Dodge Park 3.1 Mile Run
Matt Fecht won the men's 5K in 15:57.

STERLING HEIGHTS (6/3/06) - Two students in the process of graduating - one from college, the other from high school - went to the head of the class at the Dodge Park 3.1-Mile Run, which was celebrating its own milestone: its 30th anniversary. Matt Fecht, who had just completed his final year at Wayne State University, and Sara Gerhardt, who was finishing her senior year at Lutheran High School North, ran away from the men's and women's fields.

Fecht won the men's 5K in 15:57, with Patrick Sarver (16:42) taking second and Eric Nowicki (17:11) third. Thomas Lentz (18:00) was the first masters finisher.

"I learned a lot in college," said Fecht, 22. "With with my track season over, I came here to see what I could do. The next major step for me is to try to qualify for the 2008 Olympics in the marathon."

Gerhardt's 20:02 put her far ahead of women's runner-up Wendy Zyburt (21:48). Carol Freilich (22:37) was masters winner.

"My time wasn't as good as I would have liked," said Gerhardt, 17, whose PR for the distance is 19:18. "It was OK, I guess. I wanted to break 20 minutes though."

Third-place finisher Carrie Burns (21:56) entered Dodge Park as defending champ. The Michigan State University sophomore-to-be competed for Sterling Heights Stevenson High School and had run against Gerhardt in the past.

"She looked great today, " Burns said. "I tried to keep up with her, but she got out too fast for me. I didn't want to kill myself early in the race. I ran the Boston Marathon a few weeks ago and I'm still recovering from that."

Race director Mike Kostrzeba, who has been involved with Dodge Park since it started in 1977, said about 250 runners/ walkers participated in the race. It was sponsored by the City of Sterling Heights Parks and Recreation Department, Sterling Heights Community Foundation, Trent Design and Hansons Running Shop. MR