Cory Tillman, fresh off running for the Oglethorpe County track and field team, won the seventh annual Maxeys Model Mile 5K on Saturday.
Tillman, who will be a senior at OCHS in the fall, finished with a time of 19 minutes, 40 seconds.
Although he wasn’t trying for a personal best, Tillman was happy with his time.
“My splits were about even, which was kind of what I was aiming for,” Tillman said. “I wasn’t aiming to go out fast and come in slow.”
Tillman, running for the Patriots this spring, advanced to the Class A Division 1 state track and field meet in the 3,200 meters on May 9-10.
Winterville’s Carolina Altamirano, 42, was the first female to finish the race with a time of 24:07.
The Maxeys Model Mile 5K is the third of six races on the Firefly Trail Race Series.
The series consists of the Winterville Snowflake 10K, the Pounding for Paws 5K and the Maxeys 5K in the spring, and the Fleet Feet Five-Miler, the Restoration Run 5K and the Union Point Junction Jamboree Jog in the fall.
Anne Garner, the race director, said a 10K and a 10-miler will soon be added to the series.
There were 99 runners who finished the race. Garner said 60 of them will participate in the Firefly Trail Race Series.
John Kissane, the Firefly Trail’s development coordinator, was second in the men’s race with a time of 21:40 and Winterville’s Josiah Young was third in 22:34.
Stephanie Lee of Bishop was second among the female finishers with a time of 26:11 and Anna Sheridan of Union Point was third in 27:11.
Altamirano said she has been training to run the entire Firefly Trail series.
The race “was good, and it was pretty fast.” she said. “The weather is good, so I’m so happy.”