TERRE HAUTE —
Despite previous attempts, Jayson Meyer of Indianapolis never knew how winning the Fast Track Mile men’s race felt.
On the other hand, TaPring Goatee had finished first in the annual Fourth of July women’s mile through downtown Terre Haute twice (2009 and 2010), but knee injuries kept her from seriously contending for the title in 2011.
On Wednesday morning, with temperatures rising from 73 to 79 degrees, Meyer and Goatee each pulled away at the end of their respective treks along Wabash Avenue to be crowned 2012 overall champions.
Heading east from Fourth Street after receiving permission to start from pistol-shooting Mayor Duke Bennett, the 29-year-old Meyer passed James Grounds for the lead near the Terre Haute Police Department headquarters. From there, he sped away from all competitors to cross the finish line on the northwest side of Gilbert Park in 4 minutes, 30.9 seconds.
Clayton Harlan earned second-place honors with a time of 4:39.3, while Grounds ended up fifth in 4:42.0.
“At the beginning, I was shooting for under 4:30,” Meyer said afterward. “I noticed I was a little behind [that pace] around the half [midway point], so I had to pick it up … After I took the lead, the finish line was in sight.”
A 2005 graduate of Indiana State University and a former runner for Seymour High School, Meyer has worked hard at the sport as an adult. “I haven’t taken a day off [from running] in about a thousand days,” he insisted.
Meyer said he competed in the 2012 Boston Marathon, placing 398th, and 2011 Chicago Marathon, placing in the top 200. In past Fast Track Miles, he finished eighth in 2011 (4:38.9) and 12th in 2009 (4:59.7).
He attributes his steady improvements to “a lot of distance.”
Later Wednesday, Goatee — who will be a senior at Terre Haute North High School in the fall — completed the women’s mile in 5:17.3 to defeat runner-up Hanna Mercer by almost seven seconds. Like Meyer, Goatee finished strong.
“When we started out, I thought I would use some [sun]glasses because the sun was beating down on us,” Goatee noted. “But that didn’t work, so I had to throw them to the curb. They were kinda making my vision blurry when I was running.”
Goatee, 18, said she caught up with Mercer for the lead “about three stop lights down” from the finish line, eventually passing the 21-year-old woman around 131⁄2 Street.
“I just kept on kicking because I thought she was on my tail catching up to me,” added Goatee, who placed 12th in the same race one year ago.
After accepting her third Fast Track Mile championship trophy in the last four years, Goatee reflected on the trifecta.
“It feels awesome,” admitted Goatee, who is considering Vincennes University to continue her education and athletic career in 2013.
Fast Track notes — Masters champions for runners 40 and older were Matthew Grady (4:57.2) in the men’s race and Kristy Lippencott (6:00.4) in the women’s race.
• Scholarship prizes went to former Terre Haute North runner Dustin Query (now at DePauw) for boys and recent South Vermillion graduate Caitlyn Waldrop (heading to Indiana in the fall) for girls.
• Team winners and runners-up in the middle school boys and middle school girls divisions were the same: Otter Creek “A” followed by Otter Creek “B.”
• Event director Dave Williams said a Fast Track Mile-record 528 runners/ walkers entered in 2012.
• Several people connected to the races mentioned that the highlight this year was no train delays. Trains affected some portion of the Fast Track Mile in 2011 and 2010.
• As usual, Fast Track Apparel served as primary sponsor for the event.
Fast Track Mile
Wednesday’s results
MALES
Top 50 — Jayson Meyer 4:30.9, Clayton Harlan 4:39.3, Dustin Query 4:39.6, Patrick Kippes 4:41.6, James Grounds 4:42.0, Justin Clapp 4:42.4, Nathan Moshes 4:43.8, Mike Morris Jr. 4:43.9, Nathan Kump 4:48.5, Andrew Kump 4:48.8.
Mark Bowman 4:50.7, Riley Stohler 4:51.6, Morgan Goetschel 4:54.6, Matthew Grady (top masters) 4:57.2, Kevin Shelby 5:01.2, Caleb Paauwe 5:01.9, Paul Clapp 5:02.8, Chase Cresgy 5:04.5, Travis Clapp 5:04.5, Dominic Fields 5:08.4.
