Sarah Pagano wins the 40th Annual Freihofer’s Run for Women 5K

Sarah Pagano of Brighton, Mass., surged to the lead in the final 400 meters and won the 40th annual Freihofer’s Run for Women with a time of 15 minutes, 48 seconds on Saturday June 2 in Albany New York.     The 26 -year-old was the first of 3,567 participants to complete the 5K course. She earned a $10,000 prize and matched her personal 5K record. “I’m really happy,” said Pagano, who runs for the Boston Athletic Association. “I came in and just wanted to compete and not worry about anything else, just do the best I could. I’m really happy to be able to come away with the win.” Pagano, who ran track at Syracuse University and was the 2012 Big East outdoor 10,000m champion, was five seconds ahead of runner-up Steph Bruce (Flagstaff, Ariz.). Diane Nukuri (Flagstaff, Ariz.), a three-time Olympian representing her native Burundi before becoming a U.S. citizen last year, led for most of the race and placed third.

posted Sunday June 3rd