Watson Wins Camptown Races - by Wes Skillings and Pete Hardenstine - 9/14/2006

Canton’s Garth Watson won the 40th running of the Camptown Races Saturday. Watson has been running in the event since the eighth grade.



Canton cross-country phenom Garth Watson cruised to an easy victory Saturday at the 40th running of the Camptown Races—three minutes and 42 seconds ahead of the rest of the 79-runner field.

Watson finished the run over the 10-kilometer course in 37:02, well ahead of runner-up Kevin Bullock, a former Northeast Bradford standout, who currently lives in Salem, MA. Bullock’s time was 40:44.

“I prefer this distance,” said Watson, a junior at Canton High School of the course, which reverted back to its classic 6.2-mile distance. “This is the distance I train at.”

The past two years, the course was longer because of flood damage on the original trail.

The traditional PIAA-sanctioned high school course is 3.1 miles and may be one reason that local cross country teams don’t regularly compete.

In fact, Canton didn’t run as a team and Watson was recruited as a member of the independent CraftMaster team, CMI.

Rounding out the top five were Larry Bullock, Mike Hudyncia and Bob Moore. Hudyncia and Moore were also members of Team CMI, as were Chad Butcher, Leon Mosher, Bob Lantz, Joe Gallagher, Frank Deak and Valerie Simpson. Butcher and Mosher also finished in the top 15.

The other independent team was the Bobcats. Jerry Hildebrant was the highest finisher for the Bobcats, placing 19th.

Northern Potter was the only high school team entered and, as Race Coordinator Karl “Tiger” Peterson commented when he handed out the trophies, “They are the gold, silver and bronze winner in that category this year.”

Steven Kibbe was Northern Potter’s top finisher, placing 10th in a time of 45:18. Other members of the squad included Derek Trowbridge, Jeremy Adams, Emily Hamilton, Casey Martin and Marrissa Warriner.

Watson did have a couple of notable Canton comrades running Saturday—his father, Frank, and his coach, Steve Williams.

Both claim solid Wyalusing area roots.

Although Frank Watson grew up in Canton, his father, “Buzz” Watson, was from the Herrickville area through his youth and young adult years.

Williams is a Wyalusing Valley High School graduate and the son of its former principal, the late Ken Williams.

“Garth started out cycling with me when he was about 10 years old, and he was doing about 150 miles a week when he got into running,” said the proud father.

“It was Steve who suggested that maybe he should get into running.”

“This was really fun,” Garth Watson said just minutes after the demanding race, which was run under sunny, comfortable conditions.

He first raced at Camptown as an eighth-grader and raised some eyebrows with his ability then.

One of his goals since that first race was winning at Camptown.

Last year, at the age of 15, he placed second on the altered and lengthened course, which was the result of damage caused by Hurricane Ivan in 2004.

This year’s course, thanks to the Eagle Scout project of Keith Howard, was returned to the course used for 30 of the event’s 40 years.

Watson said he was happy with the restored course. Other runners seemed to agree, though there was some mud and the last half of the race required special attention to footing.

Several runners even made a point of congratulating organizers about the condition of the course.

“Now if you could just get rid of all that pavement at the beginning, it would be perfect,” said one competitor.

The first two and a half miles of the race follow Rt. 706, with the final leg following winding trails and old logging roads through the woods along Wyalusing Creek.

Heather Bacon of Warren Center was the first female finisher, placing 32nd in a time of 51:46.

The field of 79 runners who completed the race was 33 fewer than last year’s race.

Competing races— the Race for the Cure in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre’s Cliff Robbins Invitational—may have held the size of the field down.



