By By Marty Stamper/The Meridian Star
April 8, 2001
UNION Ian Hajek of Meridian and Frannie Childs of Enterprise were the overall winners of the 14th-annual Laird 5K Run Saturday morning.
Hajek, 16, bested five-time Laird champion Mike Thrailkill by 13 seconds to win the annual run through the streets of Union.
Hajek crossed the finish line with a time of 17:29, while Thrailkill came in at 17:42.
Thrailkill, 37, was the defending champion and had also won here in 1992, 1995, 1997, and 1998.
Third place went to Stephen Kay (20:04).
Jim Quick (20:11) came in fourth followed by David Jeter (20:15), Tommy Espey (20:20), Wes Gilbert (20:27), and 1993 winner Maurice Malone (20:42).
Childs, 28, was the top female finisher. She came in at 22:28 and was 14th overall.
Saturday was her first Laird Run.
The second female finisher was 11-year-old Holly Corbitt with a time of 23:19.
Cora Eifert (23:49) was third followed by Karen Womack (24:00), Natalie Vance (25:05), Karie Woodall (25:16), Linda Glass (27:28), and Melanie Gilmore (27:33).
Larry Sykes took first place in the two-mile walk with a time of 19:23. Samuel Martin was second with a time of 19:56.
Curtis Fancher (20:30) placed third.
The first female two-miler to cross the finish line was Charlotte Dunehan with a time of 24:31. Lydia Dunn came in second, turning in a time of 24:52.
Renee Adkins and Geneane McDonald both had times of 28:20.
Eighteen walkers competed in the event. The oldest walker was 93-year-old J.P. Joyner who had a time of 29:22.
Marty Stamper is a sports writer for The Meridian Star. E-mail him at mstamper@themeridianstar.com.