OWASCO - The Perennial Contenders lived up to the nickname.
Jill Connor / The Citizen
Austin Parker grabs a sweatband from his teammate and brother, Spencer Parker, before beginning the bicycle portion of the Great Race on Route 38A near Emerson Park on Sunday. