John and Rachel Schilkowsky set course records in 3.4 mile race
THE RUNNERS entered in the third annual Keith’s Tree Frozen Frolic Race prepare for the start of the 3.4 mile event. (Donna Larsson Photo)
Published in the December 5, 2016 edition.
By VIN SYLVIA
WAKEFIELD — Married less than a month, John and Rachel (Sorna) Schilkowsky arrived here on Saturday, Dec. 3, looking to sweep first place in a road race for the first time as husband and wife. They’d come close a week earlier, Rachel leading the women’s field in the Norwich (Conn.) Winterfest 5K while John finished as runner-up among the men.
This time, there was no settling for second place for either Schilkowsky.
On a cold, overcast, and breezy afternoon leading up to the Wakefield Holiday Stroll, the Boston residents and former Cornell University runners shattered the course records in the third annual Keith’s Tree Frozen Frolic. John Schilkowsky outdueled 2014 champion and former course record-holder Nate Jenkins of North Andover while Rachel Schilkowsky easily outran the rest of a women’s field that also included the former course record-holder, 2015 winner Biliana Mihaylova of Quincy.
After running most of the first mile into a strong headwind, John Schilkowsky, 25, completed the 3.4-mile loop around Lake Quannapowitt in 16 minutes 37 seconds, a 4:54-per-mile pace that took 16 seconds off Jenkins’ old mark. Jenkins, 35, also bettered his former standard but still finished 14 seconds behind Schilkowsky, in 16:51.
A pair of UMass Lowell runners in town for a tempo run as training for their indoor track and field season, Abdullah Kaba and Jackson Gallagher, took third and fourth place, in 18:04 and 18:20, respectively. Gallagher had returned to his hometown for the duo’s workout because the Frozen Frolic benefitted the Wakefield Memorial High cross country and track and field programs, of which he was a member from 2011-15.
Rachel Schilkowsky, 24 and a five-time All-America honoree as an undergraduate at Cornell, was right behind the UMass Lowell runners, crossing the finish line with a time of 18:20, almost two minutes faster than Mihaylova’s former record of 20:15.
For completing the sweep with record times, the Schilkowskys took home $300 — $100 apiece for finishing first and $50 each for setting the course standards.
Mihaylova, 27, was second among the women on Saturday, covering the course in 21:55, 31 seconds ahead of third-place finisher Suzy Macero, 43, the masters-division winner and first female Wakefield resident to cross the line. Another Wakefield resident, Elizabeth Jellison, 50, was the second female master, in 26:36.
Mark Mayall, 45, of Maynard, was the top men’s master, placing sixth overall in 18:48.
Other Wakefield finishers of note included Chris Doherty, 38 (second Wakefield runner, seventh overall), Chris Brackett, 46 (fourth men’s master, 13th overall, in 22:35), Sean Letchford, 14 (first under-19 boy, 20th overall, 24:44), Joseph Patt, 11 (first under-12 boy, 26th overall, 25:50), and Devon Jellison, 11 (first under-19 girl, 27th overall, 25:52).S
Current Wakefield Memorial High cross country and track and field athletes did not run in the race, instead serving as support staff before, during and after the event.
The Keith’s Tree Frozen Frolic main event, which totaled exactly 100 finishers, was preceded by a 1-mile kids’ run, won by 11-year-old Wakefield resident Caileigh Sweeney in 7:45. Danny Kidder, 8, also of Wakefield, was the first boy to cross the line, in 7:56.
In addition to title sponsorship by Keith’s Tree, the WMHS cross country and track and field programs benefitted from the generous sponsorship of Action Ambulance Service Inc., Facilico Electrical Controls, Future of Dentistry, the Saugus Family YMCA and Melrose Family YMCA, Raymond Lucci, Christopher J. Barrett Realtors, Whole Foods Market, Marathon Sports, the Eldridge family, Active Motion Physical Therapy (AMPT), Scott Surette Plumbing and Heating, Panera Bread and Sardella Signs.
