promote youth running programs in Western Mass.
The race is scheduled for August 19 at 6 p.m. at Stanley Park in Westfield. Entry is $20 for adults through July 31 ($25 after) and $15 for high school students and younger. For more information or to sign up for the race, visit www.oldcoacha5k.com.
Greenfield Triathlon
Registrations continue for the 34th annual Greenfield Lightlife Triathlon at the Green River Swimming & Recreation Area on Aug. 6.
Anyone registering before Saturday saves $10.
To register go to www.greenfield-triathlon.com.
Softball
Co-Rec
Riff’s North outlasted Paddy’s Pub, 15-8, Thursday evening in a Co-Rec League slo-pitch softball game at Green River Field No. 1.
Morghan and Matt Orrell had big nights with two hits and three runs each while teammate Brian Sicard went 3-for-5 with a grand slam.
For Paddy’s, Josh Johnson spiked three hits. Chris Taggart added two and Liz Gagnon and Leanne Emond added one each.
Ashfield Ladies League
Cydnie Stetson captured low score of the morning as the Ashfield Community Golf Club Ladies League played a “Reverse your Score” for high and low scoring Thursday.
Stetson’s reverse score of 43 was a 34, giving her low honors.
High score was won by Connie Szelewicki with her score of 59, giving her a 95. Bev Williams won low putts for the regular round of golf with 12.
DRIVE Leagues
Melvin Moreno scored 18 points while teammate Tim Hoar dropped 16 as Taylor’s Tavern picked up an 81-77 win over Keene in a DRIVE Men’s League basketball game Wednesday at Pioneer Valley Regional School in Northfield.
Dave Sontag registered a game-high 22 points for Keene in the loss.
• Elsewhere, Ben Barshefsky poured in 41 points, and Jose Allen added 19 to send Team DRIVE to a 119-74 win over Functional Fitness.
Skylar Boyd (16 points) and Baylee Crawford (12) paced Functional Fitness.
• In other action, VT Nameless saw Troy Snell and Eric Pardee scored 18 points apiece en route to an 82-79 win over Snow & Son’s Landscaping.
Nick Serretta had a game-high 26 points for Snow & Son’s, which also received 17 points from Mat Sulda.
• In DRIVE boys’ varsity games, Northampton No. 2 used 13 points from Andy Grygorcewicz to upend Turners Falls, 68-46. Jimmy Vaughn scored 17 in the loss for Turners.
• Also, Henry Doherty notched 22 points to lift Northampton No. 1 past Keene, 78-68. Allen Smith scored 13 points for Keene.
• In other action at Pioneer, Logan Turner (12 points) and Twin Valley (Vt.) edged Hatfield, 53-52, despite 12 points from Jack Zigmont.
• In games played at Hopkins Academy, Zade Glover’s 19 points helped Easthampton to a 67-49 win over Frontier. Ben Litskoski scored 13 points to pace Frontier.
• Elsewhere, Belchertown’s Mitch Medina poured in 26 points as his team defeated Smith Voke, 79-43. Asiaha Smith had more than half of Smith Voke’s points, finishing with 23.
• Finally, 23 points from Mike Menard helped Pioneer to a 67-50 win over Hadley. Caleb Graves and Justin Ciaglo combined for 39 points for Hadley.
FC Hoop Clinic
The 20th annual Franklin County Hoop Clinic sponsored by DRIVE Hoops will take place from Monday through July 21 at Greenfield High School.
The clinic will run daily from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. and is open to boys and girls ages 6 through 14. Cost is $150 per participant and includes breakfast and lunch.
The clinic, which will be limited to the first 60 participants, will be run by Hopkins Academy boys’ varsity basketball coach Angelo Thomas and Greenfield High School girls’ varsity basketball coach John Hickey.
For more information contact Thomas at 824-6679.
PV pole vault school
The Pioneer Valley Pole Vault School in Bernardston is open by appointment for individual and group lessons through the fall with negotiable rates.
Lessons will be taught by Pioneer Valley Regional School track and Northfield Mount Hermon pole-vault coach Jim Bell, himself a Masters pole vaulter.
For more information, contact Bell at 413-648-8929.