Home Playing Xbox ....

Few parents like saying that their 17 year old son is home playing xbox but I meet one that was real happy that his was. When I got an email from a concerned parent (and runner herself) a week ago about a kid getting hit by a car at the Howlin' at the Moon, I thought whoa I have a 17 year old son! It could be me at the hospital not knowing what to do or why it happen.

Well tonight, I meet the young man's dad and he had good news about his son. The boy was banged up but he was home playing xbox and should make a full recovery. What a relief to hear this news, when I first heard what happen and that he was in critical condition, I feared the worst.

It sounds like being young and being great shape saved the day. His little sister said her brother doesn't even touch fried foods. Because no one was at the intersection and other runners removed the glow sticks, the teen ended up crossing the street and got hit. The car was going fast and he almost got out of the way. One leg got over the front of the car but then the car hit him in the shin of the other leg and he landed on the windshield and then bounced over the car.

Then he bounced behind the car for a hundred yards or more. The driver never even hit the brakes before impact. Dad says his son was bummed out because he would of medaled in his age division right behind state champ Chris Schwartz, if he had not gone the wrong way. I told dad that the official results said "DNF" and his son definitely has one of the best "Did Not Finish" stories of all time.

Class: M 10k 15-19 - 10k Male 15-19 10k
1 392 MIRELES, Cesar 19 34:10.7 0
2 442 SCHWARTZ, Christopher 19 38:35.4 +4:24.7
3 433 SCLAFANI, Dustin 15 44:02.0 +9:51.3
4 417 LOCKWOOD, Bryson 16 47:28.4 +13:17.7
5 441 BEARD, Thomas 17 48:35.7 +14:25.0
6 443 RAMIREZ, Joel 15 1:18:33.9 +44:23.2
435 CONDIE, Tyler 17 DNF

It was nice to meet his dad and his little sister (photo) at the McFarland race tonight. We had emailed one another about his daughter (before the accident) but had not actually met before. It was doubly nice to see both of them out there running too.

In a few weeks, the family will be returning to Qatar (where dad works), which is good news because it means his son must be doing well. His daughter was excited about going back and was looking forward to a meet in Egypt. I asked how far it was and she said "Oh it is only a four hour plane ride!". I said "only four hours?" while shaking my head. But I guess it beats the 24 hour trip to Qatar.

So I am very glad I came to the race this evening, I only hope that if I am ever faced with such an incident, that I can handle it as well as the Condies have.

Beardsley Wins the Female 20-29 10k at HATM

Amanda ran a very good time but I do not recognize her name. In second was Brooklan (see photo), who is starting her comeback after have a son a couple years ago. She currently has the fastest BTC summer series time and is looking forward to return to the track next.

This summer she was entered in the BC Track & Cross Country Hall of Fame. Brooklan Grimes Rosales was the 2004 Western State Conference, Southern California and state champion in the 1,500 meters who holds BC's school record in the event. Brittany and Brooklan are the only sisters in state JC history to each win the same event in a state meet.

Class: F 10k 20-29 - 10k Female 20-29 10k
1 465 BEARDSLEY, Amanda 29 42:23.9 0
2 428 ROSALES, Brooklan 24 43:45.9 +1:22.0
3 487 SANTILLAN, Rosalina 26 56:11.6 +13:47.7
4 445 BROOKS, Amber 28 58:15.4 +15:51.5
5 446 SILVA, Erica 23 58:19.2 +15:55.3
6 497 SUDERMAN, Emma 21 1:03:14.9 +20:51.0
7 454 ANGELINI, Carole 27 1:06:20.0 +23:56.1
8 485 THORNTON, Stephanie 24 1:07:41.0 +25:17.1
9 391 JUAREZ, Yoli 28 1:11:24.1 +29:00.2
10 494 RUGNAO, Renee 25 1:11:33.4 +29:09.5
11 438 MAYHEW, Kristina 21 1:14:16.4 +31:52.5
12 464 BUENO, Samantha 20 1:14:54.7 +32:30.8
13 456 MUSSATTO, Tanya 28 1:17:46.2 +35:22.3
14 462 LEAK, Shelly 23 1:18:25.5 +36:01.6
15 396 LAMAS, Hannah 26 1:24:07.0 +41:43.1

A Ram Wins the Female 15-19 10k at the HATM

Monica will be a senior this fall at Garces and she has been a top runner in the SEYL for the past couple years. Look for her to challenge Baker (Bakersfield Jr) for the SEYL in cross country and the distance races in track. In third was Shuford of Bakersfield who will be helping Baker in their prusuit of a second team title in three years in the SEYL.

I believe second place ran for Ridgeview and helped her team win a Valley cross country title last fall.

