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Athletes of the Week July 12

July 12, 2019
Nick Garrett

Nick just graduated from Tatnall, where he ran cross country and track. He will be headed to Winthrop University in South Carolina in the fall, where he will join the cross country and track teams of coach Ben Paxton. Nick ran 16:19 to place second in the Red, White and Blue 5K July 4. Last fall, he placed third out of 160 senior boys with a time of 16:14 for the 5,000-meter course at the White Clay Invitational in Newark. Nick was on the 2018 Tatnall cross country team that won the Division II state title for the 10th year in a row. Nick placed third in the 2018 cross country state meet with a time of 16:54 behind Connor Nesbet (16:12) and Austen Cave (16:23). 

Sarah McShane

A 25-year-old medical school student at the University for North Carolina, Sarah was the first woman finisher at the Kelly Fritchman 5K July 6, running 20:01. “I ran a 5:20 mile for James Madison High School before going to North Carolina,” Sarah said. “I wasn’t good enough to make their team, but I did run club level all four years and loved it.” Sarah was asked if she was a high-achieving, high-anxiety distance runner who is on her way to perhaps being an OB/GYN. She smiled and said, “No, I’m pretty much happy all of the time.” Sarah ran in the low 19s while running cross country at James Madison High. 

Matt Wagoner

The 42-year-old veteran runner looked “runnerish” stroking striders down Dagsworthy Avenue prior to the Dewey Beach Liquors 5K July 7. The former runner at Shippensburg University said he was hoping to break 17 minutes in the race. He ran from the front the entire 5K and cruised to the finish in 17:10. Matt completed the 2019 Boston Marathon in 3:02:06. Matt is a teacher at Red Land High School with a bachelor of science from Shippensburg and a master’s from Frostburg University. Matt had run as fast as 15:26 in his prime racing years. Matt has also been a high school cross country coach, so he knows all about training. 

Mike Wardian

Mike Wardian is a 45-year-old masters-level ultra runner. He may be the best runner in any given race over the last five years, factoring in 365 days of the year he is the most relentless. At the Red, White and Blue 5K July 4, Mike first ran along with the Kiddie K to offer encouragement; then he ran the open 5K in 16:43. Then he turned around and ran it again to cool down on a 95-degree day. Mike was coming off a 90-mile run on the Washington Capital Beltway July 2, which he did in 17 hours and 54 minutes. Mike ran and won the Kelly Fritchman July 6 in 16:48, then headed back to his home in Alexandria, Va. Mike has completed more than 400 marathons and ultra-marathons. He has raced 1,300 miles already this year. 

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