After a pandemic pause, 31st Grafton Gazebo Road Race hits the ground… running

Cathryn Williams crossed the finish line of the Grafton Gazebo Road Race and, after a long drink of water, wandered over for a selfie with Smiley, mascot for the Worcester Woo Sox.

She had been running for 24 minutes, 22 seconds — 5 kilometers, starting and ending at the Grafton Gazebo Road Race. She knew her pace was good and her focus was strong.

So strong that she didn’t realize she was the first woman to cross the line.

The 31st Grafton Gazebo Road Race last took to the streets in 2019 and — like everything else since the pandemic — there has been some changes. This year, the race morphed from a 5-mile run to a 5-kilometer race. That’s 3.1 miles.

The first to cross the finish line was James Barker of Philadelphia, who completed the course in 18 minutes, 30 seconds, followed by Eva Griffith of Millbury (18:50) and Jeffrey Hadzima of Sutton (20:00). For the women, Williams was followed by Robin Kopplin of North Grafton (25:00) and Veronika Skoromnik of South Grafton (25:23).

Full results will be available on the Grafton Recreation Department webpage, but the winners by age group are:

Overall male winners

James Barker, Philadelphia, 18:30

Eva Griffith, Millbury, 18:50

Jeffrey Hadzima, Sutton, 20:00

Overall female winners

Cathryn Williams, Grafton, 24:22

Robin Kopplin, North Grafton, 25:00

Veronika Skoromnik, South Grafton, 25:23

Male 40-49

Stephen Hatlee, South Grafton, 21:40

Chad Clements, Grafton, 21:45

Vincent Piarulli, Grafton, 23:17

Female 40-49

Cindy Hillman, South Grafton, 29:41

Jennifer Valente, Grafton 30:53

Tina McCarthy, Grafton, 31:06

Male 50-59

Daniel Fiore, Grafton, 24:02

A.J. Fedor, Grafton, 24:11

Jeff Iacovelli, Northbridge, 24:40

Female 50-59

Laurie Morrow, Leicester, 26:46

Dawn Anderson, North Grafton, 33:48

Tammy Benoit, Worcester, 36:02

Male 60-69

Shawn McAvey, North Grafton, 25:41

Ken Simonds, Northbridge, 26:33

Thomas Killeen, Worcester, 27:40

Female 60-69

Cheryl Dunjnic, Grafton, 32:33

Eileen Killeen, Worcester, 33:53

Mitzi Curtis, Fridley, 35:57

Male 70-older

Dave Wheat, Grafton, 31:35

Male 15-19

Jeremy Galvis, North Grafton, 24:16

Cameron Ladd, Grafton, 24:23

Melvin He, South Grafton, 31:31

Female 15-19

Danica Fiore, Grafton, 34:59

Male 20-29

Matthew Landry, Brighton, 22:20

James Pilczak, Newton, 23:39

Jonathan Dumas, Grafton, 24:12

Female 20-29

Chloe Deveney, Grafton, 27:49

Sarah Gaffen, Cherry Valley, 30:23

Melinda Tufo, Grafton, 31:17

Male 30-39

Jordan Kolb, Boston, 21:00

Patrick Haggerty, unknown, 22:27

Todd Albertini, Grafton, 24:39

Female 30-39

Erin Girard, Milford, 29:05

Sarah Lind, North Grafton, 30:17

Adrienne Gaffney, Grafton, 30:54

Male 8-under

Ronan Nascimento, South Grafton, 35:47

Crew Santello, Millbury, 42:01

Emerson Bruny, North Grafton, 50:06

Female 8-under

Ava Gaffney, Grafton, 30:43

Male 9-11

Logan Hughes, North Grafton, 24:41

Shriven Sephardi Di, Grafton, 26:53

Theo Mahassel, North Grafton,  33:19

Female 9-11

Aliyah Golji, Graftpm. 27:06

Isabella Erhartic, Grafton, 27:09

Chloe Belton, Grafton, 27:49

Male 12-14

Colin Spinney, Grafton, 29:07

Christian Reyes, South Grafton, 29:14

Connor McInerney, Grafton, 29:54

Female 12-14

Gwen Ladd, Grafton, 31:49

Payton Morrison, South Grafton, 34:52

Addison Childs, North Grafton, 39:21

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