Hope- The Watermelon 5K sounded off at 7:30AM sharp this morning, as hundreds of contestants participated and were rewarded with a trailer full of tasty Hope Melons after the race. The overall winner of the race with a blistering time of 15.52 was Joseph Bariola of HS Lakeside. Mackenzie Epperson of Russellville won the overall female race, running a blazing time of 19.17.

Evan Armitage placed 2nd with an excellent time of 16.40 and Chris Roberts earned the 3rd fastest time of 17.01 to round of the overall male winners. The overall female winners were Rose Dickinson of Texarkana finishing in 2nd place with a time of 20.05 and Jenny Wilkes of Little Rock with a time of 20.23.

The Female Masters winners were as followed: 1st place was Blair Dean of Jonesboro with a time of 21.01, 2nd place was Cheryl Breedlove of Austin, AR and Kelly Marchand of Little Rock finished in 3rd.

The Female Grandmaster winner was Crystal Kennedy of Pearcy, AR and the Female Senior Winner was Sandra Dixon of Stamps, AR.

The Male Masters Winners were as followed: 1st place Patrick Western of Hot Springs National with a time of 19.16, 2nd place was Stan Ferguson of Maumelle, and the 3rd place finisher was Marc Gill of North Little Rock.

The Male Grandmaster Winner was Franck Schroeder of Little Rock with a time of 20.00.

The Male Senior Winner was Jeff Maxwell of Hot Springs with a time of 22.11.

Below are some photos from the race and congratulations to all the participants on a well run race.