Standing, l-r, are Michael DeMato, Cyrus Lesko, Joshua Ilnicki, and Brandy Hudson. Kneeling, l-r, are Erik Wagner, Jake Branham, Erik Koontz, and Dong Eun "Amy" Go. A.J. Sullivan is center in the red shirt.
The inaugural Battlefield Half held at Kernstown on Saturday, November 8, 2014, featured a half-marathon, a relay, and a kids’ two-mile run. Ten Randolph-Macon Academy students and staff members braved the cold weather to participate in the events.
The R-MA teams dominated the relay, in which four people each ran 3.28 miles of the 13.1 mile race. Due to a few runners being unable to attend, R-MA Cross Country Coach Joshua Ilnicki had to re-structure the two entries. Team Branham consisted of Ilnicki, Jake Branham ’16, and Erik Koontz ’15, with Ilnicki running two legs of the four-part relay. They took first in the men’s division and first place overall, with a time of 1:23:25. The second R-MA team consisted of R-MA Assistant Cross Country Coach Michael Anderson, Cyrus Lesko ’18, Erik Wagner ’18, and Dong Eun “Amy” Go ’17. The group was accidentally marked as an entry in the all-male relay and managed to take second in that division and second place overall. With a time of 1:46:21, had they been correctly entered in the co-ed division, they would have won that division, as the winning time came in at 1:46:24.
In addition to the relay teams, which were sponsored by Michael Branham P’16, Assistant Athletic Director Brandy Hudson and Chorus Director Michael DeMato participated in the half-marathon, and A.J. Sullivan ’20 ran in the Kids 2-Mile. Hudson ran the race in 1:46:39, placing 106th overall and taking fifth in her division (females 40-44). DeMato also took fifth in his respective division (males 30-34), coming in 56th overall with a time of 1:39:45. Sullivan placed sixth in his division (males 11-12), 39th overall, with a time of 17:32. Afterwards, the group enjoyed breakfast and relaxed at the Branhams’ house.
Randolph-Macon Academy (R-MA), founded in 1892, is a college-preparatory, coeducational day and boarding school for students in grades 6 through 12. Students in grades 9-12 participate in R-MA’s 91st Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) and have the option to participate in a flight program. R-MA is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and is located in Front Royal, VA.
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