Mathew Kiplagat, who raced competitively for Iona College, finished strong in the Firecracker 8K to take first prize.

Southampton - Mathew Kiplagat wove through the streets of Southampton and finally saw the finish line a few hundred yards away. With victory at the Firecracker 8K on his mind and the pitter-patter of feet behind him - two sets of them - he had no choice but to shift it into another gear. Kiplagat won the race to the tape and pumped his fist as he hit the tape, winning the annual race held on a steamy Sunday morning.

Of the field of nearly 400 competitors, Kiplagat was the quickest, registering a time of 25 minutes, 26 seconds. The pace was so blistering that Kiplagat was one of four runners to top the result put forth by last year's winner, Jorge Real (26:58). Yevgen Sirotin of Morristown, NJ, settled for second in a time of 25:30, and he was followed by the Bronx's Joseph Ekuom in third (25:35).

Heather Williams-Fives of Centerport was the first woman across. Williams-Fives ran a 30:46 for a modest victory over Shannon Duff of Greenwich, CT (31:01), and Bridget Montgomery of Chicago, IL (31:02). Westhampton Beach's Laura Brown captured the women's master's division, finishing first among those aged 40-and over with a time of 31:52 and fourth overall. Cash prizes of $350 were awarded to the first-place finishers in the open draw; prizes of $250 went to the master's winners and $150 was given to both the senior (60-and-over) and junior (19-and-under) champions.

The win was a thrill for the 26-year-old Kiplagat, who trains with Ekuom for much of the year and ordinarily finishes behind him in the races in which they compete. The native Kenyan said Sunday's victory was his first over his fellow countryman. As recently as three weeks ago, Ekuom finished third to Kiplagat's sixth in the Litchfield Hills 10K in Connecticut, a race won by Julius Kiptoo, who finished third at Shelter Island two weeks ago.

Centerport's Heather Williams-Fives put together a fine performance and was the first woman to cross the finish line, doing so in 30:46.

"At the end, I was feeling like I was tired," Kiplagat said. "The second guy was really strong. We kicked for 100 meters, so I thought he was going to beat me, but I got extra strength and I was able to win."

Kiplagat has completed a five-mile course in sub-25 minutes but he said the heat was a factor. He spoke highly of the course's scenery, even though he had to put his head down to leg out the first-place result. Racers started up Jobs Lane and bent right onto South Main Street and Gin Lane. The course hugged the coast until veering right onto Halsey Neck Lane and curling over to Captains Neck Lane. It then featured a long straightaway on Ox Pasture Road before ending back up at Agawam Park via Pond Lane. "The course is really nice," Kiplagat said. "It's constantly flat. Along the ocean was really nice and you have that breeze too."

Rounding out the top five overall finishers was Shawn Pollard of Port Jefferson Station (4th; 26:42) and Stephen Childs (5th; 27:25). Bryan Knipfing, formerly of Shelter Island, was sixth in a time of 27:51, while Southampton grad Luis German took seventh in 28:17. Westhampton junior-to-be Forest Gilbakian was the highest ranked teenager in the bunch, registering a 10th place finish with a time of 29:19.

Among the local age group winners on the men's side were Southampton's Jason Hancock (male 35-39; 29:45), and James Harmon (male 55-59; 37:42), as well as Wainscott's Stephen Hedges (male 60-64; 37:35) and Sag Harbor's Blaire Stauffer (male 70-and-over; 44:12).

On the women's side, Jade Kalbacher of Southampton was first in the 14-and-under group (46:08). Other Southamponites to win their age groups were Cassie Spreitzer (20-24; 34:02), Lauren Laviola (25-29; 33:58), Nancy McCabe (40-44; 37:13) and Cindy Harris (70-and-over; 1:09:28). Judy Poznik of Water Mill took first among those 60-64 by registering a 1:02:02.

(From the left) Shelter Island's Lauren Laviola takes on the final few hundred yards on the five-mile course; Yevgen Sorotin finished just five seconds behind the race winner in 25:30; and 17-year-old Mike Williamson of Sag Harbor was 30th overall in the race with a time of 33:10.(right)