Nearly 700 participants refused to let cold weather deter them from completing the course at the 31st annual American Martyrs School 5K Run/Walk held Saturday morning after a night of rain and chilly temperatures.
Although the usually fast and challenging 3.1-mile course through the Manhattan Beach Tree Section was damp, the sun shone bright as Kristoffer Chacon, 23, of Lomita completed the race in 17 minutes, 59 seconds to win the race. Chacon’s time was just over 30 seconds above Jose Arias’ winning time in 2010.
Although it took John Haberstroh 15 more seconds to finish the race this year, the 22-year-old Gardena resident moved up one slot from third to second place with a time of 18:34. David Ruiz, 20, placed third with a mark of 19:17.
 Lauren Tyree, 27, was the first female to cross the finish line with a time of 19:49 which placed her as the 5th overall finisher.
Manhattan Beach runner Liane Teplitsky, 35, placed second and 8th overall with a mark of 20:29, beating out Gwendolyn Ostrosky, 29, of Santa Monica who placed third and 16th overall at 22:11.
The family-oriented event continued to produce a community atmosphere with medals awarded to the top three finishers in each age group and cash prizes given to top overall male and female runners. An awards ceremony and continental breakfast was held after the race.
Top male runners in their age groups were: Joe Cesarb (Darien, 1-6, 30:40), John Belardi (Manhattan Beach, 7-8, 23:57), Ethan Stauber (Manhattan Beach, 9-10, 21:20), Shane Mahon (Manhattan Beach, 11-12, 20:40), Victor Flores (Redondo Beach, 13-14, 20:14), Nick Rigler (Manhattan Beach, 15-16, 22:36), Ryan Sharp (17-18, 22:14), Jason Holman (Hermosa Beach, 25-29, 22:08), Joe Rummel (30-34, 19:32), Eric Kutsenda (35-39, 19:56), Brad Gosser (Manhattan Beach, 40-44, 20:35), Roger Zino (Redondo Beach, 45-49, 22:56), Jim Newman (Manhattan Beach, 50-54, 21:21), Scott Delanty (Manhattan Beach, 55-59, 23:33), Peter Joyce (Manhattan Beach, 60-64, 23:28), Preston Prouty (65-69, 43:54) and Jerry Hackett (Redondo Beach, 70-99, 23:54).
Females taking home first-place medals from their respective age divisions were: Kelly Belardi (Manhattan Beach, 1-6, 26:15), Sara Murray (Manhattan Beach, 7-8, 30:39), Claire Mahon (Manhattan Beach, 9-10, 24:57), Anna Murray (Manhattan Beach, 11-12, 25:36), Madison Evans (Los Angeles, 13-14, 25:16), Jessica Turkmany (Manhattan Beach, 15-16, 25:05), Natalie Camacho (17-18, 51:31), Berkley Boyd (Manhattan Beach, 19-24, 29:02), Laura Rectenwald (Manhattan Beach, 25-29, 22:50), Kathy Flores (Redondo Beach, 30-34, 23:41), Jane Dorn (35-39, 25:07), Heather Mason (Redondo Beach, 40-44, 25:53), Sue Rigler (Manhattan Beach, 45-49, 22:38), Rosemary Henderson (50-54, 24:30), Georgette Gantner (Redondo Beach, 55-59, 28:35), Joan Lesage (Manhattan Beach, 60-64, 37:15), Corrine Schratz (Hermosa Beach, 65-69, 36:04) and Judy Petroni (Hermosa Beach, 70-99, 58:21). ER
