Illinois Valley

Sports Shorts: Geneseo’s Zach Johnson wins Underground Railroad 5K

Brian Taylor and Lenora Hopkins are first Princeton finishers

Zach Johnson of Geneseo heads the field in Saturday's Bureau County Homestead 5K race. He won the raced with a time of 17:45.4.

Zach Johnson of Geneseo heads the field in Saturday's Underground Railroad 5K race. He won the raced with a time of 17:45.4. (Mike Vaughn)

By Kevin Hieronymus

This year’s Underground Railroad 5K drew 202 runners.

Race winners were Zach Johnson of Geneseo, who completed the course in 17:45.4, and Christi Wilson (23.22.2) of Marseiles as the first female finisher.

The top male Princeton finisher was Brian Taylor with Lenora Hopkins (24:51) leading the women.

A look at the top 10 finishers were:

1. Zach Johnson, Geneseo, 7:45.4

2. Brian Taylor, Princeton, 18:37.4

3. Dave Schmitz, Earlville, 19:29.1

4. Jay King, Walnut, 20:48.5

5. Brent Loftus, Princeton, 21:05.9

6. Quin Delvallee, Oglesby, 21:25.1

7. Khadyn Jacobs, Princeton, 22:13.7

8. Nolan Kloepping, Princeton, 22:25.2

9. Charles Crawford, Metamora, 22:28.0

10. Patrick Koerner, Bourbannais, 22:29.5

Keith Varland of Princeton runs in Saturday's Bureau County Homestead 5K race.

Keith Varland of Princeton runs in Saturday's Underground Railroad 5K race. (Mike Vaughn)

BCR
Kevin Hieronymus

Kevin Hieronymus

Kevin has been sports editor of the BCR since 1986 and is Sports Editor of Putnam County Record. Was previously sports editor of the St. Louis Daily News and a contributor for the St. Louis Cardinals magazine. He is a 2021 inductee into the IBCA Hall of Fame (Media) and a 2023 inductee into the Illinois Valley Hall of Fame as "Distinguished Media"