Schmidt leads women in Capaha run

The Jackson graduate was 19th overall among 106 runners in the 18th annual event.

Two months removed from a high school track district championship, Rachel Schmidt of Jackson found herself crossing the finish line first again Saturday.

Schmidt, who won a Class 4 district title in the 3,200 meters in mid-May to highlight her senior season, went a little bit longer distance Saturday and was the first woman across the finish line in the 18th annual Capaha Classic in Cape Girardeau.

She covered the 5-kilometer course in 22 minutes, 3 seconds and finished exactly one minute ahead of Adela Sams of Cape Girardeau. Sheila Haertling of Cape was third in the women's division in 23:12.

The event, which began and ended at Capaha Park, featured 106 runners in the 5K race and 19 in the children's one-mile run. It was sponsored by the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department.

Schmidt finished 19th overall in the field.

Jason Gantt of Murphysboro, Ill., captured first-place in the men's division with a time of 16:27, followed by Brad DeMattei of Centralia, Ill., at 16:52 and Cape's Brian Whitehead at 17:02.

Other area men who won divisions included John Kipper (19 and under, 17:18), Devon Barnes (30-39, 20:15), Jeff Connell (40-49, 22:13), Bob Zeller (50-54, 22:54) and Ron Duff (60 and over, 22:33), all from Cape Girardeau.

Jenn Pruellage of Jackson placed first in the 20-29 female age division at 27:58, and Scott City's Paula Castleman won the 40-49 division in 25:22.

Kamryn Johnson of Chaffee was the overall winner in the one-mile race with a time of 6:26, and Brianne Sanders claimed the girls overall title at 6:36.

Brennan Redinger of Cape won the 8-9 age division in 7:27 and Austin Shupert of Cape placed first in the 10-12 division at 6:35.

Area girls winners were Scott City's Rylie Gant (6-7, 7:28), Cape's Abby Shupert (8-9, 8:04) and Jackson's Kelly Litzelfelner (10-12, 6:41).

Run Around Town

Another running event in Cape Girardeau on Saturday morning, the Run Around Town, attracted 53 runners.

The event featured a team competition, which was won by Julie Wunderlich and Emily Scannell in a time of 23:13.

Shawn and Kate Patterson placed second in 23:49. Megan Hejlek and Ryan Roth teamed up for third place in 24:16.

The next event in the series is Oct. 1 in Jackson.