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USAT Announces 2009 Elite Athletes of the Year
Posted: Thursday, January 21, 2010 by admin
USA Triathlon January 08, 2010
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - USA Triathlon is pleased to announce the 2009 Elite Athletes of the Year, an honor awarded annually by the USAT Athlete Advisory Council.
Junior elite athletes also earned Athlete of the Year awards, with Jessica Broderick and Kevin McDowell in triathlon and Kate Buss and Lukas Verzbicas in duathlon.
These athletes were nominated by their elite athlete peers, according to Ryan Bickerstaff, the chairman of the council. Across the categories, there were about 17 nominations, and the nominees were asked to supply resumes of their accomplishments. The elite athletes voted in an informal poll, and the seven members of the AAC then voted for the winners.
Kevin McDowell (Geneva, Ill.) - 2009 USA Triathlon Elite Junior National Champion
Lukas Verzbicas (New Lenox, Ill.) - 2009 ITU Duathlon Junior World Champion
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Verzbicas Makes History!
Posted: Monday, December 14, 2009 by admin
Victory can be so exhilarating. Just ask Sandburg's Lukas Verzbicas, who captured first place in the Foot Locker Cross Country National Championships on Saturday morning in San Diego.
He navigated the 3-mile course in 15 minutes, 7.8 seconds, well ahead of runner-up Matthew McElroy (15:22.6), of Huntington Beach, Calif. Wade Meddles (15:24) of Gardnerville, Nev., took third.
In the process, Verzbicas became the first sophomore ever to win the Foot Locker championship, which began in 1979 and whose past participants include All-Americans, National Champions and Olympians.
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KEVIN MCDOWELL WINS 2009 NATIONALS
Posted: Thursday, August 13, 2009 by admin
McDowell prevails as pace makes triathlon race
BRIAN GOMEZ
THE GAZETTE
As Kevin McDowell dumped his bike and sprinted into the run portion of the junior elite national championship Saturday at Memorial Park, he remembered how he felt last year � nauseous, disoriented and distraught after his worst triathlon.
�Keep it strong,� McDowell told himself, �but don�t kill it right now.�
This time, he heeded his own advice, and a disciplined approach enabled him to overtake durable swimmer Ben Kanute and withstand experienced runner Lukas Verzbicas at the USA Triathlon National Junior Olympic Festival.
McDowell, 17, of Geneva, Ill., kept pace in the half-mile swim, gained ground in the 12.4-mile bike and pulled away in the 3.1-mile run, finishing in 58 minutes, 12 seconds to beat Verzbicas, 16, of New Lenox, Ill., by 35 seconds. Kanute, 17, of Geneva, was 2:25 back.
On the women�s side, Tanelle Berard, 17, of Clive, Iowa, atoned for a mediocre run with a solid swim and a fast bike, winning in 1:05:31. She topped University of Colorado sophomore Jessica Broderick, 19, by 1:41, and Stephanie Moroney, 18, of Manchester, Mass., by 2:02.
McDowell said he tried to maintain �a steady pace because last year I went over my limit. � Last year, I was nervous. This year, I went in having fun.�
Berard said, �I paced on the run. I thought I could definitely make it the whole way.�
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YOUNG ELITES PUT ON SHOW
Posted: Thursday, August 13, 2009 by admin
oung Elites Put on Show
USA Triathlon - USA Triathlon August 08, 2009
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. � A record number of youth elite and junior elite triathletes raced for national titles amid ideal weather conditions at the USA Triathlon National Junior Olympic Festival in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Saturday.
With a total of 181 athletes, representing close to 40 states, on the start lines for the four races, there was plenty of action and excitement for the friends, family and other spectators that gathered in Memorial Park.
The Youth Elite and Junior Elite races are draft-legal events for those interested in high-performance racing. Many of these athletes are part of the USAT Development Program and have their sights set on competing as professionals and eventually in the Olympic Games.
[Another 300 athletes aged 7 to 15 raced in the age group Youth National Championship later in the day]
The day started with the Junior Elite National Championships, with Tanelle Berard of Clive, Iowa, earning the win over pre-race favorite Jessica Broderick of Middlebury, Conn., and 24 other competitors in the girls� race.
