First time Jack 15 participant Adam Pangrac, 34, of Moorhead, Minnesota, won the 60th running of the Jack 15 Saturday with a time of 1:27:23, which ranks 86th all-time.
“Rarely do we see a runner break into that storied top 100 list, so kudos to Adam in his first Jack 15,” race director Dave Graves said. Pangrac clocked an average pace of 5:45 per mile on the course from White to the Campanile in Brookings.
Placing second through fifth were Bailey Vande Griend, 22, of Sioux Falls, at 1:31:20; Marty Wennblom, 43, of Rapid City, at 1:34:33; Ben Devlin, 34, of Sioux Falls, at 1:40:06; and Tim Fryer, 43, of Hendricks, Minn., at 1:45:01. Fryer, the 2021 champion, finished second in the Lean Horse 100-Miler Aug. 20 with a time of 18 hours and 5 seconds.
Jacqui Meadors, 42, of Sioux Falls, repeated as the women’s winner and won her third overall Jack 15 title with a time of 2:02:43.
Placing second through fifth among women were Andriette Wickstrom, 67, of Storm Lake, Iowa, 2:05:30; Lisa Raetz, 37, of Brookings, 2:05:58; Dene Schiefer, 45, of Eau Claire, Wis., 2:08:44; and Jenna Gassman, 30, of West Fargo, N.D., 2:09:40.
The field included three of the most seasoned Jack 15 runners. Scott Jamison, of Wentworth, completed his 34th Jack 15, which is second only to Bob Bartling’s 38. Owen Hotvet, of Sioux Falls, who is third on the list, completed his 28th and Tony Thoreson, of Brandon, who is seventh on the list, completed his 17th.
Completing his second Jack 15 was course record holder Dick Beardsley, 66, of Bemidji, Minn., who finished 52nd in a time of 2:26:39. His previous Jack 15 was in 1980, when he ran 1:14:54, shortly before he broke out on the world stage and narrowing missed winning the 1982 Boston Marathon.
Beardsley was the keynote speaker for the Friday night program that also included seven members of the South Dakota State cross country program that ran the first Jack 15 on Dec. 7, 1963. Their coaches, Tom Woodall and Harry Mansheim, also were on hand.
Full results, including relay placings, can be found at www.prairiestriders.net.
