HAVERHILL — Former Methuen track star Kevin Alliette won the 22nd annual Sapienza Road Race, finishing the 4-mile course in 20:05.
Alliette, who lives in Raymond, N.H., and is currently a math teacher and cross country/track coach at Methuen High, was an All-American miler at UMass Lowell in 2003. The 27-year-old has battled a foot injury for the last 18 months but is now back to logging about 80 miles per week.
"It was bad but I have it under control now," Alliette said. "That was my fastest (time) since college."
His friend, Jim Johnson of Wakefield, finished second overall. Johnson, 31, also ran at UMass Lowell.
"He's in a lot better shape than I thought," said Johnson, who has been running only mountain races for the past month. "I did better than expected. I haven't run a fast mile in weeks because mountain miles are slower."
The two former River Hawks beat out Jon Healey of Chelmsford, 20:39, and Haverhill's Dan Verrington, 21:00, who finished in third and fourth place, respectively.
On the women's side, Kara Haas, Caroline Bjune, and Phillips Academy graduate Melissa Donais, finished first, second, and third, respectively.
Donais, 24, is the granddaughter of legendary road runner Tony Sapienza, who the race is named after.
"I haven't done this the last couple of years because of school but I'm home for the summer so finally I could do the race again," said Donais, the area's all-time leader in the mile (4:53.90). "My grandfather has always been a huge inspiration to me and my running so I was really happy to be back running it."
More than 170 people participated in the event. One of the most impressive was Billy Prentiss of Danvers who won the 60-69 age by over three minutes with a time of 26:42.
Reconnecting with the past
A former teammate of the late Sapienza, John Booras of Winthrop, made his first appearance at the event since the inaugural race back in 1986.
The two ran together for the Boston Athletic Association, the club that puts on the Boston Marathon, for many years.
"I think we met back in the early 50's during some of the road races, there weren't too many then, and then we gradually joined the BA together," said the 75-year-old Booras.
Booras remembers travelling for races as a team, including Sapienza, and racking up the medals and trophies. However, when all was said and done, it was every man for himself.
"I would say he had the edge over me," said Booras. "He was a likeable guy, but once you got out on the track, that was it."
Sapienza Memorial 4-Mile Road Race
Top 15 finishers
1. Kevin Alliette 20:05, 2. Jim Johnson 20:25, 3. Jon Healey 20:39, 4. Dan Verrington 21:00, 5. Chris Mahoney 21:06, 6. Patrick Ard 21:16, 7. Chris Healey 21:41, 8. Todd Lagimoier 22:05, 9. David Quintal 22:08, 10. Tim Carven 22:59, 11. Kara Haas 23:16, 12. Caroline Bjune 23:51, 13. Lars Bjune 23:54, 14. Chris Powers 23:58, 15. Corey Gobbi 24:02
Top 3 women
1. Kara Haas 23:16, 2. Caroline Bjune 23:51, 3. Melissa Donais 24:39
Age-Group Winners
Male
19-and-under — Chris Powers 23:58; 20-29 — Jon Healey 20:39; 30-39 — Jim Johnson 20:25; 40-49 — Dan Verrington 21:00; 50-59 — Jim Morisseau 24:06; 60-69 — Billy Prentiss 26:42, 70-and-over — George Bisson 33:00
Female
19-and-under — Olivia Marshall 30:44; 20-29 — Melissa Donais 24:39; 30-39 — Caroline Bjune 23:51; 40-49 — Nancy Corsaro 27:28; 50-59 — Sharon Yu 32:33; 60-69 — Wendy Burbank 33:48
