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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; It was payback time on Sunday at the Benjamin August Memorial 3-Mile Run at the Jewish Community Center.</p><p>Jeff Skwierz, 34, of Forty Fort, won top honors, finishing in 15 minutes and seven seconds. He outran second-place finisher Robert Moulton, 24, of Mountain Top, by 10 seconds.</p><p>Moulton defeated Skwierz last year by five seconds in the Benjamin August 3-miler that featured one of the most competitive fields of the season.</p><p>This time around Skwierz got even.</p><p>&#8220;I let Rob run in front over the first mile,&#8221; said Skwierz. &#8220;The first mile was a little slower than I liked, so I surged a bit and took the lead. Rob stayed right with me until the last mile. At that point I put on another surge and pulled away slightly. I wanted to put some distance between us so that it wouldn&#8217;t come down to a kicking battle at the end. Actually I was able to run pretty comfortably down the stretch.&#8221;</p><p>Emily Bell ran comfortably throughout the entire race, winning the female division in wire-to-wire fashion with a fifth-place overall finish in 19:37.</p><p>&#8220;I wasn&#8217;t sure what to expect because I ran the Steamtown Marathon (her first at the 26.2 mile distance) last month and wasn&#8217;t sure how my body would react,&#8221; said Bell, 34, of Bear Creek Township. &#8220;And this was my first race since Steamtown. But I was fine. I finished the first mile in 6:26. I felt good. And there weren&#8217;t any other females around me, so I just maintained my pace the rest of the way.&#8221;</p><p>Bell finished third in this year&#8217;s Fastest Woman Series &#8212; combined times from three Wilkes-Barre 1-mile races &#8212; behind Marina Orrson and Kelsey Cameron.</p><p>Skwierz, who ran for Hazleton Area High School and Lock Haven University, won the Fastest Man Series in 2014 and 2015. This year he finished second, just 10 seconds behind the winner, Mike Harnish, who won All-America honors twice in the 800 meter indoor track event at Lebanon Valley College.</p><p>Moulton has chalked up a lot of victories this season, including quite a few from out of the immediate area: Run for the Orange 5K in Butler Township in May; Beach Mountain 5K in July; Valley Day 5K in Conyngham in August; Race for the Cure 5K in Scranton and Bloomsburg Market Street Mile in September; Kelci Memorial 6K at Frances Slocum State Park, 5K of Fear and Super Heroes for Ben 5K in Kingston in October; and the Commonwealth Medical College Turkey Trot 10K in Scranton this month.</p><p><strong>Jewish Community Center of Wyoming Valley</strong></p><p><strong>Benjamin August Memorial 3-Mile Run</strong></p><p><strong>Top 10 finishers</strong></p><p>Jeff Swierz, 34, Forty Fort, 15:07</p><p>Robert Moulton, 24, Mountain Top, 15:17</p><p>Alex Saba, 25, Mountain Top, 17:00</p><p>John Sobocinski, 28, Dallas, 18:27</p><p>Emily Bell, 34, Bear Creek Twp., 19:37</p><p>Ron Nelson, 49, Shickshinny, 20:14</p><p>Mike Varzaly, 43, Wilkes-Barre, 20:23</p><p>John Zawadski, 44, Luzerne, 20:38</p><p>Greg Bassham, 57, Mountain Top, 20:45</p><p>Don Shearer, 49, W. Pittston, 20:55</p><p>Male award winners: Overall: Skwierz. Age group winners: 14 &amp; under: None. 15-19: None. 20-29: 1. Robert Moulton, Mountain Top, 15:17; 2. Alex Smith, Mountain Top, 17:00. 30-34: None. 35-39: None. Masters division: 40-44: 1. Mike Varzaly, Wilkes-Barre, 20:23; 2. John Zawadski, Luzerne, 20:38. 45-49: 1. John Sobocinski, Dallas, 18:27; 2. Don Nelson, Shickshinny, 20:14. 50-59: 1. Greg Bassham, Mountain Top, 20:45; 2. Kevin Moran, Harveys Lake, 23:43. 60-69: 1. Ron Rawls, Mountain Top, 23:30. 70 &amp; over: 1. George Cosmetis, Dalton, 24:23.</p><p><strong>Top 3 female finishers</strong></p><p>Emily Bell, 34, Bear Creek Twp., 19:37</p><p>Karen Moskel, 38, Kingston, 22:21</p><p>Kerry Zawadski, 41, Luzerne, 22:29</p><p>Female award winners: Overall: Bell. Age group winners: 14 &amp; under: None. 15-19: None. 20-29: 1. Amanda Rando, Dallas, 27:52. 30-34: 1. Sarah Arnold, Dallas, 31:21. 35-39: 1. Karen Moskel, Kingston, 22:21; 2. Amy Peters, Exeter, 25:24. Masters division: 40-44: 1. Kerry Zawaski, Luzerne, 22:29; 2. Maureen Jones, Shavertown, 29:21. 45-49: 1. Lisa Nelson, Shickshinny, 30:45.; 2. Marilyn Bezek, Kingston, 34:10. 50-59: 1. Dee Carey, Trucksville, 28:03; 2. Libby Moran, Harveys Lake, 28:58. 60-69: 1. Bev Tomasak, Edwardsville, 25:57. 70 &amp; over: None.</p><p><strong>3 Mile Walk</strong></p><p>First finisher: Jeff Knutson, 64, Saylorsburg, 34:48</p><p>Field: 45 finishers. Official starters and timings: Vince P. Wojnar (run), George Meiss (walk). Results: Insta Results. Race director: Rick Evans, JCC associated director.</p><p>Schedule: Thursday, Nov. 24 (Thanksgiving): Berwick Marathon Association&#8217;s 107th running of the (9 mile) Run for the Diamonds at Market and Second Sts., Berwick at 10:30 a.m. Info: Margaret Livsey, 570-759-1300.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Jeff Skwierz won the Benjamin August Memorial 3-Mile Run on Sunday with a time of 15:07. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_jcc2_faa-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Jeff Skwierz won the Benjamin August Memorial 3-Mile Run on Sunday with a time of 15:07. </caption0><photoCredit0>Fred Adams | for Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_jcc3_faa-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Emily Bell led the female runners with a time of 19:37. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_jcc3_faa-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Emily Bell led the female runners with a time of 19:37. </caption1><photoCredit1>Fred Adams | for Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_jcc1_faa-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Runners begin the Benjamin August Memorial 3-Mile Run on River Street in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_jcc1_faa-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Runners begin the Benjamin August Memorial 3-Mile Run on River Street in Wilkes-Barre. </caption2><photoCredit2>Fred Adams | for Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Rob Miner</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Times Leader sports at 570-829-7143 or on Twitter @TLSports</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Jeff Skwierz, Emily Bell win Benjamin August Memorial Run in Wilkes-Barre