Sanson Exits Lake MV
Benjamin Sanson, a former World Champion swimmer, won the inaugural Orange County International Triathlon in Mission Viejo yesterday. Sanson built a comfortable lead during the one-mile swim. He expects the event will be great preparation for his Kona Ironman competition next month in Hawaii.
Lake Mission Viejo was shrouded in fog for the swimming leg of the event, making it difficult to see the buoys marking the rectangular course. The beginning of the race was delayed because the lake was invisible through the fog.
Following the swim, a 24-mile bicycle competition into Santiago Canyon proved difficult because it headed through hills, steadily climbing into Santiago Canyon until reaching the turn-around point. Riders jumped off the bikes near Saddleback Church to run the final 6 miles to the finish line near the Lake.
Runners found the trek highly challenging around and over the hills of Mission Viejo’s hiking trails. Beth Gerdes of San Diego, the overall women’s winner in 2:24 wrote this morning, “I hit T2 (transition 2) and threw on the run shoes. I had been waiting for this! I heard the run course was very tough, but I laughed during the first mile or so…this was tough? Yeah right! Okay, I spoke WAY too soon. All of a sudden we were in xterra land with big big climbs, dirt, deep mulch, carnage walking everywhere!”
But she enjoyed the entire event: “Turns out i picked a GREAT race to do well at…these guys had an actual podium, real trophies and prizes and things! I got nice sunglasses and some fun tri gear too…all size Mens XL. perfect : ) Needless to say, this was a fantastic experience. I went in with few expectations and came out with the best race of my season. I was especially happy to have enjoyed all three portions of the race.”
It was significant that Beth felt it was her best race this season. She has participated in 8 events since April, winning 5 times and finishing 2nd twice!
Another triathlete, Donna Skaggs, was an observer at MV after finishing fifth in last week’s Long Beach Triathlon, but wrote that Mission Viejo ”had one devil of a run course… which followed a bewitching bike course.”
In the men’s division, 379 finished. Sanson (1:58) was followed by Robert Skaggs (age 42 @ 2:05) of Trabuco Canyon and Max Biessmann (age 23 @ 2:06) of Irvine. Male finishers from Mission Viejo were:
|
Name |
Age |
Time |
| BRANDON CAMMELL |
23 |
2:23:28 |
| MICHAEL LEE |
42 |
2:28:54 |
| FRITZ REIMERS |
50 |
2:31:57 |
| KEN GRIER |
39 |
2:33:17 |
| JON NICANOR |
28 |
2:36:24 |
| IAN STEVENS |
41 |
2:38:49 |
| TOM RICHTER |
44 |
2:40:31 |
| JOE BOWMAN |
49 |
2:43:57 |
| FRANCISCO PRESTON |
18 |
2:46:08 |
| MIKE GIBSON |
47 |
2:48:27 |
| MIKE MONTELLANO |
28 |
2:50:14 |
| RYAN WESTENDORF |
35 |
2:51:41 |
| NICHOLAS REIMERS |
16 |
2:55:14 |
| CRAIG GUTJAHR |
34 |
2:56:38 |
| ADAM ALCARAZ |
34 |
2:57:26 |
| MICHAEL YURKOVICH |
37 |
2:58:04 |
| TOBY RAMOS |
35 |
2:59:18 |
| JEFFREY KLEIN |
40 |
2:59:18 |
| JAMES MAYVILLE |
51 |
3:04:00 |
| JON PRUN |
53 |
3:05:21 |
| RANDY KEITH |
51 |
3:06:54 |
| MARC TANGUAY |
41 |
3:08:58 |
| JIM DUGUE |
50 |
3:10:29 |
| DOUG POWERS |
52 |
3:10:46 |
| ANGEL PEROZO |
46 |
3:11:31 |
| MARK SCHAFER |
45 |
3:11:53 |
| DAVID DE LA CERDA |
44 |
3:17:32 |
| JEFF URISH |
51 |
3:18:26 |
| STEPHEN BELLISSIMO |
19 |
3:18:52 |
| BEN WAGNER |
42 |
3:20:30 |
| BRIAN BERGER |
47 |
3:23:32 |
| JEFFERY HAMEN |
41 |
3:25:17 |
| BILL DEMAURO |
49 |
3:27:57 |
| SAM SHAHIDI |
25 |
3:30:32 |
| PAUL HENISEY |
55 |
3:31:00 |
| RAMON SANCHEZ |
53 |
3:45:06 |
| CRAIG DEWALT |
36 |
4:07:25 |
Three of the MV runners were under age 20: Nicholas Reimers (age 16 @ 2:55), Francisco Preston (age 18 @ 2:46) and Stephen Bellissimo (age 19 @ 3:18). Click here for all male results.
In the women’s division, 162 finished the race including 72-year-old Mickie Shapiro of Costa Mesa (3:58) who finished one hour behind 62-year-old Trish Kimper of Solana Beach. Mission Viejo women finishers were:
| Name | Age | Time |
| JANNINE MCGAULEY | 40 |
2:52:32 |
| JILLIAN GAUER | 37 |
2:56:26 |
| HEIDI GERMAIN | 52 |
3:09:19 |
| MEGAN HEDGES | 36 |
3:13:53 |
| CANDACE BOYD | 48 |
3:18:35 |
| JILL HODGES | 43 |
3:28:15 |
| MELISSA MCDONNEL | 29 |
3:30:29 |
| SUMAYA MCCLEAVE | 31 |
3:42:25 |
| TERESA SCHERNER | 47 |
3:47:15 |
Heidi Germain finished 3rd in her 50-54 age category. Click here for all female results.
.jpg)
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
A special thanks to the City and its elected officials for bringing this world class event back to our fine city. Mission Viejo is a city that strongly supports their sports, and home to many elite athletes. Congrats to all the local racers, many who were first-timers to the sport of triathlon, and especially the Mission Viejo local relay racers, who defeated some personal hurdles to complete this challenging course.
John S
Dale F
Tina F
Congrats all!
Congratulations on such a remarkable event. This was my first Olympic Triathlon and I believe that the rest may pale in comparison since you set the bar so high. I particularly enjoyed the mile markers, plentiful water points, and the words on encouragement written in chalk throughout the run course. You guys really understand Triathlons and I look forward to next year.