Race Coverage

The Waiting Game...

Tuesday, 04 June 2019 23:10

15th BUFFALO SPRINT TRIATHLON - The BUENTINGS (photo) totally rocked last Sunday at the Buffalo Sprint Triathlon. Papa MIKE ultimately won the men's race, though BRIAN STORHAUG (pronounced "Store - Howg") was first to cross the finish line. A Wave 1 guy, burly Brian hoped that his 1:00:52 would hold up. During the next three minutes, only one sprinter, fellow first waver KYLE SWENSON, 17, crossed the line. The talented teen's 1:02:13 torched the junior course record by 3:24.

With the Wave Two 30-39 challengers out of the way, Brian hoped that a Wave Three master (40-49) would not finish in the next three minutes. Two-thirds of that time passed uneventfully, then Buenting, 44, came crashing down the final spirally hill. Still, a 2nd here is pretty cool, and it matched Brian's best placing from 2015.

Swenson's time also endured the onslaught of later wavers, thus he took the final podium spot.

First across for the women was 2017 Buffalo Sprint winner KRISTINA SWENSON. Lke Storhaug, she then played the waiting game. Two minutes and five seconds later, Wave One's  BELLA BUENTING, Mikey's 16-year-old daughter, finished, thus claiming the "clubhouse" silver for the time being....

Another three minutes passed, thus Kristina could not be caught by a Third Waver, though there was still time for one of those 30-39 ladies to displace Buenting. And one did. Duluth's 

BETTINA KEPPERS, who came into the race as one of the faves, turned in a time that would ultimately prove to be bronze-worth.

For Buenting, though, her untimate 4th place performance was thoroughly satisfying. She held her own against some of the best athletes in our region, and reset the 16-19 girls race record. The old mark was 1:10:49. Buenting took it down to 1:08:30. A lot to be happy about.

To stay on top, Kristina needed to hold off finishers from two more waves, i.e . she need to hang in there for another six minutes. Five-and-a-half minutes later, three-time Minnesota Master of the Year CHERYL ZITUR, 54, claimed a 30-second win, her third at Buffalo Sprint, and the 14th of her multisport career. 

Zitur had lived up to her favored status coming into the race, and avenged the crash that robbed her of a podium step, perhaps the top step, here in 2017.

Was Swenson disappointed? Quite the contrary. Here's what she said on Facebook: 

The Buffalo Triathlon was exactly what I needed - it’s been too long since I walked away from a race feeling satisfied. I had one of my fastest and strongest 5ks thanks to some really fast women pushing me to the finish line and was thrilled with a 2nd place female sprint finish and top 10 overall sprint finish.

Kristina's mom Jamie was on hand to witness the triumphant performances of her son and daughter, who were not the only Swensons to rock out at Buffalo. She posted these words on FB: 

Tri season for Team Swenson has officially begun. Had the most spectacular day today; weather could not have been better! This family of mine rocked the Buffalo Tri today. Stephen David and Greg Swenson both finished 3rd in their age groups, and Kristina finished 2nd overall for the entire women's race field (also 1st in her age group). Kyle was coming off a week with the section track meet, 3 soccer games and went on to kill it at this race. He finished 1st in his age group, 3rd overall for the entire men's race field and beat the Junior course record by almost 3 minutes! So happy for them!

Jamie Tobias Swenson is right. Last Sunday was a spectuacular day, and not just for her family. Including Kyle's and Bella's junior records, four AG standards were reset. The others were posted by 70-74-year-olds. 2018 Grand Master of the Year nominee THOMAS ROHMAN popped an excellent 1:19:38, almost 11-minutes better than the old mark. The women's 70-74 standar was set by NANCY BAUER. Her time was 1:43:13. RESULTS