OCEAN SPRINGS— It was almost status quo at the finish line in the 29th Annual Wesson Memorial 2-mile Run on Saturday.

The annual Independence Day event, which is held at the YMCA in downtown Ocean Springs, drew another large crowd and some top-notch runners. Cameron Vincent and Katie Bodin were the defending champs, and while one was able to retain the Wesson title, the other just missed.

Vincent, a former Ocean Springs High School runner and a senior on the Mississippi State track team, had a good run but came up just short.

Kyle Lewis, 24, from Bay St. Louis, was just a little better on this hot Fourth of July morning, as he covered the scenic 2-mile course in 9 minutes, 33 seconds to outdistance Vincent by 12 seconds.

“It’s a great run and a beautiful course,” said Lewis, a former member of the Ole Miss track team who graduated this spring. “It was a little humid, but a really beautiful course.”

Vincent, 21, was second in 9:45 with Michael Nikkila, 27, a visitor to Ocean Springs from Hillsdale, Mich., third in 10:25.

“It was an awesome run,” said Vincent, who won the last three Wesson Runs. “I’m training for college so they don’t like you to run road races. But this is my hometown race and the Fourth of July.”

Meanwhile, on the women’s side, St. Patrick High School sophomore Katie Bodin won for the third consecutive year. Bodin covered the two miles in 12:39.

The heat got to Bodin, but not enough to keep her from winning another Wesson title.

“It was hot,” said Bodin, who hadn’t run much since an injury sidelined her in the high school season. “I was curious to see what time I would get. But I’m glad I finished first, that was my goal.”

Bodin accomplished her goal by a mere six seconds with Jayna McCarron, 23, second in 12:45. Jenny Albrecht Booth was third in 13:16.

Katie’s sister, Emily Bodin, finished fourth in 13:18 and Amy Hunt was fifth in 13:34.

The Wesson Run didn’t set a new record for participants, but it was close.

“We had between 380 and 390 runners,” said Gulf Coast Running Club race director Leonard Vergunst, who finished sixth in 10:59. “Last year we broke 400 with 406, but we were close.”

Also on the men’s side, former Ocean Springs runner Tino Gonzales, who is headed to Mississippi College, was fourth in 10:35 and Cal Naughton was fifth in 10:41.