East Moriches Brother, Sister Were First Place Male, Female Finishers In Jordan's Run

Brother and sister teens from East Moriches were the first place male and female finishers in the annual Jordan’s Run fundraiser street race in Sag Harbor Sunday morning — the first live race following a two year hiatus due to the pandemic.

The first out of over 330 participants to cross the finish line was Trevor Hayes, 16, of East Moriches, with a time of 16:53.42. Hayes is a cross country runner at Westhampton Beach High School, and was using the race as a workout to help him prepare for his cross country season — as well as to show his support and respect for the race’s namesake and all veterans.

“I wasn’t really going out to race, I kind of wanted to do a workout today as preparation for my cross-country season,” he said. “The guy was close enough in front of me, so I was like ‘I can win this.’

“It was very nice — you’d think it would be a lot hillier than it was,” he said in describing the course. “It was hillier at the end, but it was nice.”

His sister, Rose Hayes, 18, a Westhampton Beach grad who is going to play tennis at Gonzaga University in the fall, was not to be outdone by her brother as she crossed the finish line in 20:14.75 as the first female finisher and ninth overall.

“It was fine, I don’t really run, so you just go out and do it,” she said. “I’m not really into running. Trevor’s the runner. I just run with him once in a while.”

After two years of a virtual race due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jordan’s Run took place on Sunday morning. The race is in honor of Lance Corporal Jordan Haerter, who was killed along with Corporal Jonathan Yale serving our nation in Iraq. The 5k starts and ends at Pierson High School, Haerter’s alma mater, passes through the Village of Sag Harbor, goes over the bridge that is named after him, and passes by the cemetery in which he is buried.

Haerter, a native of Sag Harbor, and Yale were killed on April 22, 2008, trying to stop a truck loaded with 2,000 pounds of explosives from barreling into the entrance they were guarding at a joint security station in Ramadi, Iraq, in Anbar province.

The race is organized by Haerter’s mother, JoAnn Lyles.

“I think it’s nice that so many people come out to honor Jordan and all veterans, so that’s nice,” Lyles said. “This is the first year back after two COVID years, so we felt a little rusty. But it comes together, so it feels good.”

The second overall finisher was Serge Avramenko, 37, of Southampton, in 17:14.27. Santiago Sop Sop, 36, finished third with a time of 18:10.73, while Tyler Gulluscio, 18, and Anthony Leotta, 17, rounded out the top five with times of 18:20.65 and 18:53.79, respectively.

Karina Barambayeva, 27, of Southampton was the second female finisher in 20:51.44. The third female finisher was Sarah Floyd, 32, in 21:04.04. Helen Millson, 36, and Catherine Stone, 32, crossed the finish line as the fourth and fifth females in 21:54.70 and 22:37.11, respectively.

Full results can be found at elitefeats.com.

The proceeds from the race go to In Jordan’s Honor, a foundation in honor of Haerter, which also gives out a scholarship to a Pierson High School senior who chooses to serve the country either through law enforcement, as Haerter aspired to do, or the military. The recipients of the $1,000 scholarships this year were Erik Marcello Guanga Soliz and Lady Elisbeth Tirado-Toral.

“It feels good for everyone to be together,” Lyles said. “It’s a good fundraiser for In Jordan’s Honor, which provides awards for those who plan on entering the military and law enforcement because Jordan wanted to be a police officer — so it keeps his name alive.”

On the back of Lyles’s shirt were the words: “Amazingly woven into the lives of so many.”

“That helps with Jordan’s name and that we are all part of the same cloth.” Lyles said. “Together we will be strong and together we will be fine.”