Former Syracuse University runner Kevin James enjoyed a comfortable win in his debut appearance at last year’s St. Peter’s Fiesta 5K Road Race.
On a gorgeous Thursday night in Gloucester, the 29-year-old Salem resident was back for more — only this time he was seriously tested coming down the home stretch.
“It was me and Willy (Pierce), who’s a local Gloucester guy and runs for Notch, too,” explained James. “I got away from him and felt like I had a good gap, but then people were saying stuff about somebody else coming up. So I kept checking for a red jersey (Notch’s colors), then I noticed the blue shirt and I just wanted to save enough for that last 70 meters or so to hold him off.”
James did indeed hold off that man in the blue shirt — 25-year-old Matt Carter of Manchester-by-the-Sea — by the slimmest of margins, crossing the finish line in 15:04. That time was nearly one full minute faster than his winning time in 2025 (15:57), and it took nearly a full sprint on the home stretch to get it done.
Carter, meanwhile, clocked in at 15:05.
“I was able to save just enough (energy) to hold him off at the end,” added James. “I said this last year, but this is a very fun race. I would say out of all the local races this is the best atmosphere out of all of them. It’s just great with everybody lining the streets.”
A seasoned runner who’s certainly participated in his fair share of 5K events, James noted that Gloucester’s course isn’t among the easiest he’s ever tackled. But Thursday night’s beautiful conditions allowed him to reach the lower end of his expected times.
“I didn’t really have a time goal just because this course isn’t super easy and at this stage in life I just like to go race and what happens happens,” he said. “It think on a fast course I could run sub 15 (minutes) right now, so I thought today I could run anywhere from 15 minutes to 15:15 and I wouldn’t have really been surprised.”
Following Carter in third place was Milton’s Marc Leimkuehler. The aforementioned Pierce — who won back-to-back Fiesta 5Ks in 2022 and ‘23 — was fourth (15:36) while fellow Gloucester native Jack Newton, 21, rounded out the top five with a time of 16:17.
On the girls side, it was newcomer Jillian Manfredi who came out on top in a time of 18:01. A Long Island native who recently moved to Boston after spending the last three years in Chicago, Manfredi was blown away by the environment throughout the race, which came highly recommended to her by many.
“This was my first time in Gloucester and I heard nothing but great things (about the race) … and it 100 percent lived up to the expectation,” said the 28-year-old Manfredi. “It was so cool; my favorite part was coming into the carnival area with all the crowds. It brought a smile to my face during the race. You can only get that kind of atmosphere at a local race like this, so it was just really fun.”
As much fun as Manfredi had, being the first female — and 15th runner overall — to cross the finish line was the icing on the cake.
She narrowly beat out second place female runner Elise Kempf (18:19) of Arlington, as well as her good friend Breana Dixon Bustillo (18:42), who finished third on the female side.
“Honestly I was just enjoying the view of Jillian’s backside because I knew this girl was quick,” joked Dixon Bustillo. “My goal was to just keep her in sight and I definitely lost her at the end.”
An experienced runner who competed for Stony Brook College and had recently run the Bayshore Marathon in Traverse City, Michigan, this was Manfredi’s first competitive race back. She had admittedly tempered expectations coming in, but certainly exceeded those with flying colors.
“I was really just here to have fun and kind of see where I was at because I just did a marathon this past spring (on Memorial Day weekend). That went really well, and I just tried to take some time off and do some easy running since then,” she said.
“But I’m working with my coach right now for my next race in the fall, just starting to build back up and this was my first hard effort since the marathon,” Manfredi continued. “I didn’t really know what to expect, I felt like I had some fitness left from the marathon, but it was really about pushing myself and having fun.”
Twenty-three-year-old Harrison Pelosi claimed sixth place overall in 16:32, followed by 22-year-old Nick Poulin in 7th (16:35). Both runners hail from Gloucester.
Recent GHS graduate Jeferson do Carmo, who shined for the school’s indoor and outdoor track teams, was also among the top runners, finishing in 22nd overall (18:19). His former teammates Lemi Marshall (31st; 18:51) and Lyall Cunningham (34th; 19:03) also ran well.
Recent Manchester Essex graduate Harper Brooks was the fourth female finisher with a time of 19:30 (41st place overall).
For complete results from Thursday’s Fiesta 5K, please visit https://results.raceroster.com/v3/events/abtuaf49mae94pw2/race/298424?filter_search=.
Sports Editor Nick Giannino may be contacted at 978-675-2712 or ngiannino@northofboston.com.