You missed a good day on the creek!
Rain held registration up a little but cleared off an we were able to start the race on time. Started the Stwalley Short Race (4 mile) at 1:20 and had 6 participants. Bob Stwalley’s granddaughter Elizabeth Stwalley and friend Quinn Burns won with a finishing time of 45 minutes and 40 sec. Last years winning time was around 1 he 30 min. The creek was moving pretty good so didn’t take long! Second place, Shelbie Woodall, finished with time of 48 min 56 sec. Third place, Brian Leach finished 49 min 10 sec with fourth place going to Mike Fons and his daughter at 52 min 41 sec. Mikes daughter Julie Fons was a first timer on the creek so she did very well! And like her father is now a lover of our beautiful Sugar Creek.
The 15 mile race started around 1:30 pm. In the professional category, first place went to Matt Conrad in his sea kayak, with a finishing time of 2 hours 24 min 37 sec. Bill Kanost finished second in his one man canoe with a time of 2 hr 24 min 40 sec. Pretty exciting finish for Matt and Bill! Third place professional went to Terry Pontius and Craig Skeet in their 2 man canoe with finishing time of 2 hr 26 min 36 sec. Fourth place was George Tinsley and Hilman Culp, in their 2 man aluminum canoe, with finishing time of 2 hr 46 min 31 sec.
In the 15 mile recreational, first place went to Tracy Mobly and Aaron Cravens with a finishing time of 4 hr 3 min 21 sec. Second and Third place, Michelle Redmon and Carla McCandless finished head to head in their Kayaks with a time of 4 hr 36 min.
And of course we can’t fail to mention the Emergency Management CERT team of Brian and Brandon that canoed the entire 15 miles sweeping to make sure all paddlers were accounted for and staying safe.
Over all the race went great with no serious incidents, injuries, or drop outs! The only mishap was when Bill Kanost paddled past the 4 mile point in 32 min ahead of the pack then became tangled in some trees just past the 4 mile point. Thankfully he was able to get back on track with some help from one of the CERT volunteers. However he dumped his water supply and was figuring on finishing the last 11 miles without water. Once again the CERT team came to the rescue and lowered him some water from the bridge at the next check point.
Friends of Sugar Creek and the Visitors Bureau would like to thank everyone that attended the race, volunteered, paddled or cheered paddlers on! We love our community and the Gem we have in Sugar Creek!
Cindy Woodall
Friends of Sugar Creek
Executive Director