Class: F 10k 15-19 - 10k Female 15-19 10k
1 430 GUZMAN, Monica 16 46:04.6 0
2 422 GONZALEZ, Linda 17 48:44.6 +2:40.0
3 401 SHUFORD, Emily 16 50:45.7 +4:41.1

Mr. Triathlon - Mike Toland Wins the Male 50-59 10k at HATM

Besides being a good triathlete, Mike can take car of business in the run too. In second, was 59 year old Klaus who ran a very good time and I am sure he can not wait to turn 60. many of you know Klaus even if you do not. He is the really tan shirtless guys at almost every local race.


Class: M 10k 50-59 - 10k Male 50-59 10k
1 397 TOLAND, Mike 53 44:08.8 0
2 489 BENAMY-HACKEL, Klaus 59 47:55.2 +3:46.4
3 423 WITWER, Todd 54 49:15.8 +5:07.0
4 431 PURCELL, Ray 52 49:40.4 +5:31.6
5 418 ECHOLS, Don 59 52:12.3 +8:03.5
6 425 DECASAS, Adolfo 55 52:35.4 +8:26.6
7 416 COOMBER, Jeff 50 59:07.6 +14:58.8
8 498 SUDERMAN, David 52 59:59.6 +15:50.8
9 437 MAYHEW, Warren 50 1:14:14.7 +30:05.9
10 470 BYERS, Richard 53 1:18:32.1 +34:23.3
11 420 JOHNSTON, Michael 50 1:22:17.8 +38:09.0
12 493 KOHL, Jeff 51 1:28:49.9 +44:41.1

Galvin Wins Again - Dominates the Male 30-39 10k at HATM Too!

For quite some time now, if their is a local race and Galvin shows up, everyone else is running for second place. Of course, Galvin is a two time high school individual state cross country champ from Mcfarland so he has been winning for a long time. He also trains with the McFarland team quite a bit and the Cougars have not beat him yet. If you would like to see where Mcfarland trains, please attend their summer series. Their next race is Tuesday, more info HERE.

Class: M 10k 30-39 - 10k Male 30-39 10k
1 426 GONZALEZ, Galvin 32 33:27.5 0
2 484 DIRKSE, Steve 39 40:03.3 +6:35.8
3 479 BINGHAM, Freddie 35 43:28.0 +10:00.5
4 413 CASTILLO, Pablo 35 47:29.1 +14:01.6
5 419 ROGERS, Thomas 33 48:19.9 +14:52.4
6 395 TREMBLAY, Matt 38 49:09.8 +15:42.3
7 427 GURON, Joseph 31 55:25.6 +21:58.1
8 449 WEBB, Jason 35 56:45.9 +23:18.4
9 421 RAMIREZ, Daniel 37 57:56.7 +24:29.2
10 393 ORANTES, Jose 34 1:01:22.4 +27:54.9
11 379 WEBDELL, Thomas 38 1:06:54.4 +33:26.9
12 458 ESPINOZA, Mario 35 1:08:52.0 +35:24.5
13 300 GONZALES, Armando 35 1:12:45.9 +39:18.4
14 299 CASE, Mike 35 1:15:29.3 +42:01.8

Bacus wins the Male 20-29 10k at the HATM

David is always at the front of any race and that was case at the Howlin' too. He was third overall in the 10k. In 7th was Ewing who is the Californian high school sports beat reporter who does an excellent job covering cross country and track.

Class: M 10k 20-29 - 10k Male 20-29 10k
1 481 BACUS, David 24 34:52.4 0
2 394 ARZOLA, Ismael 20 36:58.0 +2:05.6
3 399 HURT, Brian 25 42:24.3 +7:31.9
4 398 RAMIREZ, Michael 28 43:17.7 +8:25.3
5 477 LOUIE, Kevin 23 46:10.0 +11:17.6
6 400 MCQUIRE, Kyle 24 47:59.2 +13:06.8
7 386 EWING, Zack 24 48:34.9 +13:42.5
8 491 PLOTNER, Dallas 27 49:53.6 +15:01.2
9 450 TOMONO, Kiyoshi 29 52:15.3 +17:22.9
10 469 VALENCIA, Jesse 25 55:22.0 +20:29.6
11 457 JEFFERY, Derek 29 55:46.6 +20:54.2
12 389 MARTIN, Matt 29 57:00.7 +22:08.3
13 388 CORREA, Angel 25 58:16.3 +23:23.9
14 390 MATTHEW, Charles 27 59:41.4 +24:49.0
15 486 THORNTON, Sean 22 1:02:23.9 +27:31.5
16 440 RAMIREZ, Jose 24 1:05:03.8 +30:11.4
17 496 PRATT, Jared 21 1:08:52.4 +34:00.0
18 495 LOPEZ, Benjamin 23 1:11:35.5 +36:43.1
19 411 MOORE, Chris 28 1:12:36.5 +37:44.1
20 404 TRIPP, Terry 28 1:12:37.8 +37:45.4
21 381 AMES, Matt 25 1:14:49.3 +39:56.9
22 471 BYERS, Jeremy 28 1:18:37.7 +43:45.3
23 387 VELAZQUEZ, Eli 29 1:24:06.2 +49:13.8

Lina Nunez wins the Female 20-29 5k at HATM

Lina also did the Pier / Howlin' double. She medal at the Rock to Pier in the morning and won her age group in the evening. Her CSUB teammate Connie, came in second out of 36 ladies in this age group.

