Quaker Valley junior River Capek created, planned and directed the 2024 Fall Fest 5K fun run/walk race in Leetsdale as his self-development school project.
Things went well at the Oct. 13 event at Quaker Valley High School, the 16-year-old Capek said.
“Things went fantastically well,” Capek said. “We were a little concerned with the weather at the beginning of the race, but it cleared up and ended up being a beautiful day.
“We had a lot of Quaker Valley athletes across all the schools that competed in the race and were supported with a lot of Quaker Valley volunteers.”
All five of the leading runners — Chad Kosanovich, Ralph Courtemache, James Irwin, Connor Sheridan and Henry Howard — live in Sewickley.
Kosanovich, 33, took first place in 17:15 and was joined on the leaderboard by Courtemache, 51, at 18:29.
Irwin, 15, Sheridan, 15, and Howard, 14, finished third through fifth with times of 19:16, 19:22 and 19:26.
The female division was highlighted by the performance of a pair of 12-year-old girls, Ellie Green of Pittsburgh and Marley Schollaert from Sewickley.
Green captured first place thanks to a 21:44 time; Schoellaert placed second in 23:56. Green also finished ninth overall.
Rounding out the first five among female contestants were Brittany Mosi, 33, of Pittsburgh, Caraline Miller, 24, of Sewickley, and Olivia Chapman, 12, also from Sewickley with times of 25:22, 25:57 and 26:15.
Green was the female titlist in the 12-and-under age group. Julia Savage, 13, of Sewickley in the 13-18, Mosi in 19-39 and Suzanne Currier, 49, of Sewickley in the 40-plus category.
Savage and Currier posted times of 27:44 and 26:35 respectively.
David Chapman, 11, of Sewickley was the winner in the male 12-and-under age group as he crossed the finish line at the 23:08 mark. Irwin took first in the 13-18 group; Kosanovich was the 19-39 champion.
Ralph Courtemanche, 51, of Sewickley locked in on the top spot among 40-plus runners with a time of 18:29.
The Fall Fest 5K was held to benefit Quaker Valley’s highly successful track and field program, supplying funds for uniforms, updated equipment and other fundamental items.
“I started planning this event midsummer, but it has been something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time,” Capek said prior to the race. “This is both a high school project for me and a fundraiser for our track and field team boosters.
“We hope to make this an annual Fall Fest event that our community looks forward to each year. And I’m hoping that by running this event, we can give our team the resources that we need.”
Support for the race was provided by several local residents, including QV coaches Ryan Kelly, Ron Graf, Jared and Laura Jones, John Doucette and Jesse Montagnese, along with QV high school principal Deborah Riccobelli, athletic director Mike Mastroianni and teachers Nina Strelec (art), Kayla Marasia (English) and Cathy Muraco (history).
“We also had the support of the QV Key Club to help us with volunteers. Mrs. Muraco is the sponsor of this club,” Capek said.
Leetsdale borough council president Maria Napolitano also supported the event, as did police chief Daniel Raible. Matt Imhof was in charge of timing.
QV high school athletes who participated included junior Corben Hopkins, freshman Damien McClay, sophomores Rose Pocasangre, Brody Holles, Maggie Doz, Gio Ramella, Jonah Montagnese, Katherine Steinfurth and Irwin, juniors Kendra Hines and Finn Musial and QV coaches Jared Jones (track and field) and Sean Ryan (boys soccer).
Irwin was the Quakers’ pacesetter for McClay (21:42), Musial (22:43), Ramello (23:08) and Montagnese (23:28).
The four QV girls ran in a bunch as Pocasangre, Doz and Steinfurth crossed the finish line in 38:34 and Himes in 38:35.
A trio of runners — Allison, Virginia and Jackson Tasso — who recently moved from Norfolk, Va. to Sewickley also participated in the race.
There were 99 race registrants. The majority — 77 — were listed as Sewickley residents. Plus, there were two runners from Leetsdale, three from Ambridge and four from Crescent.