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Matherne and Frank Win 114th Diamond Run

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By Clay Shaw
Photography by Clay Shaw and Karen Mitchell

11.23.23 Berwick, Pa—Zöe Matherne of Philadelphia won the 2018 running, 55:06. This year she won her second Run for the Diamonds title, improving on her 2018 time with a 54:29. Cole Frank of Philadelphia, a Temple University runner, won his first in 44:47.

The Run for the Diamonds 9-mile race had its 114th running on Thanksgiving. Of the thousands of races on Thanksgiving morning, the Run for the Diamonds in Berwick, PA remains one of the most famous, historic and loved races.

It’s not easy by any means.  The race is 9 miles (not a 5k) and has a massive 1.5-mile hill to the 5k mark and undulates the rest of the way. (As one of our social media followers said, “The fans and atmosphere are what makes this what it is (which is why we run that crazy hill every Thanksgiving!). Crowds line the course with pockets of big get-togethers and partying. The race, as its name indicates, awards diamonds to the top seven men and women and to ten-year age-group winners through age 70’s.  Other age group and team awards are also awarded in this community-driven event. Locals and non-locals even bet on the runners.

Dylan Gearinger of Scranton is a local guy who grew up in Berwick. He took the lead early, on Market Street, and kept it up and down the massive hill.  Behind him Cole Frank and Alex Price, two Bethlehem guys, had broken from a 7-man group and were closing on Gearinger.  Frank left Price and made a strong, steady move to catch Gearinger close to the 5-mile mark.  Gearinger held steady behind Frank to place second in 45:06.  Alex Price of Bethlehem was third in 45:20. Theo Kahler of Easton was fourth in 45:49.  Matt Gillette of Allentown, a five-time winner, was fifth in 46:04.  Gregory Jaindl of Macungie was sixth in 46:07.  Alex Fitch of Bethlehem was seventh in 46:26. All the male diamond winners, with the exception of Gearinger, have Lehigh Valley roots. Note that race champ Cole Frank is also from Bethlehem although now attending and running for Temple University.

Zöe Matherne of Philadelphia won in 54:29 and had a comfortable, over a minute, margin. Carly Danoski was second in 55:39.  Lacey Danilovitz of Moosic was third in 55:46.  Marina Martino of Dallas, PA, the 2022 champ and three-time winner, was fourth in 56:03.  Whitney Heydenreich of Danville was fifth in 57:07.  Coyla Bartholomew of Danville was sixth in 57:32. Katie Sick of Danville was seventh in 57:56.

Winning diamonds and red jackets were Sara Girotto of Wynnewood, PA in 59:06, tenth overall, earning the 40 to 49 prize.  Amy Rome of Dallas, PA won the fifties in 1:04:08.  Kate Fisher of Watsontown, PA earned the sixties in 1:12:18.  Dianna Golden of Frankford, DE was tops in the seventy group in 1:13:17, taking twelve minutes off the old record and earning her 13th diamond.

Christopher Wadas of Kingston, PA was top 40-49 master in 50:56 and 21st overall.  Stephen Housenick of Kingston, PA was tops in the fifties in 1:00:40.  Tim Schuler of Lititz, now 60, won in 58:21.  Fernando Moura of Douglassville, PA earned the 70’s prizes in 1:07:09. 

The Canadians returned for the first time since 2019, as groups came from both Ottawa and Hamilton continuing the great tradition of Canadian road trips “roadies” to Berwick.  Joe Du Vall of Ottawa was the pasta dinner speaker.

1078 runners finished the Diamond Run.  Of note, Chris Aurand did number 51, Bill Bull did his 50th, Roger Davis his 49th,  Carmella DiPippa ran her 40th.  Roger Davis won his age group in 1:08:07 and DiPippa won in 1:23:49. Both Davis and DiPippa ran in the 65-69 division. The oldest finisher, Frank McDonald of Berwick, 81, did a 1:48:58 (12:06 pace).  Kudos to all on the race committee and the many sponsors in making this event so remarkable. 