Shawn Hapenny 5:15.0, Daniel Alexander 5:15.2, Cole Seward 5:17.4, Marcus Grady 5:18.0, Rick Davidson 5:19.8, Cameron Trout 5:20.1, Joe Mascari 5:21.7, Stephen Koos 5:22.0, Harry Chambers 5:23.8, Joshua Johnson 5:26.2.
Tyler Nemeth 5:26.3, Jay Farnsworth 5:27.7, Mark Achenbach 5:28.0, Sean Sluyter 5:29.4, Evan Poole 5:31.0, Jeff Kackley 5:32.0, Duane Evans 5:34.0, Jay Beddow 5:36.5, Kenneth Kauffman 5:37.4, Wei Hu 5:37.8.
Kristopher Fitzgerald 5:38.4, Jensen Kellett 5:39.0, Aaron Gadberry 5:39.2, Curt Phillips 5:39.4, Ryand Tucker 5:41.2, Lonnie Wiram 5:43.2, Grant Potts 5:43.7, Skyler Aguilar 5:44.8, Justin Johnson 5:46.6, Keith Crawford 5:47.4.
Age-group top fives
1-5 — Braeton Lambright 10:05, Sam Truxal 11:14, Braeden Chastain 11:32, Shaw Graf 12:34, Easton Fears 16:19.
6-9 — Ian Gadberry 6:50, Bryce Colbert 6:53, Jaden Wayt 6:54, Nolan White 7:17, Bobby Mickelson 7:32.
10-14 — Shawn Hapenny 5:15, Marcus Grady 5:18, Cameron Trout 5:20, Joe Mascari 5:21, Harry Chambers 5:23.
15-18 — Justin Clapp 4:42, Nathan Moshes 4:43, Nathan Kump 4:48, Andrew Kump 4:48, Riley Stohler 4:51.
19-24 — Clayton Harlan 4:39, Dustin Query 4:39, James Grounds 4:42, Morgan Goetschel 4:54, Kevin Shelby 5:01.
25-29 — Mark Bowman 4:50, Christopher Baumunk 6:21, Andrew Lumaye 6:24, Daniel Eaton 7:23, Ben Chastain 11:32.
30-34 — Patrick Kippes 4:41, Mike Morris Jr. 4:43, Kristopher Fitzgerald 5:38, Ryand Tucker 5:41, Keith Crawford 5:47.
35-39 — Wei Hu 5:37, Aaron Gadberry 5:39, Greg Burchyett 5:50, Ernest Holman 6:40, Dan Swaby 6:49.
40-44 — Rick Davidson 5:19, Tim Graham 6:34, Christopher Felts 7:01, Jay Etling 7:33, Larry Morris 8:17.
45-49 — Duane Evans 5:34, Kyle Andrews 5:47, Todd Carpenter 5:55, Rich Wathen 6:24, Sam Redenbarger 6:38.
50-54 — Paul Clapp 5:02, Mark Achenbach 5:28, Jeff Kackley 5:32, Larry Swart 6:28, Tim Foster 6:31.
55-59 — Curt Phillips 5:39, Patrick Dunigan 5:51, Marlon Query 6:07, Donald Richards 6:19, William Downs 7:05.
60-64 — Mike Morris 5:56, Patrick Voll 7:43, Tom Orman 8:34, Larry Fish 8:52, Mitchell Gresham 9:27.
65-69 — Paul Spinner 6:54, Charles Mundell 9:48.
70-99 — Jim Wilson 6:48, Keegan Morris 8:15, Robert Lemont 8:51, Chuck Bucher 9:30.
FEMALES
Top 50 — TaPring Goatee 5:17.3, Hanna Mercer 5:24.1, Nikki Thiede 5:32.5, Lindsay Welker 5:37.1, Katie Loebker 5:39.5, Hannah Bunch 5:50.1, Mallory Sanders 5:52.9, Sydney Dickerson 5:58.0, Emily Mercer 5:58.5, Keely Thompson 5:58.8.