Broderick, the 2009 USAT Collegiate National Champion, finished second, with Stephanie Moroney of Manchester, Mass., taking third over the 750-meter swim, 20k bike, 5k run course.
Berard and Jessica Clay of South Elgin, Ill., escaped T1 together and maintained a lead over the rest of the athletes throughout the bike. Out on the run, Berard (1:05:31) kept up the strong pace, while Broderick (1:07:12) pulled away from the rest of the chase pack and passed Clay for second. Moroney had the day�s fastest run of 19:18 to slide up to third in 1:07:33. Clay finished seventh.
It was the Multisport Madness show in the junior elite men�s division, with a clean sweep for the club out of Illinois. Ben Kanute of Geneva, Ill., used a strong swim to gain an early advantage onto the bike, but teammate Kevin McDowell (Geneva, Ill.) bridged up by the end of the fourth lap and the two took to the run together.
They had more than a minute and a half on the rest of the 73-man field, but were really only worried about fellow teammate Lukas Verzbicas, one of the top high school runners in the country. Verzbicas was able to chip away at the lead to pass Kanute and turn in the day�s fastest run of 15:52, but he wasn�t able to catch McDowell, who earned the victory in 58:12. Verzbicas grabbed second in 58:47, with Kanute in third in 1:00:37.
Katharine Lowrey of Chaska , Minn., earned a national title in the youth elite girls championship, just edging Hannah Rae Finchamp of Altadena, Calif., by seven seconds. Finchamp turned in the fastest bike split to make up for the time she lost on the swim, but it wasn�t enough to close the gap on Lowrey. Jenny Brown of Waukee, Iowa, was third. A total of 36 competitors raced on the 375 meter swim, 10k bike, 2.5k run course.
In the youth elite boys division on the same course, Josh Kanute of Geneva, Ill., used a strong kick on the run to pull away from Tony Smoragiewicz of Rapid City, South Dakota, in the final meters. Hunter Honeycutt of Tifton, Ga., was running shoulder-to-shoulder with Kanute and Smoragiewicz at the mid-point of the run but fell off the pace to finish third among the 47 competitors.
Multisport Madness claimed the Development Team National Championship based on the performance of all their athletes at the race. Monterrey Bay Multisport was second, followed by Icon One Multisport.
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For Youth, Racing Means Camaraderie
Posted: Thursday, August 13, 2009 by admin
For Youth, Racing Means Camaraderie
USA Triathlon - USA Triathlon August 08, 2009
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Photo: Heidi Herboldsheimer/USA Triathlon
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. � Some kids go to the movies with their friends, others play backyard football or video games, but for most of the 480 participants at Saturday�s USA Triathlon National Junior Olympic Festival at Memorial Park, triathlon is their source of fun and camaraderie.
The V3 Youth Triathlon Team from Minneapolis was one of the numerous clubs that traveled to Colorado Springs for the event. Forty states were represented in races that included youth and junior elite national championships plus age group races for ages 7-15 (see race results below).
�We�ve really stressed that we�re a team and that we need to build each other up and support and encourage one another,� said Erika Binger, the coach and founder of the V3 Youth Triathlon Team. �It�s contagious � if you cheer someone on, then you feel better about yourself too and you have more energy to go farther because all of a sudden your mind frame has changed.�
The clubs come to this event to race against the best in the sport and also to have fun, as evidenced by the camaraderie of every team on the course plus before and after the races.
�It�s a great team-building experience coming in,� said Patrick Hertelendy of Golden Valley, Minn. �Riding the bus here, we mesh as a team and some of my best friends are on the team and it�s really fun to encourage them and get encouragement from them when you�re racing.�
Before the race, athletes mingled in tents or under the shade of the trees in Memorial Park on a cloudless day with temperatures in the upper 80s. During the race, the same athletes focused on competing at the best of their abilities while adding words of encouragement to their teammates as they passed each other along the courses, which varied depending on the age groups of the athletes. And long after the final finishers crossed the line, the close-knit teammates of these multisport clubs will continue to support each other � this time at a celebration dinner or on the long � but euphoric � bus ride home.
