Drake surprises, LeVan rules among top Maine runners

CAPE ELIZABETH – Three years ago, a 16-year-old wunderkind from South Portland named Eric Giddings was the first Mainer to break the tape at the TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon 10K, and a number of his opponents were surprised.

At that same finish line Saturday at Fort Williams Park, it was deja vu, sort of, for Donny Drake of Portland.

“It’s kind of funny, I rode to the course with him that day, and he was talking about how he wanted to run hard and win the Maine division,” Drake said.

As of Saturday, both runners are not only Division I college runners (Drake at the University of Maine, Giddings at Stanford), but both have Beach to Beacon titles to their credit after Drake was the top Maine finisher in the 2006 event.

Like Ethan Hemphill when he placed second to Giddings in 2003, Drake had a surprised look on his face Saturday, even though his finish was slightly better than Hemphill’s.

“It was a big surprise, it was just so unexpected,” said Drake, who crossed the finish line in 31 minutes, 15.8 seconds.

Ben True of North Yarmouth, a junior at Dartmouth College, came in second in 31:48.8. Ayalew Taye of Cape Elizabeth was third in 31:55.9, Mike Bunker of Bucksport fourth in 32:14.3 and Cape Elizabeth’s Andrew Van Hoogenstyn’s 32:20.2 rounded out the top five.

For the second straight year, the top woman finisher from Maine was 33-year-old Emily LeVan of Wiscasset. LeVan, who is gearing up for the Twin Cities Marathon in Minnesota in October, completed the 6.2 miles in 35:39.5. Susannah Beck of Sedgwick was second in 35:56.6, Kristin Pierce-Barry of Scarborough third in 36:11.8, Sheri McCarthy-Piers of Falmouth fourth in 36:49.6 and Scarborough High School standout Erica Jesseman, 17, finished fifth in an impressive 37:37.6.

Drake didn’t train much specifically for the race, as he is gearing up for his senior season of cross country at UMaine.

“I’m kind of in the mid-range in my miles, I’m doing about 60 to 70 miles a week,” Drake said. “I just kind of wanted to see where my fitness level is at.”

Drake was pleased with the victory, but said runners such as True were taking it easy and not risking injuries, as True also is preparing for cross country reason.

“I don’t think they were really racing as hard as they could,” Drake said. “[However] I’m just really happy I was able to run well today.”

The win in the Beach to Beacon adds to an impressive running resume for Drake, which includes state team cross country and indoor track titles his senior year at Deering High School in Portland and running on a 3,200-meter relay team that won the New England indoor championship during his senior year.

Jeff Caron of Auburn finished seventh in the field in 32:41.5 while Bar Harbor’s Evan Graves, second a year ago, was eighth in 32:46.5. Andy Beardsley of Surry, an Ellsworth High School running coach, was fourth in the Maine Masters division in 34:09.8

In the women’s race, LeVan got stronger through the second half of the race.

“As we hit the hills in the second half of the course, I felt a little bit stronger,” said LeVan, who added that she “enjoys the hills, [because] they give me some kind of confidence boost.”

Saturday’s race was another steppingstone in LeVan’s preparation for the Twin Cities Marathon.

“It’s another step toward a goal,” she said. “I love using this race as a setup for future races.”

Now that she’s won back-to-back titles, will LeVan have a target on her back now?

“I guess I’m a little bit better known now, so maybe more people are kind of shooting for me I guess,” she said.

LeVan’s time was “roughly 30 seconds” faster than her 2005 effort, bit she hoped to go a little bit lower.

“I wish I’d run a little bit faster, but overall I can’t complain,” she said.

Christine Ganz of Mount Desert earned a top-10 finish in the field. Her effort of 39:18.1 was good for ninth place.