Saturday, October 19, 2002 -- Huntington, WV
7th Annual Wild DAWG Alum Run 5K (iPO Event Id#: 5182)
Story by Heather Bury with photos by Don Parks

[Details] [Coverage]
[Overall Results] [Results by Class]
Pictures: [Set 1] [Set 2] [Set 3] [Set 4] [Set 5] [Set 6] [Set 7] [Set 8]
Past Coverage: [1998] [1999] [2000] [2001]

Just a little too early on game day for some of the Herd faithful

Another homecoming for Marshall University and another big run at the annual Wild DAWG 5K. A quick lap around the city blocks of Huntington and it is off to some well earned tailgates.

If you were in Huntington on Saturday morning, you were probably tailgating for another Marshall football game, but there was a different thundering herd there for homecoming. The seventh annual Wild DAWG Alum Run getting the festivities started first thing in the morning.

The race was off and rolling at 9:00am with its wheelchair start. Chad Beam had only himself to contend with as he raced the clock through the streets of Huntington to win in a time of 48:18. "I'm going to have to recruit some other guys out here next year to race" Beam said after the race.

Sprinting to the finish

The runners quickly followed Beam's lead and took off for their 3.1 miles. Although he wasn't racing in his Marshall green, it was obvious that Casey Batey was a hometown favorite as he tore around the final corner and kicked in to win with a time of 15:26. Batey said after the race "I was supposed to do a workout on grass today to get ready for a cross country meet next week, but I just had to come run. So I did 2 minutes hard, one minute easy during the race. My last easy minute was actually hard because I had to kick it in."

In the race for second and third, Jason Pyles came through with a 15:45, and Jon Nelson was right behind him in 15:56.

Another fun run in Huntington

The real race was on the women's side. Last year's second place finisher Kelly McGraw said she's been working with a coach and getting on the track once a week to increase her speed. It seems to be working, as McGraw ran her fastest time in five years for the win in 18:41.

Chasing McGraw the entire way was Kari Velasco (18:54) and Barbara Kuhlemeier (18:56) in a great battle for second.

It was a successful day for the Alumn Run with a record crowd of over 300 runners taking part. And it was a successful day for the Thundering Herd as they were victorious over Troy State, 24-7.