(6-25-07) From AA Sports Press Release
Saturday Events Recap
Half Iron Triathlon
In the half-iron triathlon, Matt Lieto of Bend, Ore. captured his second consecutive men's title, while Robyn Wangberg of Corvallis, Ore. captured the women's half-iron title to win the Northwest Regional Long Course Championship. Lieto, 29, grabbed the win in 3:58:59 after battling second place finisher Kelly Williamson of Boise throughout the 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and 13.1-mile run segments.
Lieto emerged first from the water in the swimming event, then dueled the 37-year-old Williamson throughout the remaining two segments. "I passed (Williamson) in the swim and he caught me on the bike," said Lieto who then passed Williamson in the run to bring home to victory. Williamson was second in 4:06:23 while Scott Young of Reno, Nev. was third clocking a 4:14:32.
In women's competition, Robyn Wangberg of Corvallis Ore. captured first with a 4:40:01. Shannon Rahlves of Truckee, Calif. was second in 4:43.46, while Rachel Sears of Richmond, Virginia was third, clocking a 4:46:51.
Endurance Duathlon
Ryan Rau of Brighton, Mich. and Laura Matsen of Portland, Ore. captured the men's and women's duathlon titles on the first day of competition Saturday at the 11th annual Pacific Crest Sports Festival near Bend, Oregon. With the wins, Rau and Matsen were among 38 duathletes to qualify for the 2007 ITU Long Course Duathlon World Championships this fall in Virginia.
Coming from behind, Rau, 26, captured the title by completing the 56-mile bike and 13.1-mile run segments in 3:42:18. "I'm very excited to compete in this one," said Rau, who will be entering just his second world event after having qualified for eight duathlon/triathlon world championship in four years.
In the cycling event, Rau passed every cyclist but two to set the stage for the win. "With the time-trial start, my strategy was to start as far behind as possible and pass as many (competitors) as possible," said Rau. "It's so much easier to have a carrot in front of you than to have people come by you," Brian Schur, 33, of Kennewick, Wash. was second in 3:55:03, while Wayne Tonning, 43, of Willsonville, Ore. was third in 3:56:18.
In women's duathlon competition Matsen clocked a 4:12:44 for the win and 10th place overall. "It was a really great course," said Matsen, 25, a fourth year medical student at OHSU in Portland. Angela Thatcher, 39 of Sherwood, Ore. was second in 4:17:17, while Laura Woolf, 32, of Kelly Wyo. was third in 4:19:35.
Half Marathon
In the half marathon, Steve Andersen of Portland, Ore. and Cheryl Tronson of Bend, Ore. captured the men's and women's overall titles. Andersen, 36, led from start to finish, covering the 13.1 miles around Sunriver Village in 1:15:37 for the win. "It hurt trying to say on pace," said Andersen, a former cross country and track athlete at the University of Washington. "The other guys weren't too far behind. Once I settled down to pace I was fine. The win was his second Pacific Crest half-marathon title. He last won in 2004. The men's event was rounded-out by Jeremy Bloom of Huntington, West Virginia, who clocked a 1:18:39 for second. Marcia Soto, 54, of Eugene, Ore. was third in 1:19:19.
In the women's event, Tronson, 49, completed the course in 1:28:02 for her first overall win at Sun River. "I felt like 20 (years old) today," said Tronson, the 2006 masters (ages 40 years and over) winner. "I tried to keep a strong pace and was hoping to build on it. When you're 49, you don't always know if you'll have a great day or not. I got off to a good start and it was a great day." Laura Fritz, 39, of Bend, Ore. was second in 1:30.33 while Heather Culig, 37, of Boise, Idaho was third in 1:32.35.
Marathon
In the marathon, Ruslan Tkebuchava of Vancouver, Wash and Becky Hacker of Ashland, Ore. won the men's and women's titles. The two were among 16 qualifiers for the 2008 Boston Marathon.
In men's competition, Tkebuchava, 26, overtook Henk Moorleg, 44, of West Minster, Col. in the final mile of the 26.2-mile Sunriver course to seal the victory in 2:56:32. "I knew I had a chance to win it," said Tkebuchava, who was second to John VanSteenbergh of Flowery Branch, Georgia at the half-way mark. "My hope was to have someone push me under a 2:50 pace," he said. "Going into the last mile, I felt strong, so I picked it up," he said. "It's as much of a mental victory as a physical victory." Moorlag finished in 2:57:55 for second, while VanSteenbergh was third in 3:02:56.
