team racing with Front Line

tmills@kalamazoogazette.com 388-2731

More team competition may be in the future of several Kalamazoo area runners if their success in the Boston Marathon last week is any indication.

Bonnie Sexton, Mindy Houser, Sherry Selby, Brenda Stoddard, Cindy Owen and Molly Sherrard ran last Monday as part of Front Line Racing Team's women's open team, which unofficially placed third in a field of 38 teams.

Official team results are not yet available.

The times of the top three runners on each team are combined to score the division, and Houser (3:10:40), Sexton (3:15:10) and Farmington's Kim Peterson (3:07:17) accounted for the team's total of 9:33:07.

"Kim, Mindy and Bonnie ran incredible races to account for our team scoring," Front Line founder and president Fred Vanhala said in the team newsletter. "We beat some of the best known teams in the country, including the Boston Athletic Association, Atlanta Track Club, Central Park Track Club, DC Road Runners. ..."

This year's team set a Front Line record, coming in over an hour faster than last year's squad. Peterson, Houser, Sexton, and Selby also landed themselves in the Top 10 of Boston Marathon finishes for Front Line, which has been operating since 1999.

Amal Mansour competed on the women's masters team, which placed fourth with a 10:33:32. Mansour ran a 3:48:40, the seventh fastest Boston finish for Front Line.