Bobby Aswell paced a tight one, two, three finish by holding a slim lead throughout the Salisbury Academy 5K Saturday. Aswell won with a time of 19 minutes and 23 seconds, while Chris Mead and Martin Thorne followed close behind in 19:35 and 19:39.

Melissa Orr won another Rowan County 5K with a time of 22 minutes and 5 seconds. She was followed by Ellen Simons at 22:54 and Leighanne Dorton at 23:15.

Ben Childress won the fun run, shortened to about a third of a mile, with a time of 2 minutes and 39 seconds. He was followed by Sam Goodman in 2:48 and Ava Morris in 2:50.

Aswell was able to hold off strong challenges at the end as they climbed a hill back to the finish at the school. He said, “I knew they were there and my lead got down to 4 seconds at one of the mile splits. I was fortunate to win here. Salisbury always has the best races.”

Beverly Fowler, Salisbury Academy Head of School, said, “We are very pleased that so many Salisbury Academy families and members of the community came out this morning for our 5K and fun run. It was a great day for families to enjoy being active together outdoors. Thanks to our 5K sponsors and our team of volunteers for a great event.”

Sponsors for the Salisbury Academy 5K included Salisbury Pediatric Associates, Charlotte Eye Ear Nose & Throat Associates, PA, Fowler Physical Therapy, Mecklenburg Radiology Associates, Ralph Baker’s Shoes, Novant Health, the Rich Family, Jaguar, the Ott Family, the Colwell Family, and Salisbury OBGYN.

Complete results are available at www.salisburyrowanrunners.org