Some of the athletes say they probably wouldn�t compete in such a grueling sport if not for the team aspect. Having the support of teammates, coaches and friends is what keeps them coming back after a discouraging workout or race.
Randy Scott, whose has two kids competing in triathlon, said that as a father, it�s encouraging to see his kids be part of a positive team atmosphere.
�This sport brings the kids closer together,� Scott said. �It�s encouraging, it�s character-building and they get a lot of fun out of it. They learn to compete and know that they don�t have to win � just to finish is a good deal also.�
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Multisport Madness Triathletes heading to Pan-Amer
Posted: Thursday, May 14, 2009 by admin
Tri-Cities triathletes heading to Oklahoma City
By KEVIN DRULEY - kdruley@kcchronicle.com
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Kevin McDowell rattles off his personal record (PR) whenever he establishes a one for the Geneva cross country team in the fall.
Number-crunching happens far less often during triathlon season. PRs are pretty close to taboo considering the variables.
"Sometimes it's hilly, sometimes it's in a river, sometimes it's in an ocean," said McDowell, a Geneva sophomore. "Triathlon is so different from everything else. It's never the same thing over and over again."
That's the way McDowell and several other Tri-Cities triathletes like it. The group that trains with Multisport Madness is getting set to travel to Oklahoma City as part of Saturday's Pan-American Cup competition. They head west on Thursday and are anxious to swim one-half mile, bike 13 miles and run 3.1 miles on unfamiliar water and terrain.
"It's going to be a good one," McDowell said.
The Pan-Am Cup includes competition in Elite, Under 23 and Junior divisions for men and women, and features athletes from such countries as Argentina, Bolivia, Canada, Chile and Venezuela.
Other area participants who plan to compete in the junior division this weekend include Kelsey Clawson of St. Charles North; Nolan Dickson and Ben Kanute of Marmion; Jordan Heggen of St. Charles East and Jen and Tyler Howland of Kaneland.
Multisport founder Keith Dickson has served as longtime coach for much of the group, including Geneva natives Kanute and McDowell since they were 10.
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Frosh is riding high
Posted: Thursday, May 14, 2009 by admin
Lincoln-Way Central's Lukas Verzbicas chases Olympic Dream
Phenom Verzbicas multitasking in bid for Olympic berth
By Colleen Kane | Tribune reporter
May 10, 2009
The memory of Lukas Verzbicas' first 5-kilometer road race had his mother, Rasa Bertulis, chuckling last week. After all, it was a rather unremarkable start for an athlete that has caused a stir in the running world after setting a national high school record in an indoor 5,000-meter race in March.
The story goes that Verzbicas -- now a Lincoln-Way Central freshman runner and an Olympic hopeful in the triathlon -- was as familiar with the sport of running as any 11-year-old could be. His mother was a former Lithuanian national record-holder in the 3,000 meters, and his stepfather, Romas Bertulis, was a longtime international track coach. Track practices served as baby sitting sessions, and emulating elite athletes was the daily routine.
"I saw that he was going to be good when he was 8 years old," Rasa said. "I was taking Lukas to practices and saw that he was always running. I thought, 'He's going to be good.' "
Still, he was largely untrained for his first 5K, attempted not long after his family immigrated to the United States from Lithuania. He remembers lining up and taking off with runners two and three times his age. He was able to hang with the leaders for about 2 miles before exhaustion kicked in and forced him to walk the remaining mile.
"His first race was a race for fun, but it was not fun for Lukas," Rasa recalled, laughing.
It is becoming more enjoyable these days.
After moving past that initial 5K flameout, Verzbicas began training seriously in both running and triathlon under the guidance of his stepfather, the Lincoln-Way Swim Association and the Multi-Sport Madness Triathlon Club. In December 2007, he won a National Junior Olympic Youth cross-country title as an 8th grader, and last summer, he won the Youth Elite National Triathlon Championship in Colorado Springs.
In September, after capturing several titles and course records in his debut high school cross-country season at Lincoln-Way Central, Verzbicas looked like he was on a collision course with an all-state finish, at the least.