Camptown Races Runners’ Times



1 Garth Watson 00:37:02 CMI 13-18 Canton, PA.

2 Kevin Bullock 00:40:44 19-29 Salem, MA.

3 Larry Bullock 00:40:44 19-29 Woodstock, VA.

4 Mike Hyudincia 00:41:48 CMI 40-49 Wysox, PA.

5 Bob Moore 00:41:58 CMI 40-49 LeRaysville, PA.

6 David Morl 00:43:50 40- 49 Wilmington, DE.

7 Jeremy Burton 00:44:17 30-39 Jamestown, NY.

8 Bill Burd 00:44:50 50+ Williamsport, PA.

9 Mark Kusmierz 00:45:17 30-39 Stevensville, PA.

10 Steven Kibbe 00:45:18 Northern Potter HS 13-18 Harrison Valley, PA.

11 Wyatt Baxter 00:45:21 13-18 Canton, PA.

12 Chaz Ross 00:45:40 30-39 Clydesdale Uniondale, PA.

13 Robert Wells 00:45:46 40-49 Factoryville, PA.

14 Chad Butcher 00:45:56 CMI 30-39 Wysox, PA.

15 Leon Mosher 00:46:17 CMI 40-49 Towanda, PA.

16 Derek Trowbridge 00:46:59 Northern Potter HS 13-18 Genesee, PA.

17 Bill Mosier 00:47:23 40-49 Towanda, PA.

18 Matt Voda 00:47:40 30-39 Springville, PA.

19 Jerry Hildebrand 00:47:41 Bobcats 50+ Factoryville, PA.

20 Tim Johnson 00:47:47 50+ Montrose, PA.

21 Frank Watson 00:48:04 40-49 Canton, PA.

22 Micheal Rosengrant 00:48:13 13-18 Tunkhannock, PA.

23 Mitch Vargason 00:49:20 13-18 Towanda, PA.

24 Steve Williams 00:49:36 50+ Canton, PA.

25 Mike Kusmierz 00:49:46 30-39 Stevensville, PA.

26 Mike Randall 00:50:01 30-39 Towanda, PA.

27 David Rote 00:50:10 40-49 Clydesdale Waverly, NY.

28 Harold Titman 00:50:20 Bobcats 50+ Tunkhannock, PA.

29 Ken Layaou 00:50:32 Bobcats 40-49 Clydesdale Mehoopany, PA.

30 Grant Brewin 00:50:54 50+ Souderton, PA.

31 Duane Vanderpool 00:51:32 30-39 Wyausing, PA.

32 Heather Bacon 00:51:46 19-29 Warren Center, PA.

33 Larry Hoover 00:51:48 50+ Wilmington, DE.

34 Shannon Hilsey 00:52:10 13-18 Factoryville, PA.

35 Bob Lantz 00:52:14 CMI 50+ Camptown, PA.

36 Jeremy Adams 00:52:23 Northern Potter HS 13-18 Genesee, PA.

37 Terry Cobb 00:52:24 50+ Wyausing, PA.

38 Dale Yarasavage 00:53:16 Bobcats 50+ Tunkhannock, PA.

39 Rich Begliomini 00:53:33 50+ Uniondale, PA.

40 Jim Pate 00:54:10 Bobcats 50+ Clydesdale Browns Mills, PA.

41 Les Sheridan 00:54:22 50+ Towanda, PA.

42 Emily Hamilton 00:54:30 Northern Potter HS 13-18 Ulysses, PA.

43 Bob Burton 00:54:34 50+ Baldwinsville, PA.

44 Bob Rainey 00:54:42 50+ Dunmore,PA.

45 Eugene Learn 00:55:20 50+ Camptown, PA.

46 Roger Brown 00:57:51 40-49 Clydesdale Towanda, PA.

47 Katie Rosengrant 00:58:19 13-18 Falls, PA.

48 Nick Spano 00:58:42 40-49 Canton, PA.

49 Jordan Salsman 01:00:10 12 under Wyausing, PA.

50 Casey Martin 01:00:29 Northern Potter HS 13-18 Ulysses, PA.

51 Ronald Burton 01:00:38 50+ Hallstead, PA.

52 Paul Lundy 01:01:48 19-29 Chambersburg, PA.

53 Joe DePoto 01:02:23 30-39 Wyausing, PA.

54 Marrissa Warriner 01:02:46 Northern Potter HS 13-18 North Bingham, PA.

55 Libby King 01:03:18 40-49 Towanda, PA.

56 Louis Rosario 01:04:49 50+ Camptown, PA.

57 David Keeler 01:04:56 50+ Wyausing, PA.

58 Joe Gallagher 01:04:58 CMI 50+ LeRaysville, PA.

59 Robert Williams 01:06:21 40-49 Clarks Summit, PA.

60 John Chaffee 01:08:35 50+ Susquehanna, PA.

61 Don Merritt 01:09:37 19-29 Wyausing, PA.

62 Nathaniel Hemenway 01:10:24 13-18 Camptown, PA.

63 Myron Mokris 01:10:41 Bobcats 50+ Meshoppen,PA.

64 David Brown 01:13:21 13-18 Towanda, PA.

65 David Merritt 01:14:20 30-39 Hampstead, NH.

66 Donna Yarasavage 01:15:01 Bobcats 50+ Tunkhannock, PA.

67 Claire Howard 01:15:21 12 under Camptown, PA.

68 Lauren Chadwick 01:15:21 12 under Camptown, PA.

69 Joshua Burton 01:15:46 13-18 Frederick, MD.

70 Don Burton 01:15:46 50+ Frederick, MD.

71 Frank Deak 01:16:40 CMI 50+ Wyausing, PA.

72 Tarri Kelley 01:16:48 30-39 Laceyville, PA.

73 Kathy Rohrer 01:16:56 50+ Elmira, NY.

74 Valerie Simpson 01:28:36 CMI 40-49 Muncy, PA.

75 Amos Dixon 01:30:05 12 under Susquehanna, PA.

76 Ruth Chaffee 01:33:44 50+ Susquehanna, PA.

77 Heather Labor 01:43:48 13-18 Wyausing, PA.

78 Don Ferguson 01:43:49 13-18 Wyausing, PA.

79 Jim Chadwick 01:43:50 13-18 Camptown, PA.