Johnny Sayle, Katherine Byrne top charts in Captains Grand Slam 5K
Jul. 3—Johnny Sayle has grown used to the layout of the Captains Grand Slam 5K course, as the Kirtland alumni crossed the line first for the second year in a row on July 3. Once the race started, Sayle never looked back. As he entered the stadium behind center field, he had put a 14-second gap between himself and second place.
The former Hornet crossed the line in 15 minutes, 15 seconds to claim the top spot with a pace of 4:54 per mile. Sayle set a fast pace, believing nobody in the field was going to match it.
"It was rough to keep the pace I was running, I haven't done a lot of workouts or races this year," said Sayle. "I got out there and was pretty surprised with how comfortable I was. It was some close running for a while but I was glad to be able to pull away coming down the stretch. I was a little worried with about a mile to go. But I decided to start a push early and it worked out in my favor."
In his second time in the event, Sayle had an air of confidence in large part thanks to his familiarity with the course. He improved on his time last year by 52 seconds (16:07).
That familiarity paid dividends, as he mentioned, in the last mile. With three runners close to him, his experience with the course allowed him to pull ahead in the final leg to enter the stadium alone as he crossed the finish line.
He set a blistering pace (4:54 per mile). Here are Johnny Sayle's thoughts after he crossed the line first in the Captain's Grand Slam 5K @kirtlandsports @KirtlandCCTF @NHPreps pic.twitter.com/lEQuwPF2Oc
— Ben Hercik (@BHercikNH) July 3, 2022
"It was nice because I had an idea of how far away we were from the finish line this time around," said Sayle. "After you hit the two-mile marker it's hard to tell how far away you really are from the finish. But after having run the race last year I now knew where the stadium was and how much more I needed to push to get to the end."
The top three on the men's side was rounded out by Georgia Tech sophomore Alex Thomas with a 15:29 and recent South graduate James Johnson at a 16:32.
While a Georgia Tech runner was second in the men's race, a Yellow Jacket topped the charts on the women's side. Freshman Katherine Byrne was the first woman to cross the finish line with her time of 18:56. She finished 10th overall.
Byrne has been shadowing a pediatric surgeon who works for Cleveland Clinic, and her teammate Thomas brought the race to her attention. She led from the start and as the race progressed, she saw that the course fit her style of racing.
Katherine Byrne of @GT_trackNfield finished 10th overall and first in the women's race. Here are her thought on the course and her result @NHPreps pic.twitter.com/kBP5PfV4S9
— Ben Hercik (@BHercikNH) July 3, 2022
"I thought that the course was relatively flat, but for me that's a good thing," said Byrne. "Hills are a challenge for me. I thought that having the layout that it did plays an advantage to my style of running and allowed for a good time for myself."
The race was also in favorable conditions for the middle of summer — low humidity, sunny and the temperature rising to 81 degrees by the end of the race. Byrne said that also played to her advantage. The New Jersey native said that while the course played to her advantage, the conditions were the icing on the cake.
"Conditions wise it was pretty good other than the sun beaming down on you," said Byrne. "The breeze was nice and the road was smooth, I wasn't sure what to expect for the first time on the course but it was a good layout."
Former Hawken boys cross country coach Jessica Lariccia (20:56) and Mentor alumni Maddie Hull (21:32) finished second and third respectively on the women's side.
PHOTOS: Captains Grand Slam 5K, July 3, 2022