But a back injury sidelined him midseason, which he believes was the result of little rest between his triathlon and cross-country seasons.
"It was overtraining because I never took time off," Verzbicas said. "It was a big experience for me, so I wanted to win everything. Every race I ran, I ran all-out."
He had to miss the state meet many thought he could win but was able to recover after some rest.
In March, Romas helped his stepson map out a run that would set a national indoor 5,000-meter record at the Nike Indoor Nationals in Boston. Verzbicas, competing unattached, finished the race in a winning time of 14:18.42, which topped the record of another U.S. immigrant, Ethiopian Solomon Haile (14:22.88), set in New York on the same day. Haile was the Foot Locker national cross-country champion last fall.
"It felt great. Everyone was congratulating me," said Verzbicas, who also set a 2-mile freshman record in Boston with an 8:57.44. "I've been getting a lot of attention, but I can't get too cocky because I still have to train to get better. My ultimate goal is to win the Olympic Games. That was just one more step toward that."
Verzbicas and his mother speak of the Olympics not as a distant possibility, like many young athletes, but as an eventuality, a certain destination if Lukas continues on the course he started from the time he was that boy racing against men.
Despite his obvious aptitude for running, Verzbicas plans to pursue a 2012 Olympic berth in the triathlon, a sport in which he also started competing at age 11. By 2016, he hopes to medal in the event.
His focus on triathlon competition, which begins for him on Saturday at the International Triathlon Union Pan American Triathlon Confederation Junior Championships in Oklahoma City, means not competing in high school track per Illinois High School Association rules. His run in Boston was one of his only track meets of the year, and while he plans to return for another high school cross-country season, local fans will have to watch him from afar until then.
In Oklahoma City, he will take on a 750-meter swim, a 20-kilometer bike and a 5-kilometer run against other junior elites with the hope of earning a spot in the ITU Junior World Triathlon Championships in Gold Coast, Australia, in September. He also will return in August to Colorado Springs, where he will try to win another national championship, this time at the junior elite level.
"The Olympics is our dream, and we're doing everything for it," Rasa Bertulis said. "He's working and he's going for it, step by step."
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Young Triathletes Shine at Nationals
Posted: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 by admin
USA Triathlon August 9, 2008
Young Triathletes Shine at Nationals
http://www.usatriathlon.org/news/article/3637
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. A day after the start of the Olympic Games in Beijing, a new crop of potential Olympians competed in the USA Triathlon Youth and Junior National Championships on Saturday at Memorial Park.
More than 350 athletes competed in the events eight races. The location of the national championships the hometown of the U.S. Olympic Committee, an Olympic Training Center and residence of some of the country's medal hopefuls in triathlons served as inspiration for youths and juniors competing in the event.
USA Triathlon Athlete Development Coordinator Steve Kelley lauded the athletes and the level of competition in the youth and junior elite races.
One of the things this race shows us is the emergence of new talent at the top level,� Kelley said. Some of the top athletes were youth elites last year, and it's impressive to see they've stepped up and adapted to the increased distance and intensity of the junior elite division.
Ben Kanute (Geneva, Ill.) won the junior elite men's race after previous success in the youth elite division. The 16-year-old held off duathlon specialist Ben Steavenson on the run to win the national title with a time of 57 minutes, 5 seconds. Steavenson closed a significant gap off the bike to finish less than a minute behind Kanute with a time of 57:56.
On the run I kept looking back to make sure I still had my lead, but I knew I had the race as long as I maintained my pace Kanute said of the 5k run finish.
A common trend for all the top youth and junior elite athletes, including 18-year-old Kate Ross � the winner of the junior elite women's race was the desire to qualify for the Olympics in the future. Ross (Doylestown, Pa.) has been training with runner-up Lauren Goldstein-Kral (Shaker Heights, Ohio) at the U.S. Olympic Training Center as part of a junior development program. Ross won with a time of 1:01:43 while Goldstein-Kral, 19, posted a time of 1:02:51.
In the youth elite races, two 15-year-old Illinois runners from the Multisport Madness Triathlon Team dominated. Jenn Howland (Elburn, Ill.) finished in 32:26 while Lukas Verzbicas (New Lenox, Ill.) won with a time of 29:01.
