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Sports

Wyandotte Teen Wins Women's Title in Charity Race

Cara Smock adds to her long list of running titles with a win in the Portofino event on Saturday.

Cara Smock, a standout long-distance runner at , added another title to her trophy case over the weekend.

The 17-year-old was the fastest female in the annual Portofino Run for the Arts, held Saturday in conjunction with the .

Smock, a 2011 Roosevelt graduate, finished the 5K run in 20 minutes, 12.6 seconds. A past , Smock finished first in the Downriver League high school cross country meet last October, won the league 1,600- and 3,200-meter titles in track and field in May and is the two-mile record holder at Roosevelt. She also competed in the state meet.

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On Saturday morning, Smock’s pace of 6:31 a mile in the Portofino run was good for 15th overall among the 300 competitors. Her closest female competitor was 19-year-old Syracuse, N.Y., runner Kate Powers, who finished 24 seconds behind.

Paul Aufdemberge, 46, of Redford, was the overall fastest runner in 17:24. Tom Yates, 49, of New Boston, finished second overall in 17:48.5 and was the overall male masters winner.

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Laura Maslar, 53, of Grosse Ile, was the overall female masters winner in 21:13.3.

The run starts at on Biddle, takes athletes along the Detroit River and through downtown Wyandotte. A portion of the proceeds benefited the Roosevelt High School hockey team.

Smock wasn’t the only champion from Wyandotte. Five other Wyandotte runners won in their age groups, as well:

  • Dennis Hickey, 31, won the men’s 30 to 34 age group in 21:54.4.
  • Melissa Armatis, 38, was fastest among women 35 to 39 in 21:00.1.
  • Pina Finazzo, 45, won the women’s 45-49 group in 24:31.8.
  • Alice Stanko, 57, finished first among women 55 to 59 in 28:47.
  • Mike McMahon, 59, placed ahead of other males 55 to 59 in 27:38.0.

Medals were presented to the top male and female overall and masters winners and to the top three finishers in each age group. All competitors received tech running shirts.

The 5K race and walk and free half-mile kids’ rock fun run were managed by Everal Race Management of Taylor. Sponsors included Portofino, Total Runner and Eastown Distributors.

Here are the leaders among males, females and runners from Wyandotte:

PORTOFINO RUN FOR THE ARTS

TOP 20 MEN

  1. Paul Aufdemberge, Age 46, Redford, 17:24.0
  2. Tom Yates, 49, New Boston, 17:48.5
  3. Andrew Hill, 19, Lincoln Park, 18:43.9
  4. Sean Nowak, 16, Trenton, 18:48.7
  5. Dylan Garcia, 14, New Boston, 18:53.0
  6. Jerry Hand, 15, Riverview, 18:54.1
  7. Wayne Dutton, 40, Trenton, 19:05.2
  8. Michael Bozenski, 51, Grosse Ile, 19:08.4
  9. Samuel Parks, 17, New Boston, 19:16.0
  10. Jake Coulter, 14, Wyandotte 19:19.9
  11. Jonathon Rutkowski, 16, Brownstown, 19:42.3
  12. Chris Serement, 20, Grosse Ile, 19:42.5
  13. David Wilson, 44, Grosse Ile, 19:46.1
  14. Hassan Irani, 44, Dearborn Heights, 19:57.9
  15. Ron Buchanan, 52, Royal Oak, 20:35.4
  16. Michael Nowak, 19, Trenton, 20:36.3
  17. Paul Deladurantaye, 65, Southgate, 20:39.9
  18. Kelsan Orr, 20, Rochester Hills, 20:58.6
  19. Tim Laporte, 64, Trenton, 21:03.7
  20. Neil Keller, 50, Grosse Ile, 21:32.9

TOP 20 WOMEN

  1. Cara Smock, Age 17, Wyandotte, 20:12.6
  2. Kate Powers, 19, Syracuse, NY, 20:36.5
  3. Melissa Armatis, 38, Wyandotte, 21:00.1
  4. Laura Maslar, 53, Grosse Ile, 21:13.3
  5. Lillian Hill, 15, Lincoln Park, 21:22.0
  6. Denise Kopp, 43, Grosse Ile, 21:31.9
  7. Sarah Townsend, 33, Taylor, 21:48.7
  8. Megan McLellan, 15, Allen Park, 21:51.7
  9. Stefanie Heyser, 23, Holland, 22:44.7
  10. Sabine Thurston, 44, Livonia, 22:50.1
  11. Donna Olson, 61, Southgate, 22:59.0
  12. Lauren Fletcher, 25, Trenton, 23:06.1
  13. Angelica Arriola, 17, Canton 23:12.6
  14. Nancy Melville, 43, Romulus, 23:26.8
  15. Nancy Damm, 44, Ann Arbor, 23:31.5
  16. Jenny Ballard, 39, Wyandotte, 23:32.3
  17. Audrey Hunter, 35, Riverview, 24:21.0
  18. Linda Raithel, 52, Grosse Ile, 24:25.6
  19. Pina Finazzo, 45, Wyandotte, 24:31.8
  20. Shannon Dusute, 18, Grosse Ile, 24:50.7

TOP 20 WYANDOTTE RUNNERS

  1. Jake Coulter, Age 14, 19:19.9
  2. Cara Smock, 17, 20:12.6
  3. Melissa Armatis, 38, 21:00.1
  4. Dennis Hickey, 31, 21:54.4
  5. Zachary Stempien, 14, 22:33.8
  6. Michael Look, 14, 22:59.2
  7. Drake Davis, 17, 23:04.0
  8. Jenny Ballard, 39, 23:32.3
  9. Dave Mitsch, 45, 24:12.8
  10. Tom Stacho, 42, 24:15.8
  11. Pina Finazzo, 45, 24:31.8
  12. Brandon Barber, 35, 24:46.1
  13. Edward Sliwka, 39, 24:52.7
  14. Heather Sandlin, 37, 25:07.5
  15. Valari Ambrose, 44, 25:14.7
  16. Jamy Mazure, 31, 25:20.7
  17. Julie Lilienthal, 28, 25:22.2
  18. Jeanne Johnson, 51, 25:52.9
  19. Michaelyn Zalewski, 38, 27:05.3
  20. Dave Kadlitz, 41, 27:15.9

For complete results, visit RunMichigan.

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