- Dri- 2mi Run, 13mi bike, 3.1mi run
- Tri- 600yd Swim, 13 bike, 3.1 mi run
May 31st saw GRF score big points in their quest for the USAT Mideast Region Division III Club Crown. Scoring points in two categories and with over 90% of our club racing in our backyard, bragging rights were on the line. Numerous GRF athletes were competing in their first triathlon and others were looking to drop mad time off their previous efforts.
Two events were held: the USAT Mideast Regional Championship Duathlon Dri-Shark and the ever popular Tri-Shark Sprint triathlon. GRF came to participate and left with a ton of hardware and bragging rights!
Dri-Shark: USAT Mideast Regional Championships
Eight athletes were set to compete and GRF took home 5 awards – two overall top 3s, plus a couple age group winners. Romanie Walter walked away with a hard fought 2nd overall female (9th overall) and Matthew Cuttell followed up an overall 3rd-place finish at the Capital City Biathlon with a 2nd overall finish at the Regional Championships. Congrats to these two amazing athletes (just a hair away from being regional champions)! Jason Sturdyvin took home 7th overall and 1st in the 30-34 Age Group. Coach Auth took home 2nd in the 45-49 AG, good for 18th overall. Coach Rankin rounded out the awesome day with a 1st place in the 35-39 AG and 10th overall. That’s right…4 Reapers in the top 10. Plus, Jason Hebel, Natalie McKee and Barb Simmons all finished top 5 in their respective AG. Dri-Shark was good to GRF!
Tri-Shark
In the stacked Tri-Shark field – 24 Reapers out of 366 total competitors! – GRF garnered 7 AG awards for top-5 finishes. Chris Daniels, new member Jeff Grabinski, and Bryan Heppe led the way for the men. CD won the 45-49 AG with a time of 1:04:42, good for 7th overall male. Jeff (9th overall) and Bryan took 4th (13th overall) and in the ultra competitive 35-39 AG. In the Clydesdale division, David Cate took home 1st place for the third time this season. Providing another highlight, Tom Keller had the fastest bike time in the men’s division at 31:40 for a 24.6 mph average.
On the women’s side, Rachel Matyasse, Beth Billing, and Wendy Smith all finished in the top 20 overall, coming in consecutively at 17th, 18th and, 19th, respectively. Beth and Wendy(competing in her first triathlon), finished 2nd in the 35-39 AG and 40-44 AG, respectively. Also taking home top 5 finishes were our baby Reaper, Lily Matthews, who was 3rd in the 13-15 AG; Lynn Staley, who was 3rd in the 45-49 AG; and Bev Smith, 4th in the 55-59 AG. Rounding out the podium for the women was Jori Cooper, who finished 2nd in the Athena division.
On the relay side, David Ford handled the bike leg on the winning men’s relay team. And kudos to Jessica Miner, who did the swim and bike legs for the 4th place co-ed relay team.
