Bark at the Park raises $5,000 for animal shelter

More than 100 runners and walkers turned out for the Second Annual Bark at the Park Saturday in Byerly Park from as far away as Tennessee. The youngest participants were 7-year-olds Spencer Tripp and Jenny Powell; the oldest was 84-year-old Franklin Mason of Mullins.

“I think this year was an outstanding turnout, we had more than what we expected,” said Tiffany Wilson, event organizer.

The 5K run/walk raised $5,000 for the Darlington County Humane Society.

“We had a lot of people bring their pets out,” said Wilson. “And that’s who it’s for, our friends at the Humane Society, and we’re very excited to have such a successful event.”

Mayoral Candidate Mel Pennington announced the award winners.

The top three dogs that crossed the finish line were Gracie and her companion Brandon Downey, 29, of Hartsville; Haley and Roger Buckley, 41; and Sydney and Olivia Crabtree, 17, of Hartsville.

Award winners
Lynn L. Grimes, 57, of Blythewood, Female Overall, 25:45
Chris Hicks, 43, of Florence, Male Overall, 17:15
Cheryl Smith, 49, of Hartsville, Female Masters (40+), 26:56
Michael Singletary, 47, of Florence, Male Masters (40+), 21:11
Kim Hoffman, 50, of Florence, Female Grand Masters (50+), 26:33
Bill Wilson, 50, of Hartsville, Male Grand Masters (50+), 19:22
Cynthia Gardner, 62, of Hartsville, Female Senior Masters (60+), 33:46
Arnold Floyd, 66, of Hartsville, Male Senior Masters (60+), 23:19
E.K. Tolley-Beeson, 73, of Sumter, Female Veteran Masters (70+), 35:08
Franklin Mason, 84, of Mullins, Male Veteran Masters (70+), 45:30
Dheepa Varadarajan, 25, of Florence, Female Walker, 38:11
Michael Thornton, 30, of Florence, Male Walker, 38:56

Age Group Results
Tessa Fonteneau, 8, of Hartsville, Female Age 1-10, 34:44
Croxton West, 9, Male Age 1-10, 29:12
Jordan McCoy, 12, Female Age 11-13, 46:22
Larry Alvarez, 11, Male Age 11-13, 34:40
Justin Steeves, 15, of Hartsville, Male Age 14-16, 21:31
Olivia Crabtree, 17, of Hartsville, Female Age 17-19, 29:06
Drew McCall, 17, Male Age 17-19, 20:33
Rachel Trujillo, 20, of Lexington, Female Age 20-24, 32:41
Phillip Santos, 23, of Darlington, Male Age 20-24, 20:04
Stephanie Wilcox, 25, of Hartsville, Female Age 25-29, 26:56
Rich Timmons, 26, of Sumter, Male Age 25-29, 21:09
Paula Alvarez, 32, of Hartsville, Female Age 30-34, 30:59
Keith Jones, 33, of Hartsville, Male Age 30-34, 19:42
Priscilla Myers, 35, of Hartsville, Female Age 35-39, 27:14
Jay Nester, 37, of Hartsville, Male Age 35-39, 22:40
Lisa Nine, 44, of Sumter, Female Age 40-44, 30:00
Jeffrey Crabtree, 42, of Hartsville, Male Age 40-44, 22:27
Pam Gokey, 45, of Hartsville, Female Age 45-49, 30:12
Mike Zold, 48, of Hartsville, Male Age 45-49, 23:13
Bonnie Bosworth, 52, of Hartsville, Female Age 50-54, 30:38
Rick Richey, 51, of Florence, Male Age 50-54, 25:34
Barbara Benjamin, 59, of Darlington, Female Age 55-59, 39:07
Milton McBride, 57, of Darlington, Male Age 55-59, 29:18
Sandra Jernigan, 63, of Oak Ridge, Tenn., Female Age 60-99, 37:40
Rocky Soderberg, 67, of Sumter, Male Age 60-99, 28:19