Former Penn State players intend to appeal sanctions

Ella Rosiak

First Posted: 10/14/2012 
SCRANTON &amp;#8211; Being a parent of a small child has a way of altering one's life.
It has barely slowed down Matt Byrne and Heidi Peoples.
The two Scranton runners could not match their career-best, but they still posted milestone victories by significant margins Oct. 7 when the 17th annual Steamtown Marathon made its way from Forest City to downtown Scranton.
And, when they arrived at Courthouse Square, Byrne and Peoples had special people waiting to share the victory.
Byrne was met immediately by his wife Sommer, who handed him their two-month-old daughter Vella Marie before he began receiving congratulations from others near the finish line.
Peoples, just catching her breath and beginning to do post-race interviews, had other thoughts on her mind.
"I just want to hold my kids right now," she said. "I want to find them and hold them."
Moments later, 3-year-old son Liam and 11-month-old Caroline arrived to greet Peoples, who won in the first marathon she entered since Caroline was born late last year.
Byrne became the first person to win three Steamtown titles overall.
"I've been wanting number-three for a while," said Byrne, a 37-year-old who also won in 2004 and 2006 and was the runner-up last year. "It feels great to finally get it."
Peoples has won every Steamtown Marathon she entered. By claiming her third women's title, she matches Charlene Lyford of Greene, N.Y., who won the first three titles. Peoples also won in 2008 and in 2010 when she set the women's course record.
The margins of victory were large, but the latest wins were not comfortable for either Byrne or Peoples.
"I ran into a little trouble later on," said Byrne, who finished in 2:29:06, 1:31 ahead of Jeffrey McCabe of Exeter. "It was cool enough that I didn't think I would run into any trouble, but at about 20 miles I did."
By then Byrne was well in front.
"I think I separated around nine miles," he said. "I felt relaxed and just kept going along at 5:25, 5:30 a mile."
The recognizable face running out ahead of the rest of the field brought cheers along the marathon route.
"There's nothing like it," Byrne said. "I heard them yelling my name since Simpson."
Peoples, a former state champion runner at Riverside where she now teaches, was seven minutes ahead of Moscow's Samantha Snead when she finished in 2:50:00.
The 32-year-old was at a better pace before stopping for less than a minute twice and slowing to a walk another time late in the race.
"It was a tough race for me today," Peoples said. "I tried my best, but I had a rough day.
"I think I just went out too fast, but I was glad to be ahead by that far when I had some trouble."
A total of 1,927 runners finished the race, breaking last year's record by 66.
The age group winners included Boston Marathon age group champion Tony Cerminaro of Jermyn, who won the 70-and-over men's division to remain unbeaten in his age group in the race's 17-year history.
<hl2 style="infobox">results</hl2>
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Top 5 Overall Finishers

1, Matt Byrne, 37M, Scranton, 2:29:06
2, Jeffrey McCabe, 29M, Exeter, 2:30:37
3, Chris Heisey, 23M, Philadelphia, 2:30:54
4, David Hryvniak, 27M, Charlottesville, Va., 2:33:12
5, Pat Casterline, 22M, Scranton, 2:35:42

Top 5 Women Finishers

1, Heidi Peoples, 32F, Scranton, 2:50:00
2, Samantha Snead, 24F, Moscow, 2:57:00
3, Caitlin Gaughan, 26F, Scranton, 2:59:07
4, Dara Steele-Belkin, 37F, Atlanta, Ga., 3:06:25
5, Sara Belles, 31F, Brookfield, Conn, 3:07:41

Top 5 Lackawanna County Finishers

1, Matt Byrne, 37M, Scranton, 2:29:06
2, Pat Casterline, 22M, Scranton, 2:35:42
3, Jeremy Evans, 23M, Scranton, 2:48:27
4, Kevin Yates, 41M, Olney, Md., 2:48:32
5, Heidi Peoples, 32F, Scranton, 2:50:00

Top 5 Moosic Finishers

1, Todd Monahan, 37M, 3:04:15
2, Shana Keeler, 30F, 3:30:22
3, Kevin Smith, 43M, 3:52:16
4, Shandra Keeler, 30F, 3:54:55
5, Robin Mancinelli, 51F, 4:06:23

Top 5 Old Forge Finishers

1, Tim Walsh, 42M, 3:16:56
2, Michelle Mariotti, 34F, 3:35:48
3, Jason Schwass, 34M, 3:49:29
4, Justin Rubal, 27M, 3:57:37
5, Joe Kerrigan, 52M, 4:22:58

Taylor Finishers

1, John Nicodem, 48M, 4:50:53
2, Gary Mrozinski, 47M, 4:45:02
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Byrne, Peoples post milestone victories