Third Time’s a Charm

Tonny Okello Becomes First Man to Three-peat in 10K; Charlie Sherman Wins 5K

39th Annual Palisades-Will Rogers 5/10K Run

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

When he arrived at the Palisades Recreation Center on Monday morning to pick up his chip for the Palisades-Will Rogers 5/10K Run, Tonny Okello wondered if it was a coincidence that his bib number was 1. It proved to be a good omen, as he took the lead at the start and was never challenged on his way to the 10K title in 31 minutes, 32 seconds, becoming the first man to win the 6.2-mile race three years in a row.

“They gave me VIP treatment,” Okello joked as he walked to the post-race medal ceremony. “I promise to come back in better shape next year and make it four.”

Okello is originally from Uganda but lives in Culver City and trains with the Santa Monica Track Club. He won the 2014 race in 31:21 and repeated last summer in 32:55. Next year he hopes to challenge the course record of 29:46 set in 1983 by Russell Edmonds of New Zealand.

“I’m happy with my time –  it’s a big improvement over last year,” said the 32-year-old, whose next race is  the six-mile Wharf to Wharf in Santa Cruz on July 24. “The first half is exciting. You’re mostly running downhill, but all of a sudden you have to climb, then you go down, then you have to climb again. The spectators cheered the whole way, which made me feel good.”

Katie DeWitt was feeling pretty good herself after winning the 10k for the first time in exactly 41 minutes. The 31-year-old newlywed, who grew up in the Palisades (on upper Chautauqua) and ran cross country and track at Harvard-Westlake High and Yale. She ran the Will Rogers race for the first time when she was 10 and  last ran it five years ago, clocking 45:18. Her husband Barry Fischer,  who ran one year at Stanford, also entered and placed 13th overall in  38:22. They married May 14 and live in San Francisco.

“My husband has never been in the Palisades so I’m glad he got to experience it too,” said DeWitt, whose father James treated them to Noah’s Bagels afterwards. “I ran it I think four times when I was little. It’s nice to be back.”

Training mostly on weekends, DeWitt is building up her mileage for the Berkeley Half Marathon in November and is considering the LA Marathon in February.

The Fourth of July was quite a  busy day for Palisades’ new honorary mayor,  actor/comedian Kevin Nealon, and he began it by blowing the horn to start the field of 2,311 on its way up Alma Real Drive shortly after a stirring rendition of the national anthem by Palisadian Kelsey Ross. “Don’t follow too closely – I’ll be coming from the rear,” Nealon declared.

The first runner to break the tape Monday was 17-year-old Charlie Sherman, who lives right up the road in the Riviera and just finished a standout junior year at Loyola High in which he helped the Cubs capture the state Division II cross country title in November.

“I’ve run it every year since I was a freshman and I led the whole way,” said Sherman, who covered the 3.1 miles through the Huntington in 16:07 to beat former Palisades High runner Drake Johnston by 10 seconds. “Tonny [Okello] was running with me and I was worried because he’s strong but he told me ‘Don’t worry, I’m running the 10K.’”

Sherman was second to Johnston last year with a time of 16:18.

“I went out too fast last year but this time my legs felt stronger,”  he said. “[Former Loyola runner and fellow Palisadian] Andrew Bland used to run this but he wasn’t here so I wanted to get first.”

A lifelong Palisadian who attended Canyon Elementary and Paul Revere Middle School, Sherman feels right at home at the Rec Center, where he trained for years as a highly-ranked junior tennis player.

“I was really into tennis too but when I got to Loyola [track coach] Lalo Diaz told me I had to pick one sport,” said Sherman, whose top college choice is Cal but is also considering Wisconsin and Yale. “I’m happy with  my decision.”

Sherman called his time “average” but was happy to turn the tables on the defending champion.

“I just wanted to get the win,” he said. I ran the first mile in 4:36.  Drake was coming up to me, but I could see where he was.”

Johnston, 21, won in 15:56 last summer before beginning his junior year at Villanova.

“Charlie was way out front from the gun and was 10 seconds ahead at the mile,” he said. “Pali High Coach]  Bob Macias encouraged me to run last year and I’m friends with all the kids so I enjoy coming back to run with them.”

Another former Pali High runner, Peter Gilmore, set the 5K record of 14:10 in 2003 and since the last of his eight victories in 2006, no one has broken 15 minutes.

Winning the women’s 5K race for the second time in three years was Renee Delphin-Rodriguez, a 37-year-old from Santa Monica who runs for Cal Coast Track Club in Newport Beach. Her time of 19:12 was the 17th fastest overall.

“I’ve won here before so I thought I had a good chance, but you never know who’s going to show up,” she said. “I’ve run this about five times now and it’s one of my favorite courses.   I was hoping to run under 19 [minutes] but I was just over.”

After winning in 19:57 in 2014, Delphin-Rodriguez was third in 19:44 last year. Her personal-best 5K was 18:43 at the Jet to Jetty in Playa del Rey.

Annetta Luevano set the women’s 5K record of 16:29 in 1995.

After taking first place in her age group and fourth among women last year, 13-year-old Palisadian Jennifer Karlan shaved 40 seconds off last year’s time to finish second Monday in 20:06.

Two-time Palisades-Will Rogers 5K champion Therese Fricke, now 43, was third Monday in 20:20, followed by Palisadians Lochryn Howe (20:25) and Alexandra Angeledes.

Pali High’s Brent Smith, who won the City frosh/soph 1,600 and 3,200 meter titles in the spring, was first in the 13-15 age division and fifth overall with a time of 16:57.

Jackson Kaufman, Adam Moses, Chuck Trout, Ron Graham, Mehdi Razavi, William Snyder, Hailey Hubbard, Karen Beard, Susan Fairbairn, Marianna Fisher, Patti Stennett and Peggy Holter were 5K medalists.

Palisadian Bob Olds won the 75-79 division in the 10K. Other local age division winners included Nicklas Johansson, Wyatt Sarkisian, Sarah Bentley (13-15), Nicole Jackson, Natalie Gigg, Nell Stephenson, Molly Milligan, Ken Rideout, Robert Speiser and Roger Diamond.