Race Coverage
Sean & Vanessa....
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Tuesday, 10 September 2024 00:10
SQUARE LAKE SPRINT COVERAGE - On Saturday, SEAN COOLEY and KADIE HOKANSON were runaway winners at the Square Lake 70.3. Sunday's Sprint race was just the opposite. Only 13-seconds separated the top two men, and the positions would likely have been reversed if the run course were a half-mile longer.
Thirty ticks was all that came between the top two women on this scenic and challenging .5 -18.5 - 5K course.
Last year's runner-up and this year's pre-race favorite, SEAN PICKLE, 19, enjoyed a two-minute lead out of the water and after the bike, but four-time Square Lake Sprint podium finisher STEVE STENZEL picked up some seconds coming out of T2 and proceeded to take 30-seconds-per mile bites out of Pickle's lead, but he needed a little more real estate to overtake the two-time Junior of the Year nominee.
The W was Pickle's fourth of the 2024 season.
TIFFANY KARI CIZMAS, 43 (photo), solidified her lock on a 2024 Master of the Year nomination with her 2nd place performance on Sunday. Like Stenzel, she lost ground on the bike portion and admitted later that there were "hiccups," but she was able to make up most of it on the run. The woman she was chasing was 2023 Most Improved Female Triathlete recipient VANESSA NAGEL, whose win on Sunday was the fourth of her tri career.
Nagel and Kari Cizmas finished 3rd and 4th overall, gender notwithstanding, in the 175-finisher event.
Age Group highlights include the 3rd place overall woman's finish by 58-year-old JULIA WEISBECKER, who will certainly be prominent in the post-season Grand Master of the Year discussions, as will LUKE HARNED, 71, who remains undefefeated in regional races. Of his six wins, at least three have been in AG record time.