Class: F 5k 20-29 - 5k Female 20-29 5k
1 116 NUNEZ, Lina 21 20:45.0 0
2 301 KING, Connie 21 22:30.0 +1:45.0
3 73 GUTIERREZ, Azucena 24 24:05.3 +3:20.3
4 178 CONDIE, Vanessa 21 25:00.8 +4:15.8
5 74 BACUS, Cassandra 21 27:23.3 +6:38.3
6 80 STILLWELL, Jennifer 22 27:29.8 +6:44.8
7 150 ELLEBRACHT, Meghan 21 28:05.8 +7:20.8
8 79 QUIROZ, Vanessa 25 28:29.8 +7:44.8
9 113 LEWIS, Sarah 29 30:00.6 +9:15.6
10 316 EWING, Ellen 27 30:38.3 +9:53.3
11 87 GONZALEZ, Erica 27 30:52.5 +10:07.5
12 47 BEARD, Michaela 23 31:50.1 +11:05.1
13 247 BURGESS, Rebecca 25 31:51.3 +11:06.3
14 25 GREESON, Jayme 24 32:09.6 +11:24.6
15 297 GUTIERREZ, Karina 24 33:26.8 +12:41.8
16 298 GONZALEZ, Melissa 25 33:48.3 +13:03.3
17 11 OCHOA, Rosi 26 34:34.8 +13:49.8
18 22 TRUJILLO, Katia 22 35:18.5 +14:33.5
19 225 SCHAEFER, Kimberly 28 35:40.9 +14:55.9
20 28 PLOTNER, Kate 28 36:38.1 +15:53.1
21 323 PARKER, Amy 28 39:33.4 +18:48.4
22 303 COLAHAN SEDERSTROM, 29 39:49.7 +19:04.7
23 192 COX, Courtney 20 40:01.3 +19:16.3
24 23 MIL, Stephanie 26 40:25.0 +19:40.0
25 271 BONNER, Shannon 29 40:32.1 +19:47.1
26 124 HERNANDEZ, Nicolyn 29 40:35.7 +19:50.7
27 273 GAMON, Monica 29 41:39.0 +20:54.0
28 125 LEAK, Erin 26 41:46.0 +21:01.0
29 190 WILSON, Michelle 27 42:15.6 +21:30.6
30 196 SHARETTE, Barbara 25 42:19.8 +21:34.8
31 283 MORALES, Brittany 20 42:34.0 +21:49.0
32 202 BARRON, Mariss 29 43:24.2 +22:39.2
33 241 KROEKER, Dana 28 45:08.8 +24:23.8
34 262 BOLANOS, Danielle 27 45:36.1 +24:51.1
35 251 HALDZE, Kira 21 46:48.9 +26:03.9
36 105 WILSON, Krystina 24 1:01:58.9 +41:13.9

Hits Close To Home ...

After my 17 year old son had finished the 10k and braved the long ling for water, we decided to leave the Howlin' at the Moon race before the awards were presented. As we headed home on Stockdale, we noticed that one could not turn left on Calloway and there were quite a few police in the area. We figured there was a fender bender and went on our way home.

The first I heard of what happen was from Robby Baker's mom who wrote me about the tradegy. We knew it was a 17 year old boy and that he was hit by a car and was in critical condition. Immediately, I did a quick roll call of all the local athletes I knew that fit the description and was certain it was not any I knew.

Later media reports said he was from out of the country and I thought oh no. Back in May, a real nice parent contacted me about my club the Bakersfield Distance Project. The family was from Bakersfield but had lived in Doha, Quater (working for an oil company) for the past six years and was looking for a club for their 12 year old daughter to train and compete with.

We exchanged emails and I refered them to a group to train with when they got back to Bakersfield on June 26th. Less then three weeks after arriving back in the states, this horrible accident happen.

In their emails, they did not mention their son, but the pieces came together. I saw their daughter finish the 5k and the victim had just returned to the states. So I was pretty certain who it was. Then on Monday, local media contacted me about the accident and asked if I had any photos of the 17 year old.

