Air Force finished, Marines ahead
Brothers Kevin (’89) and Rick Finn (’88) are running a pair of marathons this fall to honor the memory of Marine Michael Cifuentes (’98). Cifuentes and fellow Lima Company Marine David Kreuter (’97) died in combat in Iraq August 5, 2005.
Kevin Finn – who worked in the school’s Community Service Office from 1996 to 1998 - knew Michael as a St. X student. Michael participated in several community service activities and made an impression on Kevin.
The Finns and a friend ran the United States Air Force Marathon in Dayton, Ohio, Sept. 15 (www.usafmarathon.com). That race serves as a warm-up for the United States Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. Oct. 28 (www.marinemarathon.com).
What follows is Kevin’s update on the Air Force marathon …
Hello St. X,
The first marathon in our fundraiser for the Michael Cifuentes Scholarship Fund is in the books, with the three of us having completed the U.S. Air Force Marathon on September 15, 2007.
Rick Finn (on left in picture), the fast one in our threesome, finished the marathon in 3 hours, 14 minutes, despite suffering through some leg cramps in miles 20 through 26.2. Kevin Finn (on right in picture) finished in 3 hours, 18 minutes, feeling good despite lugging his 215 pounds the entire 26.2 miles.
The original third member of our threesome, Todd Koch, was unable to run because of a late-in-training injury, but another friend of the Finns, Kevin Ertl (middle in picture), a 1991 graduate of St. Louis University Jesuit High School, took Todd’s place. Ertl finished in 4:21.
The Finns and Ertl will rest up, return to training and then take on the U.S. Marine Corps Marathon October 28, 2007.
The training requires dedication and sacrifice, but nothing compared to what Michael Cifuentes, David Kreuter (’97) and Lima Company took on and ultimately sacrificed. Please consider supporting Michael’s request by helping low-income students attend the high school he loved so much; give to the Michael Cifuentes Scholarship fund.
Contributions to the Michael Cifuentes Scholarship Fund are tax deductible and can be made by check or credit card. Make checks payable to St. Xavier High School (Put “Cifuentes Fund” in the memo line) and send to St. X at 600 W. North Bend Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45224. For more information, call Ralph Nardini (’77), St. Xavier High School Vice President for Development at 761-7815, ext. 112.