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Owen Jones

Chick-Fil-A leadership academy students checked people into the race and gave the runners a free shirt thanking them for their donation.

Algonquin hosted a 5K for Autism Awareness with all the proceeds being donated to the New England Center for Children (NECC) on Sunday, May 23.

There were two race options: a 5k and a one mile. Participants could either walk or run. This was part of Algonquin’s Chick-fil-A Leader Academy’s End of the Year Impact project. 

“We wanted to do something that would help an outside group, and NECC seemed like a great candidate,” adviser of the Chick-fil-A Leader Academy Patricia Riley said. “From there, we came up with the 5k and began planning.”

To register for the 5k, the fee was $25 and for the one mile run/walk, it was $15. $3,000 were raised, and there were 90 sign ups, with 80 people attending.

“Even though some people didn’t show up, they still registered and raised money for the cause,” freshman Lindsay Ogar said.

Freshman Ava Gonsiewski said that the atmosphere of the race was very supportive and everyone was willing to help. DiTullio agrees, as she said the “vibe” of the race was very uplifting. 

Ogar, along with Kate DiTullio and Gonsiewski, was among the freshmen who occupied the top three places for the one mile run. DiTullio placed first, Ogar placed second and Gonsiewski came in third.

Senior Tyler Beauchesne placed first in the 5k, senior James Sullivan got second and sophomore Cam Jackson placed third. 

The top three runners of both races got a variety of prizes including gift cards from local businesses, water bottles and card holders. In addition, Ben and Jerry’s gave out free ice cream to all participants, and Chick-fil-a gave out free sandwich vouchers.