Emily Cotterman 5:58.8, Kristy Lippencott (top masters) 6:00.4, Megan Howes 6:02.0, Menzie Maurer 6:08.3, Claire Loebker 6:09.7, Kiowa Burris 6:10.4, Samantha Thompson 6:10.8, Caitlyn Waldrop 6:11.4, Kaitlin Rooksberry 6:11.5, Anna Nagy 6:12.1.
Erin Buckallew 6:13.2, Kirsten Peterson 6:13.7, Nicole Howe 6:15.1, Katie Schmidt 6:15.2, Pamela Gresham 6:17.5, Keeliegh Stigall 6:17.9 Rachel Stephens 6:17.9, Brooklyn Shepherd 6:18.5, Rachel Overpeck 6:19.3, Katie Barton 6:20.4.
Bailey Hayes 6:20.5, Emily Thornton 6:20.6, Alicia Ford 6:21.7, Natalie Shanks 6:24.0, Shelby Sands 6:25.5, Heidi Mattick 6:25.9, Samantha Holmes 6:27.6, Kelsey Corr 6:31.4, Kourtney Johnson 6:35.1, Samantha Losier 6:35.4.
Susan Grady 6:38.0, Hannah Van Bever 6:38.9, Caroline Potter 6:41.1, Maddie Plant 6:43.7, Meaghan Etling 6:43.7, Addison Readinger 6:45.6, Zoe Trausch 6:47.6, Lauren Harris 6:47.7, Brooke Stateler 6:48.2, Corynn Christjansen 6:53.3.
Age-group top fives
1-5 — Hannah Gadberry 10:18, Rory Readinger 11:12, Kylie Morgan 11:30, Madilynn McDowell 11:54, Hadassah Lawhorn 12:25.
6-9 — Addison Readinger 6:45, Lilly Linneweber 7:31, Jolee Kellett 8:57, Delaney Trout 9:08, Arabella Lawhorn 9:29.
10-14 — Lindsay Welker 5:37, Hannah Bunch 5:50, Sydney Davidson 5:58, Keely Thompson 5:58, Claire Loebker 6:09.
15-18 — Nikki Thiede 5:32, Katie Loebker 5:39, Mallory Sanders 5:52, Emily Cotterman 5:58, Megan Howes 6:02.
19-24 — Hanna Mercer 5:24, Emily Mercer 5:58, Samantha Thompson 6:10, Caitlyn Waldrop 6:11, Shelby Sands 6:25.
25-29 — Sarah Boone-Pirtle 9:16, Jennifer Downing 10:38, Jennifer Whipple 11:25, Ashley Lowe 11:50, Heather Coddington 13:43.
30-34 — Alicia Ford 6:21, Ellie Caldwell 7:03, Jennifer Russell 7:30, Ann White 7:51, Majel Wells 7:53.
35-39 — Jill Turner 8:25, Amy Bennett 8:27, Melissa Boyer 8:38, Tonya Trout 9:33, Shala Ingle 12:34.
40-44 — Cathy Denny 7:18, Wendy Keith 7:20, Ann Malloy 7:45, Kaydel Mahurin 7:49, Janet Otte 8:06.
45-49 — Menzie Maurer 6:08, Susan Grady 6:38, Gretchen Etling 7:23, Lesa Evans 8:40, Toni Pilman 9:50.
50-54 — Julie Wright 7:00, Marianne Richter 7:04, Kelly Jedlicka 7:04, Genny Watson 10:27, Barbara Cook 11:08.
55-59 — Janice Vanvactor 7:21, Laura Swart 7:26, Kim Jackson 8:34, Jana McCulloch 9:29, Linda Morris 10:08.
60-64 — Diane Brown 7:47, Pat Waters 8:38, Marsha Buck 12:25, Kira Russell 13:05, Suzanne Hickey 17:39.
65-69 — Rachel Stephens 6:17, Nancy Malloy 14:33, Mary Auten 20:34.
70-99 — Phyllis Landes 13:35, Brooks Mueller 15:07.
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