August 17, 2011 • The Register • Page 17 Register Spor ts Three runners from Ludlow took part in the 10K race. Vee Bunn finished 77th in a time 43 minutes, 30 seconds and Jim Ryan was 132nd in 48:10 for the men. Jennifer Miller ran in 48:10 for the women, good for 438th. Last year’s champion, Brian Harvey, of Allston, broke free from a five-man pack just as the climb of the hill began. By the time he reached the crest, his lead over second-place finisher Justin Freeman, of New Hampton, N.H., was 19 seconds. Over the rest of the race, he kept up that margin and then pulled away at the end to win in 31:33, almost 30 seconds ahead of Freeman, who crossed the finish line in 32:06. His time was 22 seconds faster than his winning time of a year ago. It was a battle for third as Nate Jenkins, of Andover, came in at 32.46, three seconds ahead of Bryan Morseman of Addison, N.Y. Jared Markowitz, of Cambridge, rounded out the top five with a time of 33:05. On the women’s side, newcomer Kristina Gracey, of Albany, N.Y., paced the field clocking 38:17, well ahead of Renee Knapp of Eugene, Ore., who finished at 39:01. Gracey would place 29th overall. Gracey opened up some space between her and Knapp when they reached Crittenden and then gradually pulled away throughout the race. Third, fourth and fifth was a battle between Meghan Mathews-Hegarty, of Springfield, who clocked 40:30; Shelly Binsfield, of Clifton Park, N.Y., and Ellen Gabriel, of Brighton. The latter two came in together at 40:41 and 40:42. Morseman was the first one off at the opening gun and along with Jenkins, Harvey, Freeman and Brad Mish, there was a distinct group setting the pace. Freeman took the lead at Warren Court and then it was Jenkins in front as the runners went downhill on Highland Avenue. When they reached the mile marker at Mechanic Street, Morseman had regained the lead. Next to grab the advantage was Mish who brief led the pack as they came onto Main Street. When they hit Water Street, the first group was 15 seconds ahead of another group of five. The next critical point was heading into the hill leading to Crittenden and this is where Harvey finally assumed the top spot, as he did a year ago. He would not relinquish it. In fact, as they started the climb, he began to pull away from everyone. He took control of the race, as he hit the hairpin and now had an 8-10 second Please see ROAD RACE, Page 19 Turley Publications photo by David Henry sweetdogphotos.com Local Runners hit the road for Bridge of Flowers Classic By Nate Rosenthal Turley Publications Sports Correspondent SHELBURNE FALLS – Sunny skies and mild temperatures greeted the runners as they prepared for the 32nd annual Bridge of Flowers Classic 10K Road Race. Unlike the last two years, when it was a bit chilly at the outset, it was as pleasant a morning as one could have wished. Runners and spectators have been making their way to this tiny and it is now considered one of the more important road races in the Northeast. With 800900 taking part in the 10K Classic and the Nathan Hale 3K, that point was made eminently clear. Once again, founder/director Mike McCusker and his crew showed how hospitable Shelburne Falls can be. He founded the race and designed the course in 1979 and over the years there have some changes. But one thing that remains the same is Crittenden Hill, which at its steepest point has the same grade as the steepest part of Mt. Washington, the biggest mountain in the Northeast. Crittenden Hill played a major role in determining this year’s winner of the men’s division. Vee Bun, of Ludlow, finished 77th overall with a time of 43 minutes, 30 seconds. Future soccer stars prepare for fall Soccer camp highlights helping high school players By Tim Peterson Turley Publications Sports Correspondent LUDLOW - Believe it or not, the start of the high school fall sports season is less than a week away. While the high school football teams in Western Mass. will conduct their first day of practice on Monday, all of the other high school athletic team’s will kick off their season next Thursday. A total of 14 boys and girls soccer players from Ludlow and the surrounding communities got a jump start on their season last week by attending the High School Prep Week Soccer Camp, which was sponsored by the Western Mass. Pioneers. “This is our third year doing the High School Prep Week Soccer Camp,” said Greg Kolodziey, who’s the Pioneers general manager and Ludlow High School boys varsity soccer coach. “It’s good to see the players from the different high schools at the soccer camp this week. Most of them are friends during the off season and they’ll battle each other during the sea- Commissioner’s Jamboree set for opening kickoff SAFL regular season opens Aug. 28 By Rick Sobey Turley Publications Sports Intern HOLYOKE - Holyoke High School’s football field is usually flooded with muscular high school players in August as they get ready for the fall football season, which kicks off in early September. However, on Saturday, Aug. 20 at Roberts Field at Holyoke High School, spectators won’t see the freshmen, sophomores, juniors or seniors running sprints and doing drills. Instead, aspiring high school players will be rushing the field. Younger football players will be taking over Roberts Field that day, as the Fifth Annual Commissioner’s Jamboree takes place from 1 to 8 p.m. This will be a youth football preseason exhibition for players from third through eighth grade in the Suburban Amateur Football League. There will be 12 local towns in this daylong event, including Wilbraham, South Hadley, Holyoke, Ludlow, Chicopee, West Springfield, Greenfield, among other towns. Each town will have three teams at the jamboree, and the teams are from different age divisions. The age groups are: third-fourth grade, fifth-sixth grade, and seventh-eighth grade. The teams from each division only play teams in FILE PHOTO Ludlow’s Antonio Vega took part in last year’s Jamboree. Ludlow is scheduled to play in the event again this year. their respective division, so the thirdfourth grade team from Wilbraham will play the third-fourth grade team from another town. The games are 40 minutes long, and each team only plays one game. Mark E. Du Bois is the commissioner of the youth football league, and he said that it will be a really fun day of football for the kids. “The kids have absolutely loved it in the past,” Du Bois said. “They get to Please see JAMBOREE, Page 19 Turley Publications staff photos by Dave Forbes The campers worked on various skills throughout the week to improve for the upcoming high school season. son.” The weeklong soccer camp, which is co-ed, was held on the Ana Dias Fields, which is located behind Lusitano Stadium in Ludlow. Please see SOCCER, Page 19