PETERSBURG – Grim Reaper Fitness kicked off the 2017 triathlon season at the Pioneer Sprint and Abe’s Mini Triathlons here Sunday.
GRF’s Curtis Preston placed 2nd overall in the mini tri, which included a 100-yard swim, 5-mile bike leg, and 1-mile run. Preston finished the course in 35:42.2.
In the sprint triathlon, Lisa Kiley, Holly Tompkins and Jori Cooper led the way, all placing 1st in their divisions. Kiley recorded a time of 1:17:41 to win the women’s 55-59 Age Group, while Tompkins, a member of Illinois State University’s TriBird team, took the 20-24 division in 1:24:05. Cooper was the top Athena, coming in at 1:30:11.
Wendy Smith, Laurie Bederka, Stephanie Heppe, and Jordan Knoll also garnered top-3 finishes for the women. Smith was 2nd in 45-49 with a time of 1:17:57, while Bederka and Heppe were 2nd and 3rd in 40-44, coming in at 1:24:21 and 1:32:44, respectively. Knoll was 2nd in 20-24 at 1:45:29.
On the men’s side, another TriBird, Jeremy Bauer, was 4th in 20-24, but placed the club’s top time of the day at 1:10:14. Tim Auth and David Cate finished 2nd and 3rd in the Clydesdale division at 1:13:05 and 1:18:12, respectively.
