CLIFFTOP — David Bee’s prediction was right on the money.

He said earlier in the week that Joel Wolpert would “probably smoke everybody” in the third annual Babcock Gristmill Grinder, a half marathon trail run at Babcock State Park.

He was right.

Wolpert jumped in front at the start and never looked back Saturday, winning the 13-mile race with a time of 1 hour, 22 minutes and 30 seconds on a cold, rainy day.

“I’m happy,” the 25-year-old Wolpert said. “The conditions weren’t too bad. The footing wasn’t as slippery at I thought it would be. It was a fun race. Even though it was cool and raining, when you’re running, you don’t notice it too much.”

Michael Bee of Pennsboro, David’s twin brother and last year’s winner, finished second with a time of 1:29:51. David, of Salem, who was second last year, came in third at 1:32.00.

The 30-year-old Bee twins actually had better times Saturday than last year. But Wolpert, who was third in last year’s race, won by more than 7 minutes.

“Last year, I didn’t know the course and I was sick. I couldn’t breathe through my nose,” Wolpert said. “I ran with the Bee brothers most of the way, but coming up the final hill, I didn’t have enough left to keep up with them.”

John Reynolds was fourth overall Saturday with a time of 1:34:18. Hugh Davis was fifth at 1:37:18.

Robin Weiner of Logan County was the top women’s finisher and placed 13th overall in 1:50:41. Ashley Dolin was second among the female runners at 2:11:38.

Sixty runners started Saturday’s race. It was the first of seven races in this year’s West Virginia Mountain Trail Runners’ Mountain State Trail Run Series. Michael Bee won last year’s series points title, followed by Wolpert and David Bee.

The Babcock event is also now part of the LA Sportiva Trail Runner (magazine) Trophy Series, a points-based series of 116 trail races in the United States and Canada.

Wolpert is originally from Connecticut, but now lives in Belington. He and his wife have a small vegetable farm and are starting a bakery.

He studied industrial design at Carnegie-Mellon University.

“After that, I traveled some and then went back to Pittsburgh,” he said. “My wife and I moved down here to West Virginia 11 months ago.”

Wolpert ran competitively in high school and during his freshman year of college.

“I spent a lot of time down here rock climbing,” he said. “Last year was the first time I’d been to Babcock, but I’d been to Hawks Nest (State Park) and Summersville Lake before.”

He called the trail running group a “neat community that’s spread across the whole state and even Virginia and Pennsylvania.”

The next event in the Mountain State Trail Run Series is the Big Bear Lake 20-K next Saturday at Bruceton Mills.



Here are Saturday’s results from the third annual Babcock Gristmill Grinder half marathon trail run at Babcock State Park:

OVERALL

Top male

1. Joel Wolpert, 1:22:30

2. Michael Bee, 1:29:51

Top female

1. Robin Weiner, 1:50:41

2. Ashley Dolin, 2:11:38

AGE GROUPS

Male 10-19

Andy Caudill, 1:51:02

Gabe Lawrence, 2:18:07

Male 20-29

Mike Dolin, 1:40:23

Jeffery Ammons, 1:58:31

Donald Jacks, 2:31:32

Male 30-39

David Bee, 1:32:00

John Reynolds, 1:34:18

Nathan Miller 1:41:45

Paul Davis 1:49:56

Luke Gregory, 1:54:02

Nick Simopoulos, 2:03:55

Harry Silvis, 2:04:17

Matthew Young, 2:04:18

Paul Pennington, 2:11:54

William Barnette, 2:14:24

Jason Knight, 2:21:12

Jamie Dolder, 2:21:12

Chris Whelan, 2:21:12

Terry Dean, 2:36:44

Jeffrey Estep, 2:42:02

Male 40-49

Hugh Davis, 1:37:18

Dominic Wyzomirski, 1:43:42

Scott Robinson, 1:45:58

Mark Offutt, 1:47:02

Lew McGrath, 1:48:33

Imre Pentek, 1:57:22

Jeff Lawrence, 2:00:03

David Dick, 2:07:30

Tony Morris, 2:16:49

Joseph Kilby, 2:24:49

Mike Broce, 2:28:18

Bill Henrichs, 2:31:58

Jim Spurlock, 2:55:35

Male 50-59

Dan Lehmann, 1:50:12

Harry Brunner, 2:16:04

David Hatten, 2:18:04

Billy Joe Peyton, 2:19:04

Jim Wilson, 2:42:31

Male 60-69

Lowell Bee, 2:02:52

Eddie Sims, 2:11:02

Female 20-29

Amy Webb, 2:27:25

Amanda Key, 2:34:44

Lori Clark, 3:30:42

Female 30-39

Brigitte Pentek, 2:16:25

Diana Finton, 2:17:37

Mary Johnson, 2:35:53

Jill Cook, 2:35:54

Paula Smith, 3:31:14

Female 40-49

Lorraine Moore, 2:13:54

Beth Hudspeth, 2:16:13

Julie Tisone, 2:23:06

Lisa Lucci, 2:42:19

Jane Reynolds, 2:42:20