Priest places 40th in half marathon

Timothy Priest

The inaugural Tyler Half was held Saturday, Nov. 17 at the University of Texas at Tyler campus, benefiting the UTT cross country and track teams. The 278 runners, ranging in age from 12 to 72, hit the roads at 8 a.m. with perfect weather conditions.

For the first five miles of the course, the 159 men and 119 women ran on the roads around the beautiful campus; then the runners continued down Old Omen Road where they approached a long one-mile uphill stretch to Bascom Road.

The runners then took Bascom Road down to Old Henderson Highway and looped around to McDonald Road and back to the campus to conclude the 13.1 miles.

The race was won by Leonardo Tovar, age 30, with an impressive time of 1.17:57. The top female runner was Camille Riggins with a time of 1.34:38.

Timothy Priest, 16, from Whitehouse participated in his first half marathon and place 40th overall and second in the under-18 age division with a time of 1.45:52.

This event also included a 5K race with 122 participants running. Forty-nine men and 72 women ran the 3.15 mile course. Matthew Cochran won with a time of 18:31. Sherri Priest was third in the 45-49 age division with a personal best time of 26:50.