A little rain was not enough to dampen the spirits of runners and organizers of the Fifth Annual Seal Beach Turkey Trot on Saturday in downtown Seal Beach. The event saw its largest turnout of competitors, with more than 2,000 people competing in the 5K, 10K or Gym Challenge events.
“This is our third time that we’re doing this and it’s been an absolute pleasure … I love it, it’s just a festive atmosphere,” Title Sponsor, First Financial Credit Union, President & CEO Nader Moghaddam said.
Jonathan Matcalfe of Harare, Zimbabwe was the top finisher in the 10K event, with a time of 34 minutes, 14 seconds. Right behind him, Seal Beach resident Moises Figueroa took second overall with a time of 34:18 and Emiliano Rodriguez was third in 36:41.
Local runners fared well in the event with Brian Rogers of Los Alamitos taking fifth overall with a time of 39:16 and Ray Jansma of Long Beach finishing seventh in 39:47. Brian Dublon of Huntington Beach finished sixth with a time of 40:52.
Seal Beach residents rolled in to sweep the 10th through 14th spots. In order, they were Eoin Crowley, Nick Musser, Jessie Varela and Garrett Sell. Varela, 31, was the second overall female finisher with a time of 43:54. Steven Holguin, 12, of Seal Beach, was the 32nd overall finisher and first in his age division.
The Legacy Gym Challenge took the 5K to another level with five different fitness stations along the way. Each station got increasingly more difficult with the first two requiring air squats and burpees. Station two was a bucket carry on a hill and a bear crawl. Station three required lunges and burpee broad jumps.
Station four increased to 30 air squats and 30 burpees and station five increased to 40 air squats and 40 burpees. Daniel Sorenson of Redondo Beach was the top finisher with a time of 21:12. He was followed by Alexander Gorney of Torrance and Nathaniel LaSalle of Long Beach.
Andy Chuquimia was the top Seal Beach resident, finishing fifth overall with a time of 24:30. Cameron Dorn of Waterloo, South Carolina was sixth, followed by Steve Bogucki of Long Beach and Zac Ernst of Seal Beach, who was eight overall in 26:08.
Samantha Hall of Seal Beach and Ellie Sherlock of Long Beach were the top female finishers with identical times of 28.34. The 21-year old was 16th overall. Kelly Tulay, 37, also of Seal Beach was the third overall female with a time of 29:11.
In the 5K event, Timothy Aukshunas, of Tustin was the top finisher with a time of 17:21. Brad Gomez, 17, of Paramount was the second finisher with a time of 17:57 and Mike Nava of Long Beach was third with a time of 18:10. Fifteen-year-old Landon Evans of Buena Park was the fourth overall finisher with a time of 18:20.
Cal Mingione, 36, of Seal Beach was the 15th overall finisher and second in his age division, with a time of 20:04. Lorenzo Tyner, 59, was 17th overall and first in his age division with at time of 20:27. Justin Silva of Seal Beach was 20th overall with a time of 20:45 and was fourth in his age division.
Azairah Banderas, 17, of Bellflower was 10th overall and the top female finisher, with a time of 19:35. Andi Aguilar of Aliso Viejo was the second female finisher with a time of 20:03Natalie Barton of Santa Clarita was the third female finisher with a time of 20:27.
