Third Time's A Charm For Gustavo Morastitla At 28th Annual Southampton Rotary Firecracker 8K

After placing second the past two years in the Southampton Rotary Firecracker 8K, Gustavo Morastitla wouldn’t be denied for a third time, winning the race in his hometown on Sunday.

Morastitla, 18, and a recent graduate of Southampton High School who was a standout cross country and track and field runner, outpaced Anthony Acquisti and Travis MacKenzie to win the 28th annual 4.97-mile race. The three runners kept up with each other for much of the race, but Morastitla overtook Acquisti and MacKenzie in the fourth and final mile to win the race in 29:55.59 (a mile pace of 6:01). Acquisti, 36, of Manhattan, finished second in 30:12.20, and MacKenzie, 30, of Port Chester, New York, finished third overall in 30:23.16. Louis Volle, 34, a New York City resident who appears in quite a few races on the East End each summer, finished fourth overall in 31:24.80. Cristhian Galeano, 27, of Brooklyn, finished fifth out of the group of 236 finishers in 31:31.36.

Acquisti, much like Morastitla—who declined to comment after his win—tended to his own unfinished business on Sunday. He placed 79th, according to last year’s race results, and felt a big improvement was needed. Acquisti was never a big runner until picking up the sport as a form of therapy during his days as a member of a tech entertainment company. Sunday’s race was Acquisti’s first after an injury that put him down since the New York City Marathon in November, which he finished in three hours.

“You find your rhythm, you find your run and all is good,” he said.

Acquisti said temperatures flaring in the mid 80s by the start of the race made running conditions unfavorable. Periodically throughout the race he would grab water to sip and dump the remainder over his head to cool down.

“Day race conditions are day race conditions, it doesn’t matter,” he said. “It’s just about beating them.” Acquisti added that he’ll be returning in September for the Hamptons Half Marathon as part of the Hamptons Marathon in September.

Tara Farrell, 39, an East Quogue resident, had a bit of a redemption story of her own. She was the first woman to finish the 8K (10th overall) in 32:42.50, after finishing second last year. Barbara Gubbins, 58, a Southampton resident who owns Gubbins Running Ahead in both East Hampton and Southampton, was the second woman to cross the finish line in 34:51.35. Trailing Gubbins was Patricia Fall-Salamy, 51, of East Hampton, who finished 19th overall, in 35:21.21. Sarah Floyd, 28, of Boston, finished fourth among women (27th overall) in 37:16.50 and Deanna Figari, 35, of Hampton Bays, rounded out the top five (34th overall) in 38:21.64.

All results can be found at elitefeats.com.

Farrell credited her improved success to a cycling class she began taking in the winter.

“I don’t know if my time was faster but I felt stronger,” she said.

Farrell won the Peg Larkins 5K in Remsenburg last month and she plans to run in the Runner’s Edge Long Island Women’s 5K coming up on July 14.

“[It’s] really fun because it’s all women,” she said. “You get to see how you match up with all the women on Long Island.”

This year’s Firecracker 8K honored Roy Wines Jr., the former Southampton Village mayor who was a member of the Southampton Rotary Club for many years and later served as club president and district governor for all Rotary Clubs on Long Island. The race benefits the Southampton Rotary Scholarship Fund and sponsors for this year’s race included: 27east.com and The Southampton Press, Storms Ford, John David Rose, Architect, The Carpetman, BNB Bank, Dermot Dolan, Hamptons Risk Management, Despatch of Southampton, Emil Norsic & Sons, Inc., Gubbins Running Ahead, Hamptons Employment Agency, Hamptons Pest Management, Hampton Copy, Roy Wines, Bellringer Security, Herrick Hardware, The Luss Group, Kalbacher’s Auto & Marine Service, Karen A. Langone DPM, Markowitz, Fenelon & Bank LLP, Tim Blenk Tree Service, Maryanne Horwath-Douglas Elliman, PBA Southampton, People’s United Bank, Riverhead Building Supply, Southampton Publick House, Farm Country Kitchen and Coldwell Banker-Beau Hulse Realty Group.