Race Coverage

Another W for Zitur. Another Record For Buenting...

Sunday, 25 August 2019 23:10

MAPLE GROVE SPRINT - CHERYL ZITUR never fails to impress us. Then again, neither does ISABELLA BUENTING and AMY WOOLSEY. 

Zitur and Woolsey are women who have done their best racing since turning 50. Zitur won her first tri at the age of 48, and now 54, has amassed 15 overall women's triathlon titles, the most recent of which was last Saturday at beautiful Warner Lake Park, venue of the 10th annual Maple Grove Sprint Triathlon. The win was her sixth straight here, and her time (1:07:15) was the 3rd fastest women's clocking ever on this route, and quick enough to land her in 4th place overall!.

Guess who owns the the Top 2 fastest times?

Woolsey, who has won four of the five races she's won since turing 50, placed 5th on Saturday, a performance that compliments her 6th at Apple last May, and her Top 10 at Chisago Sprint last month.

Buenting is not in her 50s, and has a long way to go before she gets there. She is 16, and she placed 4th at Maple Grove Sprint, doing so in a time--1:10:09--that slashed 5:12 off the prior junior record. In five regional tri starts this season, Bella has five age goup wins, and junior CRs were set in four of those efforts....

Now we know who placed 1st, 4th and 5th in the women's competition. Who took the silver and bronze?

As in 2018, DIANE HANKEE, whose 2019 tri resume features three wins and three other podium finishes, placed  2nd. JENNIFER FITZHARRIS-FUNK rounded out the Top 3. JFF is enjoying her best multisport season ever. In six starts, she has garnered one win (YWCA Women's Tri), three 2nds and a 3rd.

The men's winner in a true breakout performance was ANDREW KERSHAW. Not only did he record his first career tri victory, his 1:01:04 was the 6th fastest time in the history of the race, and his margin of victory over another athlete who is on the rise, CONNOR LISOWSKI (whose performances at Minneapolis Sprint and Buffalo Sprint impressed us), was just under four minutes.

Taking the final men's podium step was the ever-smiling ANTHONY HIRSCHMAN. Since 2015, Anthony, and infrequent tri racer, has landed on the podium on five of his nine starts.

Buenting was not the only AG record setter at MG Sprint. NANCY BAUER, 71, set an new stardand for women over age 70.  

Under near-perfect racing conditions, a total of 749 athletes crossed the Maple Grove finish line (Sprint, Olympic, Duathlon, SuperSprint) last Saturday. Coverage of Maple Grove Olympic (and Du and SuperSprint) will post tomorrow. RESULTS