Stampede hits record numbers

By Laurie Gordon

Ryan Morville isn’t a runner. He’s a lacrosse player. But on Sunday, he became a runner and was one the first Kittatinny Regional High School Lacrosse player to cross the line at the 13^th Annual Stillwater Stampede five kilometer race. What’s a lacrosse player doing in a running race and from where did this affinity for distance running come?

The answer? It’s two-fold: genes and Dad.

Morville’s brother, Jesse, was a member of The Bears Youth Running Program, and that‘s were all proceeds went from Sunday‘s race. Secondly, Ryan’s lacrosse coach is George Morvile, his Dad, who not only financially enabled the debut of the KRHS Lacrosse Team to come to fruition but also volunteers to coach… every day. Coach Morville believes in more than just technical moves, and this tactic is paying off with the fledgling team’s success. He’s about conditioning and to this end, made it mandatory for his team to run in Sunday’s 5-K. George Morville is also about team work and that’s why the entire team ran in together with their last man on Sunday as a blue and white sea of unity. Yes, they all sported their lacrosse jerseys.

“It really moved me that the boys went out to get the final man and run in together,” Coach Morville said, “This race has always been important to me.” This was the icing on the cake as a proud Morville watched and snapped photos of his new protégés finishing as a united front.

The victor was Mark Bahnuk, of Hacketstown. His 16:50 may not have been a course record, but it was good enough to beat several time Stampede champion, Ray Biersbach, a former Newton High School stand out who recently married and is a NYC business executive. Coming between the two was Newton High School’s Miek Galonskey, who turned in a 16:59.

In the women’s field, Christa Johnson, of Sussex, was the champion running 18:49. Second was a Stampede veteran, 45-year-old Heather Gracie-Petty, who once brought nieces and nephews to the race and now brings her very own five-year-old son, Dustin, who ran the one mile race that proceeded the 5-K with mom. Third place finisher was Kristen Landry, a freshman at Mountain Lakes High school who finished in 20:23.

The Stampede, which hosted its biggest crowd ever as over 300 entered the event, raised money for The Bears Youth Running Program. This program enables elementary and middle aged school kids from all over Sussex County to run all fall twice a week in practice and on weekends against kids in their age groups from all overt the state. For more info on The Bears, contact www. Eteamz.com/beasrsrunningclub.

Many thanks to the race’s biggest sponsor, The Law Office of Jeffrey S. Katz, for the underwriting.