Decorated WNY runners shine at Buffalo Marathon

The winner of the men’s marathon was Scott Loforte of Canandaigua, a former track and field and cross country star at the University at Buffalo. The winner of the women’s marathon was Jenny Keenan of Buffalo, the 2023 Buffalo Women’s Runner of the Year.

The women’s half marathon was captured by Orchard Park’s Gabrielle Orie, a former Nardin, Cornell University and University of Colorado star. The winner of the men’s half marathon was Webster’s Joseph Whelan, a Hamburg native who has an impressive collection of medals at the Buffalo Marathon. More than 7,000 runners took part.

Loforte, a standout distance runner for UB from 2018-2022, completed the 26.2-mile course on a perfect weather day in 2:19:57 to win the men’s division.

Keenan won the women’s marathon in 2:57:28. She placed second in the 8K Shamrock Run in March and won the Greater Buffalo Track Club Grand Island Half Marathon on March 4. Keenan finished third at the Turkey Trot in November. She finished atop the points list in 2023 in the 14-race season-long series to win the title of Buffalo Runner of the Year.

Orie completed the 13.1-mile half-marathon course in 1:18:33. Orie won the Turkey Trot in November. She finished her collegiate career in the spring of 2023 by placing fourth, fourth at the Pac-12 Championships in the steeplechase and 15th in that event at the NCAA West Regional. She was also named to a four-woman Team USA Mountain Running team in August.

Whelan, 34, won the men’s half marathon for the fourth time, adding to his titles in 2018, 2022 and 2023. He also won the full marathon in Buffalo in 2019. Whelan’s time was 1:07: 50.

Last month, Whelan dominated Western New York finalists in the Boston Marathon, finishing in 2:22:44. The former Syracuse University star finished 16th at the New York City Marathon in November.

Seth Piccirillo of Niagara Falls finished second overall in the men’s marathon in 2:24:30. Dominick Wick of Buffalo was third in 2:31:02.

Erin Gibbons of Rochester finished second to Keenan in the women’s marathon in 2:58:04, followed by Molly Mirhashem of Brooklyn in 2:59:44.