Usually I would of because I try to shoot everyone in the race from several locations but my cameras do not work well in the dark and it was really dark out there. I also found out the name of the victim but I believe the media has the spelling of the last name wrong. I have chosen not to publish his name.

When I did google his name, I did find track meet results for him back in 2002 and he was a good age group distance runner before his family left the states. So he was an experienced runner and came from a family that participated and supported athletics.

What exactly happen that night may never be known, but it was a perfect storm of sorts. One can only hope he makes a complete recovery and that lessons are learned from this accident.

Teen Critically Injured During "Fun Run"

A teenager was critically injured Saturday during the Howlin' at the Moon Run fundraiser for Bakersfield Police Department's K-9 unit. Friends of the boy's family say he is in critical condition after accidently running off the course the family says wasn't clearly marked.

For eight years, the Howlin' at the Moon run has been a “fun run” to raise money for the Bakersfield Police Department’s K-9 Unit. It takes place after the sun goes down, but this year's run ended with sirens and bright lights.

Chancell Tyler Conde, 17, was running along the course and took a wrong turn, ending up on the busy intersection of Calloway Drive near Stockdale Highway. He was struck by a car.

A friend of the family says Conde is an experienced runner but didn't know the race course well because he lives in the Middle Eastern country of Qatar most of the year.

Detective Mary DeGeare of the Bakersfield Police Department says glow necklaces were used to help light the way.

“The course was marked with these glow necklaces so at points on the course where it was very dark the glow necklaces were supposed to guide the way,” DeGeare said. “The investigation is ongoing so we don’t know why he went up to Calloway Drive but certainly if we have the race next year we will make modifications.”

Runners told 17 News the glow necklaces were missing when they reached the forked pathways, and the teenager was just one of many who went off course. Most of the runners who spoke to 17 News were from the area and knew the path well but were still confused when they reached the split paths because it was so dark out. Several othere runners reportedly picked up the glow necklaces while the race was ongoing, making it hard to see which path was correct.

Bill Dolan has been riding on the path since the late 80s and rides on the path at night only if he has his bike light attached.

“Because there's no lights around here it really is hard for a bicyclist without a headlight,” Dolan explained. “A runner might get by but I can see how they could miss things that they need to see here.”

Dolan says at planned night-time events, like the run, extra signs, volunteers, or lights should be put in place to direct runners to the right path.

Police say the driver who struck Conde was 19-year old Casey Geiger. Geiger, suspected of being under the influence of marijuana, was tested and released pending the drug test results.

Online court records show Geiger pled no contest to charges from a misdemeanor battery arrest last year and was arrested in October on suspicion of misdemeanor possession and use of a controlled substance.

A family friend of the Condes tells 17News Chancell Conde is in critical condition at Kern Medical Center and will be in surgery late tonight or tomorrow.

Teen runner critically injured during police fundraiser

A 17-year-old runner was critically injured Saturday night while taking part in a fundraising event for the Bakersfield Police Department's K-9 unit.

The teen was hit by a Honda Accord on Calloway Drive, near the intersection with Stockdale Highway, around 9:15 p.m. His name was not released. Police said Sunday he suffered major injuries and was in critical condition at Kern Medical Center.

The driver of the car, 19-year-old Casey Geiger, may have been under the influence of marijuana, police say. Geiger took a blood test and was released pending results.

The nighttime run followed the Kern River bike path after leaving the Park at River Walk at 8:30 p.m. It was the 8th annual Howlin' at the Moon Fun Run.

Police, in their press release, say they don't know why the runner "diverted from the planned route" and ended up on Calloway in the path of an oncoming car.

But Californian sports writer Zach Ewing, who took part in the 10k race and watched the teen head up the wrong fork, said the path was pitch black and confusing at that spot.

"I was totally unsure for about half a second," Ewing said of the unmarked split.

By that time twilight had faded to dark and the only course markings Ewing had seen were glow sticks that occasionally popped up along the way.

The 17-year-old was two spots in front of Ewing when the unmarked fork loomed.

A man between them shouted: "Hey bro, you need to go right," Ewing said.

But the teen apparently didn't hear the advice.

Ewing veered right because the runner in front of him seemed sure of the route. The teen disappeared up the left fork. Just around the turn, Ewing saw a light and knew he was on the correct path.

Less than a minute later, Ewing heard honking, squealing tires, car doors slamming and a female voice saying "Oh my God."

After reaching the finish line, Ewing heard that a runner had been hit on the course.

Online court records show Geiger, the driver, pled no contest to charges from a November 2008 misdemeanor battery arrest; a sentencing hearing is set for December. An October arrest on suspicion of misdemeanor possession and use of a controlled substance was scheduled for a hearing last week and results were not immediately available Sunday.

Police are asking anyone with information to call the traffic investigations unit at 326-3967.

BY GRETCHEN WENNER, Californian staff writer