Adrian Gonzales and Meredith Parks sped to big wins in the Frozen Yeti 10-mile race Saturday morning at Monte Sano State Park.
The race was the first of three in the inaugral Winter Wild Thangs Series, which offers long- and short-course runs. All three events are held at the state park. Saturday’s opener included 10- and 5-mile options, both on some of the familiar trails runners know from the immensely popular summer Wild Thangs four-race series.
Gonzales, 46, of Albertville, took top honors with a 1:23:36 finish. Jonathan Krichev, 48, of Huntsville was in second place at 1:25:48.
Parks, 25, of Madison, was 10th overall and won the women’s division in 1:41:56. Stephanie Gonzalez, 33, of Hamilton, Miss., was second (17th) in 1:48.
Frozen Yeti 5-Mile
Fifteen-year-old Avin Dempsey of Cullman won the Frozen Yeti 5-miler by 20 seconds, with the top three separated by 41 seconds.
Dempsey crossed in 45:07 to win, with Paul Speicher right behind in 45:27. Daniel Leonard was third in 45:48.
Lauren Estes captured the women’s division and was 19th overall. She finished in 54:16. Natalie McKay was second (22nd) in 54:42, and Darlene Brown was third (23rd) in 54:54.
Both fields enjoyed temperatures in the low 30s at the 8 a.m. start. Brisk north-northwest winds knocked the wind chills into the mid 20s. Frozen Yeti, indeed, eh?
See all of the 10-mile results here and the 5-mile results here.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated to reflect Meredith Parks’ win in the 10-mile race. Event organizers said “Meredith’s bib showed her as a 5 mile finisher initially and she was indeed in the 10 mile race. She contacted us and we got it edited on Ultrasignup.”
