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Flushing’s Pedroza captures Flushing Meadows 5K race


Pedroza, a resident of Flushing,…

By The TimesLedger

William Pedroza went out fast, led all the way and captured the second and last of the College Point Road Runners Track Club 5K races in the summer series at Flushing Meadows Corona Park on a recent Wednesday evening.

Pedroza, a resident of Flushing, covered the first mile in 5:16, ran a 5:34 split for the second mile and covered the two loop course in 16:59.

He wound up a good distance ahead of second place finisher Marcus Zamora, who was clocked in 17:36, 12 seconds faster than Juan Mena.

“Pedroza was too strong for all of us,” said Zamora, who was first in his age group. “I’m preparing for the Manhattan Half-Marathon [on Aug. 4].”

Rounding out the top five were Leonardo Palacios (17:54) and Nick Ng (18:00) in a field of 88 finishers. Carmen Jimenez, with a 19.30, was the female winner.

“I ran a very good race,” Pedroza said. “I put in 70 miles a work of training in Astoria Park.”

Athletes from Francis Lewis High School and Archbishop Molly, who are returning to their cross country teams, competed in the 3.1 mile race last week as part of their training program.

“It’s a good experience to run in a 5K road race as it will help us four our cross country teams,” said Lewis juniors Laurence Lau (21:40) and Louie Tur (21:26).

“Running in such a race was funs” said Alley Pond Striders President Rob Pasqual, who covered the course in 19:15. “The field wasn’t too crowded and, with the exception of the winner, was very competitive.”