Darien's Tripodi Tops Women in Stratton Faxon 5K

Ethiopian runners may have once again dominated Sunday's Stratton Faxon Half Marathon in Fairfield, but it was a Darienite who walked away with the top women's time in Saturday's 5K race.

Amanda Tripodi finished with a time of 18:59, besting the female competition from a field of 1,500 runners on a 3.1 mile course around Jennings Beach. On the men's side, Ansonia's Timothy Milenkevich crossed the finish line first with a time of 16:07.

In Sunday's marathon, Ethopian Kumsa Adugna finished first in a time of 1:04.40, as the 24-year-old crossed the tape 15 seconds ahead of countryman Ketema Nigusse. They were followd by Worku Beyi (1:06.14), last year's runner-up, and Genna Tufa (1:08.11).

The top American finisher was 27-year-old Ridgefielder Lucas Meyer, who placed fifth with a time of 1:09.52. Trumbull's Matt Klein, 17, was ninth (1:13.43), making him the top finisher in his age group. Darien's 16-year-old Michael Johnston was also among the finishers.

The first woman across the finish line was Morocco's Malika Mejdoub (1:18.05) while the top American female was West Simsbury's Shannon McHale, who was 38th overall (1:23.48).

More than 4,000 runners participated in the race, which is regarded as one of the top half marathons in the  Northeast.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, also participated in the event, running for the John Patrick Flanagan Foundation