Butte runner Matt Choquette and Anaconda’s Lisa Minnehan claimed overall titles at the Mariah’s Challenge Half Marathon Sunday in Butte.
Choquette topped the men’s field in the 13.1-mile race, finishing in 1 hour, 28 minutes, 8 seconds. Don Foley placed second at 1:29:36, while Ted Connors placed third at 1:35:24.
Minnehan claimed the women’s title, finishing in 1:31:34. Michele Bazzanella placed second at 1:41:37 in the women’s field. Rebecca Smith placed third at 1:42:13.
In all, 48 runners finished the half marathon.
The 5-kilometer race drew 109 runners, and Butte’s Jeff Braun and Tawnya Hermanson winning overall titles.
Braun topped the men’s field in the 3.1-mile race in 21:01. Ian Mueller was second at 22:45, while Don Sundberg placed third in 25:02.
Trey Whitlock, an 11-year-old runner placed fourth in 26:14.
Hermanson was the top women’s finisher, crossing in 27:29. Nikki O’Neill was second in 28:21, followed by Katie Blaskovich at 28:33 and Aubree Corcoran at 28:33.
Corcoran is 12 years old. Fellow 12-year-old runner Keegan Gransberry finished the half marathon in 1:53:08.
The race, which started and finished by Copper Canyon Harley Davidson, was a fundraiser for Mariah’s Challenge. The money goes to the Mariah Daye McCarthy Scholarship, which rewards area high school seniors for living by the ideals of Mariah’s Challenge.
That means no underage drinking, drinking and driving, or getting in a car with a driver who has been drinking.
