The First Crapolfest 5K

By Rick Platt

Soccer and running were intertwined at the inaugural Crapolfest 2009 5K Run last Saturday, starting and finishing at Albert-Daly Field, the soccer stadium for William and Mary. The race benefited the Andrew E. Crapol Soccer Scholarship, and was organized by the W&M Tribe Club, with assistance by the W&M men’s soccer team.

Andy Crapol (1978-2009) was a Williamsburg native who played soccer for Lafayette High School, then at William and Mary under Coach Al Albert (the race director for the Crapolfest run). The 5K was a Colonial Road Runners event. Andy’s mother, Jeanne Zeidler, is on the Williamsburg City Council, and is the current mayor of Williamsburg. His father, Edward Crapol, is a professor emeritus in history at W&M.

Andy was diagnosed with esophageal cancer early this year, and died tragically within months. His wife, Allison Simmons Crapol, was at all the weekend events, including handing out the race awards.

There was almost $12,000 raised from the Crapolfest weekend events (also including a mini-golf tournament Saturday afternoon at Pirates Cove), and with $4,000+ in additional contributions made to the scholarship fund, that made for over $16,000 raised. The Crapol scholarship is now endowed with over $70,000.

There were 195 finishers in the 5K run/walk, and an additional 31 finishers in the 1 mile fun run/walk. The mini-golf tournament attracted about 125. There was also a W&M women’s soccer game Friday evening, and a men’s soccer game Saturday evening, where rival George Mason prevailed 1-0.

The top three overall men were Danny O’Callaghan, 37, of Houston (17:04), Gregor Kranjc, 35, of Williamsburg (17:13) and Daniel Shean, 26, of Williamsburg (18:07). O’Callaghan coached Brittany Lane, a junior starting midfielder on the W&M women’s team, for the Challenge Soccer Club in Houston, and came to the race with Brittany’s father, Brent Lane. Kranjc is a visiting professor in the same W&M history department as Andy’s father.

The top three women were Alaina Redd, 16, of Midlothian (and Cosby High School) in 20:53, Claire Zimmeck, 22, of Williamsburg (22:02) and Kristin Morgan, 24, of Williamsburg (22:48). Zimmeck was a two-time All-American for the W&M women’s soccer team, graduating in May.

The race course was mostly flat, and included a loop around Dillard Complex to start, then heading out the recreational bike path past the James City County Williamsburg Recreation Center, down Longhill Road to Ironbound Road at James Blair School, then back past the Plumeri Park entrance road to the finish at Albert-Daly Field, where refreshments were served and awards handed out.

Some of the notable runners, with soccer or W&M connections, placing in the top three of their age groups were Robert Bryden of Richmond and Greg Westfall of Manhasset, NY (both ’97 soccer grads); Scott Cooper of Toano (a coach in the Virginia Legacy soccer club); Sean Pieri (vice president for development for W&M); John Tuttle (W&M ’88, who was recently named one of the top 25 men’s soccer players of the CAA for its past 25 years); Gonzalo Abrigo (father of current men’s player Nick); Milam Walters (married to Andy’s older sister Heidi Crapol); Brent Lane (father of Brittany); Christine Connelly (wife of W&M associate head soccer coach Chuck Connelly); Brita Marmon (W&M assistant women’s soccer coach); and Karen DiNuzzo (mother of Michael on the W&M men’s team). Jonny Kamara, the second assistant coach for the W&M soccer team, who also coaches Virginia Legacy, would have been one of the top finishers, but he was accompanying his 3-year-old son Atticus to an impressive 39:23 time.

There were numerous other family members of Andy’s participating in either the 5K or 1 mile events, including Jeanne Zeidler, Ed Crapol, brother Paul Crapol, sister Heidi Crapol, aunt Marianne Crapol, father-in-law Robert Simmons, mother-in-law Patricia Simmons, and sister-in-law Kimberly Simmons.

Andy Crapol was best friends with Shane Emmett and the entire Emmett family since they were little kids, and all the Emmetts participated, including father Bob, mother Pauline, and brothers Shane, Casey (who designed the race entry form) and Quinn (designer and webmaster for the http://www.andycrapol.com/ website), and sister Molly (who ran barefoot).

Al Albert’s son Graham, also a former W&M soccer player, ran the first mile holding a soccer ball, then once the course opened up a bit, dribbled it for the final two miles of the race.

Full results can be found at http://colonialroadrunners.org/2009Crapolfestresults.txt.