Earlier in the day, youth age group competitors raced in the boys and girls 7-8, 9-10, 11-12 and 13-15 divisions.
Age Group Winners
Boys 7-8 Juan Gonzalez, 8, Chicago, Ill., 18:55.7
Girls 7-8 Kira Stanley, 8, Acworth, Ga., 22:11.4
Boys 9-10 Nathan Ploeger, 10, Austin, Texas, 17:29.0
Girls 9-10 Alexandra Lorenz, 10, Dundee, Ill., 19:11.3
Boys 11-12 Neilson Powless, 12, Roseville, Calif., 29:31.8
Girls 11-12 Drew Sanclemente, 12, Middletown, Del., 29:44.3
Boys 13-15 Ben Barthel, 15, Santa Barbara, Calif., 28:12.7
Girls 13-15 Taylor Fogg, 13, Colorado Springs, Colo., 29:55.7
Youth Elite Women
1. Jenn Howland, 15, Elburn, Ill., 32:26.2
2. Breanna Hemming, 15, Kiowa, Colo., 32:52.9
3. Johanna Gartman,15, Chattanooga, Tenn., 33:12.4
Youth Elite Men
1. Lukas Verzbicas, 15, New Lenox, Ill., 29:01.4
2. Joshua Kanute, 14, Geneva, Ill., 30:20.8
3. Reeven Nathan, 15, Highland Park, Ill., 30:30.4
Junior Elite Women
1. Kathryn Ross, 18, Doylestown, Pa., 1:01:43.6
2. Lauren Goldstein-Kral, 19, Shaker Heights, Ohio, 1:02:51.7
3. Marissa Ferrante, 17, Aptos, Calif., 1:03:46.1
Junior Elite Men
1. Benjamin Kanute, 16, Geneva, Ill., 57:05.6
2. Benjamin Steavenson, 18, Ann Arbor, Mich., 57:56.1
3 Jack St. Marie, 16, Westlake, Ohio, 58:34.3
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Young triathletes have eyes on future
Posted: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 by admin
August 9, 2008 - 11:13PM
Young triathletes have eyes on future
http://www.gazette.com/sports/elite_39155___
article.html/triathlon_youth.html
By KATE CRANDALL
THE GAZETTE
Kate Ross and Lauren Goldstein-Kral, both 18, spent Friday night like most Olympic Training Center residents.
At dinner, they sat at tables adorned with red, white and blue tablecloths and smiled at the Chinese food being served in honor of the Opening Ceremony, passing it over for more race-friendly fare.
"I still had pasta," Goldstein-Kral said.
Later, the roommates - members of the USA Triathlon junior national team who have spent the past four weeks training at the OTC - watched every last minute of the footage from Beijing.
And Saturday, at the junior elite triathlon national championships at Memorial Park, Ross and Goldstein-Kral finished one-two in the girls' race - for ages 16 to 19 - which consisted of a 750-meter swim, a 20-kilometer bike and a 5-kilometer run.
Both hope it's the first of many times they're on the podium.
"I definitely have them as goals," Ross said of the 2012 and 2016 Summer Games.
The Doylestown, Pa., native will continue training at the OTC after she starts at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs later this month.
Nearly 200 youth between the ages of 7 and 15 participated in age-group races, which were followed by youth and junior elite triathlon national championships.
Both the youth elite (ages 13 to 15) and junior elite (16 to 19) were draft-legal races - meaning cyclists were allowed to ride together, forming a peloton (a common sight in the Tour de France) - giving participants a chance to experience an international-, elite-style triathlon such as that of the Olympic Games.
"We try to put them through the same protocols that they'd experience at a major international competition," said Steve Kelley, USAT's athlete development coordinator. "The 2012 team might be a little tight, but for some of these athletes, 2016 is very realistic."
Don't tell Lukas Verzbicas, 15, that.
The winner of the male youth elite race, who led after the swim and was able to walk across the finish line with minutes to spare, has his sights set on London in 2012.
