By Nathan Mayberg 
MONTICELLO — August 9, 2005 – Nearly 300 motivated runners descended on Broadway in Monticello on Sunday morning for the 26th annual Monticello Rotary Club Monster 10K and Baby Monster 5K races.
Andy Latincsics, 39, of Newton, NJ, dusted the featured 10 kilometer competition, and emerged as the singular most dominating runner of local events. He squarely defeated approximately 200 competitors back in March over a 13.1-mile course in the Citizens Reunited to Overcome Cancer (CROC) annual marathon in Rock Hill.
His time of 35:19 in the Monster 10K over the hilly course throughout Monticello, was nearly four minutes faster than the runner-up, Doug Putzelt, of Warwick (39:16). Latincsics won his last local race by nearly three minutes.
The top local finisher in the Monster 10K was Mike Kresge of Rock Hill, who crossed the line in fourth place overall with a time of 39:52.
Latincsics was on top of the pace from the start of the event.
“It’s nice to come up here and have a good race,” he said.
The seasoned and experienced athlete admitted that the course, with its several large hills, was tough.
However, he was able to “cruise,” most of the way due to a large lead he held for a great deal of the time.
“I was a little surprised,” he said of how far in front he was. “I had an easy day for a change. It was a nice course and I didn’t have to kill myself.”
Lilian Kroner was the top woman runner. She placed 11th overall, with a time of 41:11.
“It was definitely a monster,” she said of the course. “It was very challenging, but I wanted to do it. I am training for the New York City Marathon.”
Kroner, 39, said this autumn’s New York City Marathon was a good way to celebrate her upcoming 40th birthday.
“They say life begins at 40. Why not celebrate it with a marathon?”
Her time on Sunday was nearly two minutes faster than the second-place female, 42-year-old Suzanne LaBurt of Greenwood Lake. The third-place woman’s runner was 17-year-old April Ackerman of Cochecton.
In the 5K Baby Monster race, Steven Keller, 26, of Youngsville, took home the first place trophy by defeating 121 others in a time of 17:50. Ted DeLauney, 45 of Chester, followed him across the finish line 10 seconds later. Clocking in at 18:10 to earn the third place trophy was 14-year-old Brendan Devine of Bethel.
“It was tough,” Keller said of beating DeLauncey and Devine. “Brendan Devine beat me the last couple races. My friends have been letting me know about it.”
Keller said he took seven years off from running and just returned to training in March. He called the baby monster “a beast.” He was hoping to cruise early, and then speed it up near the end. But he noted that he had to change his game plan and be aggressive from the beginning in order to win.
Beating all other women to the finish line of the Baby Monster was 17-year-old Maegan Krifchin of Bellmore, Long Island. A summer resident of Woodbourne, she called the rolling hills a “bit of a challenge.”
Krifchin placed seventh overall with a time of 19:26. Her time was more than two minutes ahead of the female runner-up, Stephanie Shellman, 14, of East Branch.
The money raised by the Monster and Baby Monster races will go to CROC, which aids families in Orange, Sullivan and Ulster counties who need help with cancer-related medical expenses.
Please see a list of results in Friday’s issue.