Yoga enthusiast Ann Mazur of Charlottesville, Virginia climbed first place in the women’s class of the 38th annual Brentwood Firecracker 5K Run, held on July 4th on Brownsville Road.
Mazur, 35, won it with an 18:35 performance ahead of Gina Bolla, 18, from Whitehall, and Lenna Birchard, 12, from Pittsburgh, who finished second and third in 19:16 and 20:19 respectively.
It was the second win for Mazur, a graduate of Notre Dame and Seton LaSalle, at the Christmas party. She stormed to a decisive victory in 2017 and finished the rolling course in 7:08 pm.
“I do a lot of yoga to complement my training,” says Mazur. “I’ve been running since college and started my own yoga business for runners.”
Mazur, who received his PhD in English Literature in Virginia, grew up in a large sports family in Robinson Township.
Her sister Jill was a diver in Notre Dame; her brother Mark played baseball with Emory. Another brother, Dan, was the captain of the men’s swimming and cross-country skiing teams at Rollins College.
Her father was a baseball player at Harvard and her mother was a gymnast in West Virginia.
The Brentwood Firecracker 5K takes place annually on July 4th. It took place practically last summer due to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic and this time it was limited in the number of registered attendees.
In 2021 there were two new co-race directors, Taylor Lee and Steve Evans, while the race committee members Jeanne Berk, Pat Cunningham, Tina Famiglietti, Kira Kellner, Mary Lou Nees, Alicia Reece, Laura Wenger and Rich Wright as well as a number of other local ones Volunteers who will be assisted with the planning.
“The race was great to see. It was small but nice, ”said Wright, a long-time pillar in the racing community. “It was great to see the runners again in Brownsville and it was great to see so many people, young and old. The field had many of the best high school and college runners.
“Brentwood is a great community with great people running it. We had great support from the police, fire brigade and EMS. And hats off to all competitors. It was a great day of racing and it was a great weekend for Brentwood. On Sunday there was a fantastic fireworks display and fire engines that the children visited. ”
Waiter used to be the 5K race director. After moving to Florida, she resigned from this position but was still able to help out this year.
“We think it’s great that this race not only attracts so many runners from the region, but also from all over the country,” said Kellner after a previous race. “We try to make Brentwood stand out in every aspect of this race and love to celebrate our neighbors with their own division.
“Our favorite part of this race is seeing the runners who come back every year.”
Bolla is a Baldwin 2021 graduate who lives almost within calling distance of the race. Your family lives only half a mile from the 5K launch area.
The Whitehall teenager reduced her personal best at this year’s event by more than a minute from 8:27 p.m. to 7:16 p.m.
“The race was definitely smaller than in the past,” said Bolla. “Because I decided to race at the last minute, I never really thought about whether I would place or not.
“The weather was very hot, typically like every 4th of July. It’s always fun to see other runners and old friends, and the atmosphere was still the typical energetic 5K like any other year. ”
A cross country, indoor, and outdoor track and field athlete in high school, Bolla was the first Baldwin girl to win a state medal in cross country since Carole Zajac ranked fifth, first, and first place between 1987-89.
Wright, who trains at Baldwin, was delighted with Bolla’s performance in the race and at Hershey in the state finals.
“Gina has always been a bright spot on our program,” said Wright. “She worked so hard. She worked harder, longer, and reached a level that few achieve. Coaching you is a dream. She never complains. ”
Bolla plans to visit Duquesne where she will compete in cross-country and track while studying speech and language pathology in the Health Sciences Department.
“I really like the Department of Health’s programs,” said Bolla. “My Baldwin cross-country years have been very bittersweet. I have had the pleasure of running with some of the best talent at the WPIAL and have made many lasting friends.
“It is very difficult to leave my teammates and an excellent team of coaches who have looked after me since I was in high school.”
Tessa Franchi, 22, (20:20), Laura Ehrenberger, 22, (20:20), Jessica Horvath, 34, (20:30), Lydia Rhodes, 16. rounded off the list of top 10 runners at Firecracker, (20:30), Elizabeth White, 17, (20:56), Lena Barakat, 18, (21:05) and Kari King, 48, (21:45 ).
Barakat, a senior at Baldwin in 2020-21, was the 800m champion in the WPIAL class AAA athletics final in the spring. She was also a WPIAL medalist in the 3,200 season, along with Bolla, sophomore Rebekah Priano, and freshman McKenzie Hirt.
Barakat plans to visit Chatham to study sustainability on a course for a veterinary school.
In terms of the male division of the firecracker, it was dramatic. In fact, the battle for first turned out to be one of the closest in racing history.
Jacob Halasowski, 24, from Pittsburgh defeated 15-year-old Ryan Pajak from near Eighty Four and won by almost two seconds from 15:42 to 15:44.
“The two winners, Jacob and Ann, are great runners and have kept the Firecracker story of attracting talented runners, with Ann being from Virginia,” said Wright. “Jacob and Ann really show that we have always had great talent. Your winning times have been good for every year. ”
Halasowski, Pajak and Eli Anish, 19, (15:59), took first, second and third place in the men’s category and were the only competitors to break the 16-minute mark.
“Both runners-up (Pajak and Bolla) are great athletes,” said Wright. “It was just great to see the race back.”
Other top 10 runners were John Mihalek, 26, (16:40), Tyler Paszkowski, 17, (17:12), Al Lindstrom, 22, (17:38), Steve Spang, 35, (17:40) , Connor Downs, 18, (17:41), Eric Anish, 52, (17:44) and Neil Christopher, 26, (17:51).
Anish, 52, and King, 48, won the master class championships. Anish (50-54) also finished first in his age group and finished ninth overall. King (45-49) also secured the top spot in their age group.
Anish is a doctor and sports medic at UPMC and a team doctor at Duquesne University. He has served as a volunteer in the Olympics and Pan-Am Games.
Ray Fisher is a freelance writer.
