Two former parish high school stars won their respective divisions in the Sportspectrum Firecracker 5K Race for Research & Healthwalk Saturday.
Former Parkway star Gabe Falting edged current Parkway standout Brennan Robin in the men’s division. Former Benton star Isabelle Russell won the women’s race.
Runners started and finished at Mall St. Vincent. The course runs through the South Highlands neighborhood. According to the online results, 2,026 people finished the race.
The race, which marked its 42nd anniversary, is a celebration of the Fourth of July. Many runners and walkers wore patriotic outfits or hats marking America’s 250th birthday.
The race benefits the Spine Institute of Louisiana and is dedicated to the memory of local running enthusiasts Ran Kiper, Jim Wilhite and Robin Fell.
The 20-year-old Falting, who recently completed his sophomore season at Arkansas State, covered the course in 15 minutes, 45.119 seconds. Robin, a rising senior, came in almost beside him in 15:45.178.
Robin, 16, is the reigning LHSAA Division I 1,600 and 3,200 indoor and 3,200 outdoor state champion.
Randy Canaday, 25, of Tyler, Texas, finished third in 15:49.379.
Andrew Kent, another former Parkway standout who graduated in 2025, was fourth in 16:41.288. Brody Hutchison, a 2026 Benton graduate, finished fifth in 16:43.986.
Parkway rising senior Aiden O’Nishea was 10th in 17:10.498.
Other parish runners in the top 25 were Gary Wilson (14th), Austin Coffey (18th), Javaria Flournoy (19th), Michael Bertsch (20th), Daniel Bilodeau (21st) and rising Bossier senior Quinton Hodge (25th).
Russell, who just completed her junior season at Louisiana, covered the course in 17:43.049. She finished 12th overall.
Russell won the 1,500 in the LSU Alumni Gold meet in April in 4:27.69, the second-best time in program history. She finished second in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters in the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championships in May.
Cara Sims, 19, of Marshall, Texas, was second in 18:53.430. Bossier City’s Angel Martin, 43, was ninth in 20:41.073.
Other parish runners in the top 25 were Lynne Champagne (15th), Kansas Cooley (17th), Caylee Weaver (20th) and Kaylee Ivey (21st).
Weaver, 15, is a rising sophomore at Parkway. Ivey is a rising sophomore at Providence Classical Academy.