Winners crowned in Alliant Energy Fifth Season 8K (WITH GALLERY)

Diane Nukuri-Johnson proved to be the class of the women's field in Monday's Alliant Energy Fifth Season 8K in Cedar Rapids.

Nukuri-Johnson, a former University of Iowa standout, took control early and raced to victory in 26 minutes, seven seconds, 40 seconds clear of the field. Nukuri-Johnson, 26, pocketed $2,000 for her effort. The Iowa City resident's time was 26th best in the entire field of men and women.

“I kind of wanted to see if I could keep pushing and trying to get up and run with some of the top guys,” said Nukuri-Johnson. “My strategy was just to keep pushing because I knew the girls would keep coming up on me.”

The conditions at the start of the race were 64 degrees and sunny. Nukuri-Johnson said that the race conditions were a great benefit to her.

“This weather was perfect. I started getting warm the last couple of miles, but I was never uncomfortable,” she said. “There wasn't as much humidity today as there was a couple days ago, which was really nice.”

The rest of the top 10 behind Nukuri-Johnson included: Doreen Kitaka, 26:47 ($1,000), Emily Brown, 26:59 ($800), Erin Moeller (Mount Vernon), 27:23 ($600), Jill Swope, 27:28 ($400), Pasca Cheruiyot, 27:31 ($350), Atalelech Asfaw, 27:47 ($300), Mary Akor, 28:04 ($250), Casey Owens, 28:26 ($200) and Jen Van Otterloo, 29:08 ($100).

Karen Martin, 49 of Lisbon was awarded $200 for being the top female master finisher (40+) with a time of 35:19.

Andriette Wickstrom, 56, of Storm Lake, won $200 for being the top female grandmaster finisher (50+) with a time of 36:31.

Top residential finishers included: Jillian Faaborg, 22, of Cedar Rapids, who finished with a time of 29:50. Kelsey Hart, 20, of Solon, finished right behind Faaborg with a time of 29:54. Elaina Mertens, 25, of Cedar Rapids was the next female residential finisher with a time of 31:13.

This year's field consisted of 355 female finishers. There were two women over 65 who finished the race.

Chin Stone, 66, of Manchester was the only finisher in the 65-69 age class. Stone finished with a time of 55:22. Marilyn Wickenkamp, 76, of Newton, was the oldest female participant. She finished in an impressive time of 46:46.

The race to the wire in men's division was just that, a sprint to the line.

And when it was over, Macdonarad Ondara of Santa Fe, N.M. edged Samuel Ndereba of Royersford, Pa. by one second.

Ondara took the $2,000 first prize in a time of 22 minutes, 41 seconds. Ndereba, who finished in 22:42, won $1,000 for his runner-up performance.

Ondara, 26, was unavailable for comment on his victory, but, Ndereba, 34, a native of Kenya, spoke about the photo finish.

“Halfway through the race, three of us broke out of the pack,” Ndereba said. “By mile three, we dropped the other guy and it was down to Ondara and me. We were neck-and-neck.

“When we came to the last baton, it was close. It seemed like we got there at the same time, but I got second,” Ndereba said.

Other top-10 finishers (3-10) included: Julius Koskey, 23:04 ($800), Moses Maweru, 23:23 ($600), Julius Kiptoo, 23:24 ($400), Sammy Malakwen, 23:29 ($350), Richard Kandie, 23:35 ($300), Festus Kigen, 23:40 ($250), Kevin Chelimo, 23:48 ($200) Samuel Kosgei, 23:48 ($100).

Keith Mulhollon, 41, of Lake Geneva, Wis  was awarded $200 for being the top male master finisher (40+) with a time of 25:41.

Phil Kauder, 50, of Cascade won $200 for being the top male grandmaster finisher (50+) with a time of 27:58.

The top three male runners from Iowa split $300. Guor Marial, 26, of Ames was awarded $150 for his first-place time of 24:30. Sammy Rotich, 24, of West Des Moines took $100 for his second-place finish (24:57). And Nick Bowerman, 28, of Dubuque earned $50 with a third place time of 25:08.

Christopher Jensen, 29, of Marion, was the top male local county runner. His time of 25:55 was earned him $150. Nathan Hopp, 28, of West Amana was awarded $100 for finishing second in f 26:01. Coming in third, winning $50, was Nicholas Synan of Iowa City with a time of 26:12.

Local county finishers included residents in the eight-county area of Linn, Johnson, Buchanan, Delaware, Benton, Jones, Cedar, and Iowa counties.

For a complete list of results, check the Alliant Energy Fifth Season's results page.

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