TX3 Olympic Kemah Tri

The race formerly known as Gateway to the Bay now called take your pick - TX3 Olympic or 2011 Memorial Hermann Kemah Triathlon took place this past weekend. The sprint distance triathlon was held Saturday and the Olympic distance (1,500 Meter Swim, 24.85 Mile Bike, 6.2 Mile Run) was held on Sunday, April 3. Finish Strong took Kemah by storm with nearly 40 coached triathletes in the Kemah Olympic tri.

Nine coached athletes finished on the podium with three winning their AG’s. We also had numerous new triathletes competing in their first triathlons! And more than a few PR’s!

This race was a qualifier for the ESCAPE from Alcatraz Triathlon in beautiful San Francisco, California. Rodrigo Abascal, Tim Monk, Ed York, Kent Morris, and Phillip Deprang all qualified by finishing 1st or 2nd in their AG.

Rodrigo Abascal (name misspelled on results) came back after competing in the sprint race the day before and taking second to winning his 15-19 age group for the olympic distance. Rodrigo finished in 2:25:17 with consistently high efforts in all three legs.

Scott Peterson came in third in his 30-34 AG with an overall time of 2:18:56. Scott had the 2nd fastest run split of the day (37:31 - 6:03/mi pace)! Also in the 30-34 AG were Ronnie Delzer, Michael Lechtenberg, and Jose Contreras who came in 10th, 11th, and 26th respectively. Ronnie had the third fastest run for his AG with an overall time of 2:29:13. Michael was close behind at 2:31:57. Jose finished in 2:49:32.

Michael Collins came in 5th in his 35-39 AG with a time of 2:25:39. He was followed by other FSR athletes in this AG. David Kayda was 7th with a time of 2:27:32. He had a strong bike (1:08:54 at 21.6/mi pace). 11 was the lucky number for husband-and-wife dynamos, Maureen and Greg Gibbons. Both took 11th in their 35-39 AGs. Maureen finished in 3:09:54. Greg in 2:29:56. Josh Scott took 19th in 2:31:44. Josh had the 5th fastest swim in his AG (27:39). Tim Taylor had an amazing PR in this AG. Tim finished in 2:56:58 - a personal best by over 21 minutes! Matthew Murphy and Richard "Gordy" Bunch also represented Finish Strong in this huge 81-person deep AG. Matthew finished in 2:59:51; Gordy in 3:12:40. Both posted strong bike efforts.

In the female 40-44 AG, Linda Trinkle took 3rd in 2:34:24. Linda posted the fastest bike in her AG (1:08:06 21.9/mi pace) and the second fastest run (48:43 7:51 pace)! Michelle Nelson took 5th with a time of 2:42:58. Michelle had the 3rd fastest bike in her AG (1:13:04 20.4/mi pace). Carolyn Barron came in 12th in 3:06:53. Carolyn had a solid performance with a very nice swim (35:46 - 8th fastest).

Tim Monk took 2nd in his 40-44 AG just missing 1st by 33 seconds to the first place finisher who aged up. Tim's overall time was a blazing 2:17:02. Also racking up points for the team were Tommy Sustala, 4th, and Patrick Sexton, 5th. Tommy finished in 2:18:08 and had the second fastest swim (24:37). Just one second behind was Patrick Sexton in 2:18:09 who posted a strong 1:04:50 bike leg. Casey Clark came in 10th in 2:24:04 with the 3rd fastest run(42:14 6:49/mi pace)! Winston Cervantes was 23rd in 2:38:44 with a nice bike (1:08:26 21.8/mi pace). Leandro Morales was 25th in this enormously competitive AG with a time of 2:39:16 finishing with a strong run leg. Manuel Abascal, 31st, finished in 2:42:57 with a fine bike performance.

Kristie Chandler placed 5th in her 45-49 AG with consistent efforts in all three disciplines to finish in 2:57:16.

Ed York proved he deserved top spot in his 45-49 AG Ed was first in his AG and 23rd overall. He finished the race in 2:20:08 with the fastest bike (1:02:58 23.7/mi pace)and the second fastest run (44:11 7:08/mi pace) in his AG. Close behind Ed was Kyle Mays who came in 8th with an overall time of 2:27:41. Steve Hardy took 10th with a time of 2:28:03 with a solid bike performance. Bret Strong finished 17th in 2:35:09. Kim McElligott, despite an injury and penalty, came in 20th with a time of 2:37:24.

Kent Morris won his 50-54 AG. Kent had an especially strong bike (1:05:52) and second fastest run (43:59 7:06/mi pace). Will Blackbird took 5th with a time of 2:32:38. Will had the fastest bike split (1:07:52 22mph) in his AG.

Phillip Deprang took 2nd his his 60-64 AG with a time of 2:46:16. Phillip had the second fastest run in his AG (52:32). What a great showing for Finish Strong Racing!