Full Results

Top Women

  1. 54:29 Zöe Matherne, 27, Philadelphia, PA
  2. 55:39 Carly Danoski, 25, Clarks Summit, PA
  3. 55:46 Lacey Danilovitz, 18, Moosic, PA
  4. 56:03 Marina Martino, 32, Dallas, PA
  5. 57:07 Whitney Heydenreich, 35, Danville, PA
  6. 57:32 Coyla Bartholomew, 20, Danville, PA
  7. 57:56 Katie Sick, 32, Millville, PA
  8. 58:09 Jessica Crowley, 27, New York, NY
  9. 58:25 Alexis Stephens, 31, Friendsville, MD
  10. 59:06 Sara Girotto, 48, Wynnewood, PA
  11. 1:00:44 Shaela Kruskie, 18, Selinsgrove, PA
  12. 1:01:08 Samantha Snead, 35, Blakely, PA
  13. 1:01:17 Shelby Foster, 30, Kingston, PA
  14. 1:01:23 Hannah Bartholomew, 17, Danville, PA
  15. 1:01:28 Odin Ryer, 14, Danville, PA
  16. 1:01:38 Lauren Benfer, 15, Danville, PA
  17. 1:01:47 Kristen Lombardo, 29, Pittston, PA
  18. 1:01:50 Alivia Shen, 17, Danville, PA
  19. 1:02:24 Jennifer Perry, 43, Dalton, PA
  20. 1:02:34 Ali Huber, 31, Middleburg, PA

