Jun 12, 2018 1:27 PM

After a 30-year dry spell, the East Hampton High School cross country program brought back the Montauk Mile last year with the intention of making it an annual event.

The original race was created in the mid-1980s, and it was more of an “unofficial race” that went from the Montauk Train Station to the village green. Back then, current East Hampton boys varsity cross country head coach Kevin Barry said, the race drew about 30 to 40 participants, including himself. Last year’s inaugural event drew roughly 70 participants.

If the second annual Montauk Mile is any indication, the race will only continue to grow. This year’s event, which ran along Edgemere Road on Sunday morning, registered just shy of 100 runners and featured a pair of new course records.

Ryan Fowkes, 17, a junior at East Hampton High School, was the first overall finisher at 4:39.33, shaving 10 seconds off of the inaugural record set last year by Erik Engstrom, 20, an East Hampton grad who finished just behind Fowkes this year in 4:45.33. Joshua Green, 18, a senior from Shelter Island High School, finished third overall at 4:49.90. Green will be attending Farmingdale State College in the fall.

Paige Duca, 20, a junior at Boston College, where she runs for the track team, was the top female runner of the mile, finishing in 5:06.72, shedding 38 seconds off of Lindsay Gallagher’s previous top time of 5:48, which topped all women last year. Olivia Duca, 15, a sophomore at Westhampton Beach High School, finished second in 5:44.56. Ava Engstrom, 15, took third place in 5:58.71, which was less than a second faster than teammate Bella Tarbet, 15, who crossed the finish line at 5:58.35. Both Tarbet and Engstrom are freshmen at East Hampton High School and are teammates on the varsity cross country and indoor/outdoor track teams.

For all results of the Montauk Mile visit elitefeats.com.

Fowkes and Duca will have their names engraved on the John F. Conner Trophy, which is to be displayed at The Montauket year round.

The Montauk Mile is a fundraiser for the East Hampton cross country programs, and, according to Barry, roughly $4,000 was raised from this year’s race. The team is hoping it will be enough to make another trip down to Florida, this time for the Disney Cross Country Classic Invitational on October 5. Last fall, when the Bonacker’s took their trip down to Florida for the FLRunners.com Invitational in Lakeland, Florida, Fowkes won the 5K race in 17:14.

Organizers of the Montauk Mile would like to thank its sponsors which include: Edgewater Restaurant in Hampton Bays, Old Montauk Athletic Club, East Hampton Kiwanis, Body Tech Gym, Truth Training Gym, East Hampton Rotary, Montauket Hotel and Restaurant, Emptage Billing Service and Montauk Brewery.