Two-Time Winners Victorious Again At Napa Marathon

Thirty-two-year-old San Anselmo resident Devon Yanko and 28-year-old Folsom resident Chris Mocko took first place in the women’s and men’s divisions in Sunday’s Napa Valley Marathon.

Both runners have won the 26.2-mile race two times before. Yanko dominated the women’s field with a 2 hour, 45 minute and 45 second time. She finished eighth overall.

“I felt confident today,” Yanko said in a statement. The 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier finished third in the 2014 race. Her current marathon best is 2:38:55.

• Also see: Photo Slideshow: Sunday’s Napa Marathon

The men’s race was more competitive. Mocko, 2013 men’s champion Kevin Pool and Reno resident Ron Young ran step in step until the 6-mile mark when Young dropped off the pace, according to race officials.

Mocko opened up a lead on Pool at mile 23 and led all runners to the finish line at Napa’s Vintage High School. He finished with a time of 2:23:06, race officials said.

Pool finished second at 2:23:42 and 30-year-old San Diego resident Kosuke Amano finished third with a time of 2:31:18. University of California at San Francisco medical student Michelle Meyer finished second in the women’s field. Anna Denn, a resident of Salem, Oregon, finished third.

Three thousand people ran in the sold-out race from Calistoga to Napa. Organizers donate proceeds from the race to Napa Valley charities.

--Bay City News

--Photos of Devon Yanko courtesy of Al Francis of NapaSonomaPhotos.com

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