New London — Mike Conway drove in this weekend from Alexandria, Va., to run in the 55th Ocean Beach/John & Jessie Kelley Race, this year extended to the half-marathon distance of 13.1 miles for the first time.

But, as Conway said, the race is only the opening act for the remainder of the day for him and a group of former runners from Hall High School in West Hartford.

“It's a fun day in the summer, seeing all my good friends from high school,” Conway said. “We still have Wiffle ball and match stick to go.”

What, exactly, does a game of match stick entail?

“You go jump in (the water) with a match stick and someone has to find it,” Conway said. “There's a lot of splashing, a lot of drowning.”

The Hall graduates, all former runners under cross country coach and Mystic native Jeff Billing, may have been looking forward to the annual party they have at Billing's parents' home afterward. But they made a pretty big splash at Saturday's Kelley Race, too, claiming the top five spots.

Everett Hackett, 27, of West Hartford, was first in 1 hour, 9 minutes, 11 seconds, his third victory at the event, following wins in 2013 and 2015. Conway, 24, who won the former 11.6-mile race in 2011 and 2014, was second in 1:10:38, followed by fellow Warriors alums Ari Klau (1:11:23), Grant O'Connor (1:11:23) and Nick Aguila (1:11:59).

O'Connor is a Division III All-American at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, while Klau runs at the Division I level for the University of Virginia.

Hackett and Conway were not only teammates at Hall, but at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.

Hackett took over the lead to the race in around the third mile. In the fifth mile he cruised through the new portion of the lengthened course, a residential neighborhood off Anita Avenue in Waterford, and later, as he passed Waterford High School during mile 7, he passed the pace car which was still trying to forge its way through traffic that was unaware of the lone runner.

“The parts they added were nice,” Hackett said. “I wish I felt better than I did. Nine out of 10 times, the weather for this race is crap, so today (in a rain that cooled the temperature somewhat) I wish I felt better. I've been running a lot of mileage. … I'm surprised someone didn't pass me.

“I just focus on breathing. Not stopping.”

Brianna Demers of Ashford was the women's winner for the first time in 1:24:08, followed by Olivia Beltrani of Pleasant Valley, N.Y., in 1:25:34 and Laura Brustolon of Littleton, Mass., in 1:26:40. Brustolon, a recent inductee into the Stonington High School Athletic Hall of Fame, is a former five-time women's winner.

Connor Gralton of Gales Ferry, a 2016 Norwich Free Academy graduate, was the top local finisher, 10th overall in 1:19.31. Gralton will be a sophomore this year at the University of Rhode Island, where he is pursuing his running career.

Race director Way Hedding, in his 29th year, said he believed the field of more than 900 runners was an all-time high.

Billing, 38, a 1997 Fitch graduate and the nephew of 1968 Boston Marathon winner Amby Burfoot, said once when he was in high school a group of Falcons teammates ran the Kelley Race. The picnic at his parents' house ensued and so began a tradition that has lasted 23 straight years.

Billing even had the opportunity to introduce several of his Hall runners to 1957 Boston Marathon champ Johnny Kelley and his wife Jessie, local legends, for whom the race was named.

Billing said Hackett, who is now his assistant cross country coach at Hall, is extremely positive and sets a good example for the high school runners.

“I think he's the happiest person I've met,” Billing said of Hackett. “He's silly, but takes running really seriously. All of the kids in school like him, not just the runners. … He's very much into the spirit of Johnny Kelley. His spirit is a spirit the Kelleys would have approved of.

Hackett also won the Mystic Half-Marathon earlier this year in 1:06:59 and said he's training for the Hartford Half-Marathon in October.

“I want to run it in 66:00; last year I ran it in 69:00,” Hackett said. “Today was a step in the direction of going faster for that race.”

v.fulkerson@theday.com

55th Ocean Beach John & Jessie Kelley Race

At New London, 13.1 miles

Top 30 finishers overall

1. Everett Hackett (West Hartford), 1:09:11; 2. Michael Conway (Alexandria, Va.), 1:10:38; 3. Ari Klau (West Hartford), 1:11:23; 4. Grant O'Connor (West Hartford), 1:11:23; 5. Nick Aguila (Lee, N.H.), 1:11:59; 6. Sean Ferguson (Smithtown, N.Y.), 12:13:49; 7. Nicholas Lemon (Brighton, Mass.), 1:15:33; 8. Trey Cormier (West Hartford), 1:17:29; 9. Joe Norton (Cherry Hill, N.J.), 1:17:48; 10. Connor Gralton (Gales Ferry), 1:19:31; 11. Scott Bushey (Hebron), 1:20:44; 12. Mike Ditocco (Pembroke, Mass.), 1:20:57; 13. Adam Gootnick (Unionville), 1:21:06; 14. Joe Shaw (Belmont, Mass.), 1:21:54; 15. Spencer Holland (Boston), 1:22:20; 16. Matthew Rich (Woodstock), 1:22:44; 17. Stanley Mickus (Mystic), 1:22:57; 18. Geralson Withrow (Ledyard), 1:23:00; 19. Romain Carmeille (Storrs), 1:23:22; 20. Patrick Daly (West Hartford), 1:24:02; 21. Brianna Demers (Ashford), 1:24:08; 22. Carlos Rivera (Springfield, Mass.), 1:24:27; 23. Thomas Smith (Wethersfield), 1:24:43; 24. Suresh Jatti (Glastonbury), 1:24:49; 25. Samuel Katlen (West Hartford), 1:24:57; 26. Zachary Magin (West Hartford), 1:24:57; 27. Harry Harwood (Woodbury), 1:25:24; 28. Miles Aronow (West Hartford), 1:25:25; 29. Olivia Beltrani (Pleasant Valley, N.Y.), 1:25:34; 30. Matt Chalupa (Newburgh, N.Y.), 1:26:15.

Top 15 women

1. Demers, 1:24:08; 2. Beltrani, 1:25:34; 3. Laura Brustolon (Littleton, Mass.), 1:26:40; 4. Caitlin Swanson (Tolland), 1:30:20; 5. Hayley Collins (Tolland), 1:30:20; 6. Dawn Hubbell (New Britain), 1:31:30; 7. Kristina Miner (Newington),  1:31:39; 8. Emma Rincon (Pawcatuck), 1:31:47; 9. Anne Medley (Cambridge, Mass.), 1:32:37; 10. Shannon Hickey (South Easton, Mass.), 1:33:10; 11. Elizabeth Lyons (Charlotte, N.C.), 1:34:19; 12. Sarah Osgood (Oakdale), 1:35:28; 13. Kerry Arsenault (Guilford), 1:40:58; 14. Jamie Giordano (Groton), 1:41:15; 15. Hilary Baude (Waterford), 1:41:31.