GLADSTONE — A late surge made the difference for Derek Douglas here Thursday morning as he earned top honors in the Fran Cannon Firecracker five-mile run.

The St. Scholastica College senior was clocked at 27 minutes, 48.5 seconds, slightly more than five seconds ahead of Tanner Howes of Gladstone.

“We had some good competition out there,” Douglas said. “He had little bit of a gap about halfway through, but I felt good in the last half-mile and kicked it in. I’m running about 60 miles a week and getting some good conditioning. I just wanted to see where my conditioning was at.”

Howes, who will run at Bay College this fall, led until the final half-mile.

“I kind of ran out of juice in the last mile,” he said. “I’m actually super pleased with that race. I led by about 3-5 seconds most of the race and beat Drew’s (Hughes) best time. Derek is such a fast runner. Once he went ahead, I couldn’t catch him. This is good conditioning for cross country. I’m just going to work on getting in better shape.”

Blake Salbilla of Lake Villa, Ill. placed third in 29:33.1

Rapid River graduate and former Wisconsin-Green Bay basketball player Sara Rohde was crowned women’s champion at 32:24.1. She was followed by Becky Cozzi of Villa Park (34:16.6) and Cadia Hoffman (36:00.1).

“I was happy,” Rohde said. “I wanted to do it. I was looking forward to this five-miler. It felt like I started quick and the last mile was pretty fast. The third and fourth miles weren’t as fast as I hoped, but it was a great day to run.”

Cohen Gerard of Rockford, Mich. won the kids’ one-mile event in 6:15.7, followed by Fischer Drebebstedt of Gladstone (6:24.2) and Charlie Blair (6:24.4).

Claire Hoffman paced the girls in 6:28.3. She was followed by Gloria Dosh of Green Bay (7:06.4) and Emma Johnson of Gladstone (7:07.7).

The event, which was held under sunny conditions with temperatures in the mid 60s, drew more than 250 runners and walkers.

Five-mile

Male

11-13 — Kyle Smith, Gladstone, 34:20.7; 14-16 — Brendan Williams IV, Howell, Mich., 29:36.3; 17-19 — Tanner Howes, Gladstone, 27:53.6; 20-29 — Derek Douglas, Escanaba, 27:48.5; 30-39 — Dan Becker, Gladstone, 32:34.8; 40-49 — Zach Truitt, Rapid River, 31:26.1; 50-59 — Dave Devet, Gladstone, 38:57.6; 60-69 — Andy Novis, Medford, Mass., 36:29.2; 70 & over — David Dubovsky, Wetmore, 1:04.59.8.

Female

11-13 — Ava Archambeau, 39:12.6; 14-16 — Hannah Salbilla, Lake Villa, Ill., 37:33.5; 17-19 — Allison Nussear, Midland, Mich., 38:23.3; 20-29 — Taylor VanOss, Rapid River, 36:07.8; 30-39 — Becky Cozzi, Lake Villa, Ill., 34:16.6; 40-49 — Sara Rohde, DePere, Wis., 32:24.1; 50-59 — Amy Kidder, Rapid River, 37:37.4; 60-69 — Joan Taylor, Naperville, Ill., 47:36.

One-mile

Boys

5 & under — Pierson Faust, 10:04; 6-7 — Enrick Braun, Gladstone, 8:10; 8-9 — Bryce Douville, Rapid River, 6:45.3; 10-12 — Cohen Gerard, Rockford, Mich., 6:15.7.

Girls

5 & under — Vivian Marenger, Gladstone, 8:54.3; 6-7 — Melia Marenger, Gladstone, 8:25; 8-9 — Cecily Hoffman, 8:39.8; 10-12 — Claire Hoffman, 6:28.3.