Top Men

  1. 44:47 Cole Frank, 20, Philadelphia, PA
  2. 45:06 Dylan Gearinger, 25, Scranton, PA
  3. 45:20 Alex Price, 30, Bethlehem, PA
  4. 45:49 Theo Kahler, 25, Easton, PA
  5. 46:04 Matt Gillette, 32, Allentown, PA
  6. 46:07 Gregory Jaindl, 26, Macungie, PA
  7. 46:26 Alex Fitch, 26, Bethlehem, PA
  8. 47:31 Mitchell Rome, 23, Dallas, PA
  9. 47:45 Shane Houghton, 23, Easton, PA
  10. 48:09 Dane Spahr, 18, Danville, PA
  11. 48:22 Ciaran Fisher, 27, Marion Heights, PA
  12. 48:28 Chris McCabe, 34, Boiling Springs, PA
  13. 48:52 Mason Kimball, 24, Berwick, PA
  14. 49:16 Caden Dufrene, 20, Watsontown, PA
  15. 49:49 Josh Christianson, 21, Scranton, PA
  16. 49:51 Bryce Phillips, 18, Dallas, PA
  17. 50:24 Noah Griffin, 23, Lebanon, PA
  18. 50:29 Brendan Turowski, 19, Nescopeck, PA
  19. 50:41 Adam Moore, 35, Wrightsville, PA
  20. 50:49 Brent Edwards, 37, Lancaster, PA
The 114th running of the Run for the Diamonds 9-mile race starts on Market Street in Berwick. The race awards diamonds to the top seven overall, plus winners in ten-year age groups after 40.
Dylan Gearinger #11 of Scranton, Alex Price #5 of Bethlehem, and Cole Frank #18 already in front would be the podium guys. Check out those suits along the traffic island.
Dylan Gearinger #11 grew up in Berwick and got lots of cheers and shout outs along the course. Alex Price and Cole Frank share the lead.
Dylan Gearinger of Scranton placed second overall in 45:06. The former Berwick resident had a lead for much of the first half of the race, including infamous hill.
Dylan Gearinger of Scranton was recognized by many along the course.
Cole Frank of Philadelphia closes in on the early leader Dylan Gearinger, as they crest the top of the second big hill.
Cole Frank takes over the lead as he breaks away from Dylan Gearinger and Alex Price in the background.
With winning form, Cole Frank of Philadelphia strides on the next to last straight road prior to the finish.
Cole Frank of Philadelphia is pumped to win the prestigious 114th Run for the Diamonds in 44:47.
Zöe Matherne of Philadelphia wins the 114th Run for the Diamonds in 54:29. Zöe also won the 2018 race.
Carly Danoski of Clarks Summit, PA was second in 55:39. Carly was seventh in 2022.
Lacey Danilovitz of Moosic, PA was third in 55:46. Lacey was fifth in 2022.
Alex Price of Bethlehem was third in 45:20, moving up from fifth in 2022.
Marina Martino of Dallas, PA was fourth in 56:03. Marina is a 3-time champion including last year in 2022.
Theo Kahler of Easton, PA was fourth in 45:49 in his Berwick debut.
Whitney Heydenreich of Danville, PA was fifth in 57:07. Danville seems to be the new Flagstaff with six women in the top 18.
Matt Gillette of Allentown was fifth in 46:04. Matt is a 5-time winner of the Run for the Diamonds.
Coyla Bartholomew of Danville was sixth in 57:32.
Gregory Jaindl of Macungie, PA was sixth in 46:07; he was sixth in 2022 as well.
Katie Sick of Millville, PA earns diamonds with her seventh place in 57:56. Katie was eighth in 2022.
Alex Fitch of Bethlehem was seventh in 46:26, earning the final overall diamond ring.
Jessica Crowley of New York, NY was eighth in 58:09.
Alexis Stephens of Friendsville, MD was ninth overall in 58:25.
Shane Houghton of Easton, PA was ninth in 47:45.
Sara Girotto of Wynnewood, PA was tenth overall and top master in 59:06.
Dane Spahr of Danville was tenth in 48:09 and first runner under 20.
Shaela Kruskie of Selinsgrove was eleventh in 1:00:44.
Ciaran Fisher of Marion Heights, PA was 11th in 48:22. Ciaran moved up a spot from 2022.
Josh Jamison of York ran 56:57.
Dianna Golden of Frankford, DE wins the 70’s diamond in the “Super Seniors Division.” She rocked the Diamonds course in 1:13:23, an 8:09 pace on the hilly course.
Tim Schuler of Lititz wins the 60 group in 58:21. He was so fast that he beat all the 50-year-olds as well. Behind Tim #45, are Mike Adamshick #623 of Dallas, PA also 58:21 and Jake Reinert #284 of Poughkeepsie, NY in 58:23.
Traci Strungis of Mountain Top, PA is running a marathon in every state. Carmella DiPippa of Bloomsburg has bib 40, as she ran her 40th Diamonds Run and won the 65-69 age group in 1:24:12.
Roger Davis of Jenkintown, PA runs his 49th Diamonds Run. Davis ran 1:08:10 and won the 65-69 age group.
Mason Kimbell of Berwick was 13th in 48:52. Kimbell earned the first Local Winner Award for the second time (2018).
Kristen Lombardo of Pittston, PA was 17th in 1:01:47.
Katie Kozich #F259 and Adrienne Shebelock, both of Mountain Top, PA, run 1:06:10.
Chloe Joslyn, 13, of Boiling Springs, PA runs 1:06:22.
2-time race champ Fred Joslyn jump-starts his son Charles “Gabe” Joslyn who ran 1:18:06.
Alivia Chen of Danville, PA was 18th in 1:01:50.
Jennifer Perry of Dalton, PA was 19th overall and second master in 1:02:24.
James Jankowski of Ypsilanti, MI was one of many out-of-state participants. He ran 1:03:55, and Michigan topped Ohio State 😊
Regan Rome of Providence, RI, the 2020 champ, runs with her mom Amy Rome of Dallas, PA in 1:04:15. Amy won the 50’s age group jacket for the second straight year.
Girls just want to have fun (at the Diamonds Run), as a group of five cross the finish together.
Alex Bull of Ballarat, Australia ran 1:15:06. Safe to say, she travelled the farthest for the iconic Thanksgiving race.
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2 replies

  1. Joe Du Vall
    November 26, 2023 • 10:02 am

    Superb work Karen and Clay, you captured the essence of the ‘Run for the Diamonds’ and the spirit of Berwick on race day. I love the anecdotes under each photo and the great race report. As a race participant, we don’t get to see all this unfold so it is a nice tie in to cap off the event.

    Joe Du Vall, Ottawa Canada
    joesens1@outlook.com

    Liked by 1 person

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