In women's competition Becky Hacker of Ashland, Ore. captured the women's title in 3:22:47. Hacker, 37, who was second to Charlotte Crotty of Houston, Tex. at the midway point. "Honestly, I didn't think I would get her," said Hacker, who was treating the event as training run for a 50-mile Ultra Marathon early next month. "I was a woman ahead at (24-mile-mark) and thought 'that can't be the first place female. I didn't really set in that I was in the lead until the last mile. I'm shocked." Crotty clocked a 3:25:04 for second, while M'Lissa Solis of Olympia, Wash. was third in 3:31:34.
Sunday Events Recap
Olympic Triathlon
In the international-distance triathlon, Jason Jablonski, 33, of Wenatchee, Wash. finished three minutes, 23-seconds ahead of Timothy Valley, 38, of Madison, Wisc. to win the overall and men's title. Valley clocked-in at 2:04:49 while Scott Steinman, 36, of Bend, Ore. was third in 2:07:31.
Karen Oppenheimer, 39, of Bend clocked a 2:19:12, finishing 7-minutes, 13-seconds ahead of Kory Bright, 36, also of Bend for the women's triathlon title. Bright finished in 2:26:25. Jessica Cutler, 27, of Bainbridge Island, Wash. was third in 2:26:39.
Olympic Duathlon
Sean Campbell of Klamath Falls, Ore. and Lisa Magness of Bend, Ore. captured the men's and women's international-distance duathlon titles on Sunday at the 11th annual Pacific Crest Sports Festival near Bend, Oregon.
Campbell, 40, who serves with the 173rd Fighter Wing of the Oregon National Guard in Klamath Falls, covered the 25.2-mile bike and 10-kilometer run in 1:38:53. After starting in the 21st pair, Campbell passed 41 riders, transitioning to the running leg with only Bend's Mike Olson ahead of him.
"It took me a couple of miles to get my breathing under control," said Campbell who has finished as high as sixth in world competition in the event. "I kept (Mike) insight through the five-mile mark. I knew that my run was suffering, but I was close enough to Mike that my chances of finishing first were good," said Campbell, who finished just 32-seconds ahead of Olson for the title. Olson, 32, clocked a 1:39:25 for second, while Dave Florence, 40, of Canby, Ore. was third in 1:42:03.
In women's competition, Magness, 47, finished 7-minutes, 54-seconds ahead of second place finisher Mary McCormick, 41, of Tulatin, Ore. McCormick clocked a 1:51:43, while Heather Leach, 49, of Seattle finished third in 1:55:41.
10k
In other Pacific Crest Sports Festival action on Sunday, Kristopher Houghton of Albuquerque, NM outran Dan Rhodes of Half Moon Bay, Calif. by 6-minutes, 19-seconds to capture the men's 10k title. Houghton, 26, finished in 32:29, while Rhodes, 39, clocked-in at 38:48. Jason Townsend, 31, of Bend, Ore. was third in 41:22.
Michelle Born of San Francisco grabbed the top time in the women's 10k with a 40:22 finish. Stefanie Rimel, 27 of Eugene, Ore. was second in 43:11, while Leah Jeske, 43, of Eugene, Ore. was third in 44:39.
5k
Jason Towery of Nampa, Idaho outran Christopher Gassner Bend, Ore. by 1-minute, 49-seconds to capture the overall and men's 5k road race title on Sunday at the 11th annual Pacific Crest Sports Festival near Bend, Ore.
Towery established a 5-minute, 46-second per-mile pace to outrun over 386 runners in the annual event which brought some 3,500 competitors to the Bend area. Towery completed the 5k course around Sunriver Village in 17:54. Gassner was second in 19:43, while James Pulse, 15, of Woodinville, Wash. was third in 20:25.
Stephanie Matson of Portland, Ore. outran Susan Osborn of Spokane, Wash. by 1-minute, 46-seconds to capture the women's 5k title. Matson, 27, clocked a 20:55 while Osborn, 34, finished in 22:41. Malia Carr, 16, of Battle Ground, Wash. was third in 22:48. One-hundred thirty-eight kids participated in the kid's mile and half-mile dashes. The event was not timed.
About the Event
Sunriver's Pacific Coast Sports Festival is the largest multi-sport competition in the Northwest with over 3,500 people ages 3 to 78 from 36 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and Canada participating in the annual three-day festival. Sunday's events included over 1,612 competitors in the Olympic duathlon (bike, run), Olympic triathlon (swim, bike, run), 10k and 5k runs and kid's one-mile and half-mile dash.
For more information on the Pacific Crest Sports Festival please visit www.racecenter.com/pacificcrest.
Complete event results can be found at RaceCenter.com
