And they are off and running in the first Log Cabin 5K Run in Cassopolis Saturday. (Leader photo/SCOTT NOVAK)

CASSOPOLIS — The first Log Cabin 5K Run is in the books and from all signs, it was a very successful beginning for the fundraising event.

A total of 96 runners crossed the finish line at Sam Adams Elementary Saturday morning.

St. Joseph’s Charlie Fenton, who is no stranger to Diamond Lake, was the overall winner as he bested the field by over a minute.

Brandywine’s Michael Robbins finished third overall with a time of 18:08, a second behind runner-up Joey McGrew, who ran 18:07.

Cassopolis’ Jessica Biek, who runs cross country at St. Mary’s College, was the women’s winner.

“It was fun,” Felton said. “We live right over there in our summer house, so I run a round here a lot in the summer. It was right in my back yard, which was really nice. It was a good training run as I get ready for cross season.”

Felton, who will be a senior, helped the St. Joseph cross country team to a third place finish last fall and a runner-up finish in 2011.

Biek came down the stretch shoulder to shoulder with her father Jon, who was a standout runner at Dowagiac and Southwestern Michigan College.

But in the final yards, she surged ahead and was easily the top finishing female.

“It was fun to race with my dad and it was fun seeing Ron Gunn (course designer) again,” Biek said. “He’s been at all of the races my team has run. I liked the course. It was a little loopy so that was a surprise. Going by the lake was a great choice.

Biek is a senior at St. Mary’s.
Log Cabin 5K Run
Overall winners
Male – Charlie Felton
Female – Jessica Biek

Age Division winners
11 & Under Male
Jonathan Leach
11& Under Female
Anna Leach

12-14 Male
Max Glynn
12-14 Female
Jacqueline Kelly

15-17 Male
Charlie Felton
15-17 Female
Carolyn Kirchner

18-20 Male
Joey McGrew
18-20 Female
Jessica Balko

21-25 Male
Leddrew Smith
21-25 Female
Jessica Biek

26-30 Male
Rev. Benjamin David
Hutcheson
26-30 Female
Rebekah Weist

31-35 Male
Aaron Cox
31-35 Female
Danielle Saylor

36-40 Male
Damien Ruesink
36-40 Female
Renee Stratton

41-45 Male
Robert Ray Collins
41-45 Female
Clare Collins

46-50 Male
Jon Biek
46-50 Female
Sue Huys

51-55 Male
Mike Moroz
51-55 Female
Vicki Christopher

56-60 Male
Mark Seifrid
56-60 Female
Caroline Price

61-65 Male
Dave Huys
61-65 Female
Betty Ash

71-75 Female
Carol Smith