On Saturday September 21
st, collegiate
teams from around the region were back in action at the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate
Championship race which is part of the Outback Big Lick Triathlon. Over 100 collegiate athletes awoke to a
picturesque morning at Smith Mountain Lake State Park in Virginia.
Collegiate men entered Smith Mountain Lake at
9:00 am and the women followed 4 minutes later in the second wave for the 1.5k
swim. The bike was a 40k loop which is
quite rolling and has a few technical turns.
The 10k run is an out and back which undulates the entire way and has no
flat sections.
Top individual honors belonged to Virginia Tech
and the United States Military Academy (West Point). Dan Peairs of Virginia Tech opened up a three minute lead on the
run to take the title. In the women’s
race, Bre Millard of West Point (ARMY) took a commanding lead on the run
finishing four minutes ahead of her next competitor.
Top 10 Collegiate Men:
1
|
DAN PEARIS
|
VA TECH
|
1:58:20
|
2
|
DANIEL WILLIAMS
|
UNC
|
2:01:46
|
3
|
BRIAN SCULLIN
|
NAVY
|
2:02:48
|
4
|
BILL UFFMANN
|
NAVY
|
2:04:25
|
5
|
AARON KIEFER
|
NC STATE
|
2:06:18
|
6
|
CHRIS HOBERT
|
NAVY
|
2:06:23
|
7
|
BRANDON SECREST
|
NAVY
|
2:06:34
|
8
|
NATHAN STUHLMACHER
|
NAVY
|
2:07:24
|
9
|
TREVOR JONES
|
ARMY
|
2:07:34
|
10
|
BRAD SCHOULTZ
|
NAVY
|
2:08:42
|
Top 10 Collegiate Women:
1
|
BRE MILLARD
|
ARMY
|
2:28:04
|
2
|
LAURA BOWLES
|
ASU
|
2:32:32
|
3
|
ANNA SABLIK
|
VA TECH
|
2:33:46
|
4
|
MELANIE COOPER
|
NAVY
|
2:34:51
|
5
|
JESSIE MISCHLER
|
UNC
|
2:34:53
|
6
|
REBECCA MOORE
|
JMU
|
2:35:56
|
7
|
ELIZABETH VANCE
|
UVA
|
2:36:41
|
8
|
LIA CLATTENBURG
|
UVA
|
2:37:55
|
9
|
JILL DUGAN
|
PSU
|
2:37:57
|
10
|
BECKI MARSHALL
|
VA TECH
|
2:38:00
|
Nevertheless, collegiate racing is not just
about individual efforts; it is about your team as a whole. A team time is
comprised of the sum of the times of the top five team members. The lowest cumulative time earns the title
of Regional Team Champion. For the
second year in a row The United States Naval Academy’s men dominated the race
placing their top five men in the top 8 overall. The women’s title was taken by ARMY’s women’s team.
Top Male Teams:
1 NAVY 10:27:34
2 VA
TECH 11:00:09
3 ARMY11:29:36
4 PSU 11:48:04
5 UNC 12:14:26
Top Female Teams:
1 ARMY13:37:05
2 UVA 14:02:42
3 VA
TECH 14:10:34
Complete race results can be found at
http://www.set-upinc.com.
Following the race, all athletes received a post
race meal of steak and chicken compliments of the title sponsor, Outback
Steakhouse. Is it the free food or the
race that keeps these poor starving collegiate athletes coming back year after
year?!?!
Other News
Following the race, a meeting of the regional
teams was held to discuss ongoing events in the region and to hold an election
for the regional representative to the national Collegiate Triathlon
Association. Andrew Blatecky of James
Madison University was elected into the position and will begin taking over the
region in the next couple of months.
Congratulations Andrew. Everyone
in the region looks forward to working with you and continuing to help you
build collegiate triathlon in the region.
