Timing glitch briefly shows Aptos’ Chris David as Big Sur Mud Run winner

A runner dives into the first mud pit during the Big Sur Mud Run on Fort Ord in Seaside, Calif. on Saturday March 24, 2012. (AP Photo/ Monterey County Herald, David Royal)

A competitor struggles through of the final mud pit during the Big Sur Mud Run on Fort Ord in Seaside, Calif. on Saturday March 24, 2012. (AP Photo/ Monterey County Herald, David Royal)

A team of runners clothed in business attire emerge from the second mud pit during the Big Sur Mud Run on Fort Ord in Seaside, Calif. on Saturday March 24, 2012. (AP Photo/ Monterey County Herald, David Royal)

Marina’s Palmer is the real winner; Watsonville’s Rodriguez places second overall

While several events were canceled this weekend due to rain, there was one that wasn’t stopped by the weather — and, for a brief moment, it appeared as though Aptos’ Chris David had taken it by storm.

In Big Sur Mud Run results up early Sunday morning, it looked like David crossed the finish line almost twice as fast as runner-up Eric Palmer on Saturday. With a chip time of 17 minutes, 12 seconds, the 44-year-old appeared to have bested Palmer of Marina by 17:12 with a 3:18-per mile pace.

In actuality, though, David is not related to Superman. Palmer won the event, and by mid-morning organizers had discovered the error and reset the results, giving David a DNF.

“It looks as though [David] started his race at 8:00am and then went back to the start line after the race to get his belongings and tripped the mat again,” Buzz Ayola with Buzz Word Productions said in an email. ” The software thinks that he started an hour later.”

This was the seventh running of the Big Sur Mud Run, a 5-mile obstacle race on the CSU-Monterey Bay campus/Fort Ord, in Seaside. The event is a popular one, regularly drawing about 1,500 individual racers in addition to relay teams.

Palmer won in 34:41. Watsonville’s Ivan Rodriguez placed second [37:22] and Salinas’ Raymundo Morales was third [39:47]. Santa Cruz’s Brendon Drobny was the only other Santa Cruz County runner to make the top 10. He finished in 41:02 for seventh place overall.

The women’s winner was Piper Delaney of Marina, who was 10th overall and finished in 41:52. Meanwhile, Harvard alumna Kelli Okuji was the top female runner from Santa Cruz County. The Aptos resident finished in 47:58 for 12th among women and 85th overall.

Santa Cruz County age group winners were as follows: Santa Cruz’s Jose Ogarrio in 43:29 [men’s 50-59] and Soquel’s Joe Alvarez as the only entrant in 1:11:09 [men’s 70-79]. For more coverage of the event, the Monterey County Herald was there.

— Christina Gullickson, on Twitter at CGullTweets

Capitola’s Valarie Jenkins wins Otter Open

Capitola resident Valarie Jenkins won the women’s open division of the CSU Monterey Bay Otter Open — which was hosted by CSUMB’s disc golf club and sanctioned by the Professional Disc Golf Association — in Seaside over the weekend.

Jenkins shot a 92 in the first round and a 93 in the second round. Her plus-13 total allowed her to easily dominate the field, beating second-place finisher Jessica Weese [plus-28] of Grass Valley and third-place finisher Antara de Bourbon [plus-55]. Jenkins earned $390 for her win.

“Long weekend of golf at the Otter Open! Good start to the season, and good wind golf warm-up for Vegas!” Jenkins posted on Twitter after her win.

In the men’s open division, the top Santa Cruz County finishers were Watsonville’s Myles Harding and Aptos’ Shasta Criss, who tied with Jeff Fae of San Francisco for 10th place. Harding and Criss both shot 10-under 162s and received $268 for their finishes. David Feldberg of Portland, Ore., was the men’s open winner with a 25-under 147 total, taking the $1,000 prize home.

Elsewhere in the Otter Open, Ohio’s Sharon Jenkins won the grandmaster women’s division uncontested with a 57-over 229, Oakland’s Kevin Couch won the grandmasters men’s division with a 10-under 162 and San Francisco’s Patrick Brown won the masters division  with a 17-under 155.

From Feb. 11-12, when the Otter Open ran its amateur contests, Aptos resident Suzie Weigand was the sole division winner from Santa Cruz County. She shot 65 over for a 237 total in the advanced masters women’s division. For full amateur results, please visit the PDGA website.

The Vegas event Valarie Jenkins alluded to was the Gentlemen’s Club Challenge presented by DiscGolfValues.com, which is scheduled for this coming weekend, Feb. 25-26.

–Christina Gullickson, CGullTweets