"Watching the Opening Ceremony was inspiring - you want to be there," said Verzbicas, who runs a 4-minute, 21-second mile and began competing in triathlons three years ago.
Jenn Howland, a 15-year-old from Elburn, Ill., got introduced to the sport five years ago when her swim team coach put out a sign-up sheet.
"I didn't know what I was getting into," said Howland, who captured her third consecutive youth elite national championship. "I just did it for the fun of it."
Howland can hardly wait to watch the Olympic triathlon and take notes on the triathletes' strategies.
And four or eight years down the road, Howland hopes to be the one watched
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HOW ABOUT A BIG HELPING OF HUMBLE PIE?
Posted: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 by admin
SUNDAY, MAY 04, 2008
HOW ABOUT A BIG HELPING OF HUMBLE PIE?
HTTP://COLUMBIAMOTRIATHLON.BLOGSPOT.COM/
2008/05/HOW-ABOUT-BIG-HELPING-OF-HUMBLE-PIE.HTML
SO, I HAD MY FIRST RACE OF 2008...MERRILL LYNCH RACE FOR SIGHT TRIATHLON. MIXED BAG OF FEELINGS ON THIS ONE.
FIRST, I RACED IN THE ELITE/PRO CATEGORY - WASN'T SURE WHAT TO EXPECT AND I KNEW THAT IT WAS GOING TO BE FAST AND FURIOUS. BUT, WOW! I WASN'T EXPECTING IT TO BE THAT FAST! KNOWING THAT I DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE TO KEEP UP ON THE SWIM, I AT LEAST THOUGHT THAT I COULD MAKE UP SOME TIME ON THE BIKE AND MAYBE EVEN THE RUN. NOPE, NOT REALLY! I GOT OUT OF THE WATER 14TH OUT OF 15! TRANSITIONED AND MANAGE TO PASS 3 ON THE BIKE. TRANSITIONED AND MANAGED TO PASS 1 MORE ON THE RUN. FINISHED 10TH IN THE ELITE/PRO CATEGORY AND 16TH OVERALL. NOT BAD FOR THE FIRST RACE OF THE SEASON, BUT NOT EXACTLY WHAT I HAD HOPED FOR.
SECOND, THERE WERE A BUNCH OF JUNIOR ITU 16 AND UNDER ATHLETES FROM CHICAGO AND THEY WERE 'TOTALLY ROCK'N DUDE' (IN A SPICOLI VOICE)! THE CLOSEST THAT I GOT TO SOME OF THEM WAS AT THE SWIM START. SOME, I NEVER SAW OUT ON THE COURSE, BECAUSE THEY WERE SO FAR AHEAD OF ME. I DID MANAGE TO BEAT TWO OR THREE OF THEM. THE HUMBLING THING WAS THAT I HAD A GOOD RACE; I SWAM/BIKED/RAN AS FAST AS I COULD AND DIDN'T LEAVE ANYTHING OUT ON THE COURSE(S) AND STILL HAD MY ASS HANDED TO ME BY THOSE YOUNG WHIPPER SNAPPERS.
THIRD, IT WAS 38 F''N DEGREES AT THE START OF THE RACE. NOT THE IDEAL TEMPERATURE FOR RACING. IT WAS A POOL SWIM AND WHEN WE EXITED, IT WAS LIKE WALKING INTO A MEAT LOCKER BUCK NAKED. CAN YOU SAY SHRINKAGE!! THERE WAS MAJOR SHRINKAGE GOING ON OUT THERE TODAY!!!
FOURTH, I KNOW THAT I'VE WRITTEN ABOUT THE SPIRIT OF THE SPORT AND THAT WINNING ISN'T EVERYTHING. BUT, IF I HADN'T RACED ELITE, I WOULD HAVE WON MY AGE GROUP. GO FIGURE.
FIFTH, THE POSITIVE...I HAD FUN AND RACED HARD. SO, I GUESS IT WASN'T A TOTAL BUST.
SIXTH, I RACED HARD AND FELT GOOD, BUT HAVE COME TO THE REALIZATION THAT I WAS THE SNAIL ON THE TURTLE'S BACK, TODAY (SEE POST FROM APRIL 24TH).
B
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