<

►

>

Jeffrey Smolinski has the finish line in his sight as he completes the 10K race of the Manawa Stampede July 3 in Manawa. Smolinski, who graduated from New London High School and now competes on the cross country and track teams at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, turned in the second-fastest time in the 10K race. The event, which also included a 5K run, is a fundraiser for the Little Wolf River Trail. Greg Seubert Photo

Manawa event draws 130 runners, walkers

By Greg Seubert

The Mid-Western Rodeo wasn’t the only show in town over the Fourth of July weekend.

More than 130 runners and walkers showed up July 3 at Lindsay Park in Manawa for the Manawa Stampede, a fundraiser for the Little Wolf River Trail system.

COVID-19 concerns caused organizers to cancel last year’s event, which includes 5K and 10K races on the trail.

“Even though we had to make changes to the courses because of high water on a big portion of the trail, all went well,” organizer Ann Wade said, “We had wonderful weather, a great DJ (Robert Zache) and our returning chip timing guy.”

Top-10 finishers and their times for each race

5K Female: 1. Ashley Spatz (21:20.08), 2. Katelyn Hoffman (23:08.39), 3. Marilyn Klatt (24:25.78), 4. Sheryl Goin (24:32.53), 5. Elizbeth Stevens (24:43.07), 6. Darla Pingel (26:03.93), 7. Haley Reierson (26:09.8), 8. Lili Klatt (26:29.44), 9. Laurel Fox (26:49.02), 10. Meghan Fox (26:56.59),

5K Male: 1. Ashton Arnold (16:15.99), 2. Aaron Haley (18:54.97), 3. RJ Lyman (20:52.63), 4. Ricky Pingel (21:15.69), 5. Keither Jepson (21:38.86), 6. Corey Splittgerber (21:39.31), 7. Randy Goin (21:46.73), 8. Ivan Castrejon (24:03.69), 9. Logan Hass (26:18.88), 10. Eric Filtz (26:29.31).

10K Female: 1. Holly-Rae van Hoof (43:34.53), 2. Sierra Schonscheck (48:39.12), 3. Nancy Gehrke (50:07.3), 4. Hazel Thompson (52:25.55), 5. Jolie Jaeger (52:42.59), 6. Kathy Hughes (54:52.48), 7. Elizabeth Mayer (55:04.46), 8. Ashlie Patzer (55:51.62), 9. Kayla Klemp (57:02.18), 10. Chloe Johnson (57:08.97).

10K Male: 1. Tyler Hass (37:06.92), 2. Jeffrey Smolinski (37:40.24), 3. Mike Nruska (39:13.23), 4. James Lanning (42:49.09), 5. Jimmy Watkins (45:41.27), 6. Matt Diestler (48:07.27), 7. Jacob Mayer (48:28.66), 8. David Schonscheck (48:36.88). 9. Ryan Larson (49:55.76), 10. Zach Geiger (51:56.3).

Complete results can be found at adesports.com.

Wade said organizers wrestled with the idea of bringing the event back this year.

“It wasn’t easy for the Little Wolf River Trail Committee to make the decision to start the event back up for 2021 while others were not,” she said.

The committee relies on the Stampede for funds to improve and maintain the trail, which is open to walking and biking throughout the city of Manawa and into the adjacent town of Little Wolf.

“Covid hit us all,” Wade said. “Organizations like ours rely on events to fund our projects. Now, it’s time to get busy, build our funds back up and get to work.”