Orland Park man wins Turkey Trot; St. Laurence runner takes women’s title

By Jeff Vorva
Staff Writer

The number 19 meant good things on Thanksgiving morning.

The top two finishers in the 34^th running of the Orland Park Turkey Trot had “19” as part of the number on their bibs.

Brandon Lukas, 25, of Orland Park, wore No. 7519 and took first place with a time of 14:6.6 seconds in the 2.5 mile run near Orland Park Village Hall.

Orland Park resident Brandon Lukas won the 34th Turkey Trot on held the morning of Thanksgiving. Photo by Jeff Vorva

Robbie Sieczkowski, 23, of Orland Park, wore 7819 and finished second in 14:26.5.

Luis Lopez, 17, of Chicago, and Mario Lopez, 25, of Orland Park, finished third and fourth, respectively, while Daniel Dominick, 38, of Frankfort, rounded out the top five.

In the women’s division, St. Laurence runner Jadie Chavez, 17, of Chicago, took first place with a time of 17:21.8. Krysta Stanko, 17, of Orland Park, Bryn Dolan 28, of Brooklyn, Grace Wille, 20, of Orland Park, and Megan Kobza, 34, of Tinley Park, rounded out the top five.

Lukas is a former Sandburg runner who never ran in the Turkey Trot before.

“I just wanted to go out there and see what I could do,” he said.

Outside of running, Lukas is a sensation in the classroom. He is working on his PhD in bioinfomatics at the University of Illinois-Chicago.

He said he ran the Chicago Half Marathon earlier this year.

St. Laurence junior Jadie Chavez holds her first prize of a frozen turkey for being the Orland Park Turkey Trot’s female champion. Photo by Jeff Vorva

Chavez said she has won her age group in the past but never was the overall women’s champion. Her family makes it a tradition to run in the Orland Park event every year.

“I was actually sick so I was stressing out about running it,” she said. “But I’m OK now.”

The Vikings junior finished 137^th in the IHSA Class 2A state meet at Detweiler Park in Peoria in November.

A record 1,000 runners signed up for the Turkey Trot and 887 finished the race.

In the men’s age group divisions, Orland Park’s Oskar Kwiatek won 9-under, Manteno’s Benjamin Frieschle won 10-14, Luis Lopez won 15-19, Sieczkowski won 20-14, Lukas won 25-29, Sioux Fall South Dakota’s Adam Saban won 30-34 and Dominik won 35-39.

Also, Mokena’s Dan Woods won 40-44, Tinley Park’s Brian O’Donnell won 45-49, Orland Park’s Jim Delisa won 50-54, Homewood’s Rich Matula won 55-59, Orland Park’s Kevin Germino won 60-64, Plainfield’s Mark Eichelberger won 65-69 and Tinley Park’s Charlie Tarjan won 70-over.

In the women’s age group divisions, Orland Park’s Nora Dubois won 9-under, Orland Park’s Colleen Noone won 10-14, Chavez won 15-19, Wille won 20-24, Dolan won 25-29, Kobza won 30-34 and Jacksonville, North Carolina’s Terri Piekosz claimed 35-39.

Also, Mokena’s Kelly Lynn won 40-44, Palos Hills’ Laura Lipkie won 45-49, Bolingbrook’s Katrina Clark won 50-54, Willowbrook’s Denise Poremba won 55-59, Orland Park’s Janet Marks won 60-64, Frankfort’s Joan Sullivan won female 65-69 and Orland Park’s Paula Scheiwe won 70-over.

A pair of runners get into the spirit of the Orland Park Turkey Trot race. Photo by Jeff Vorva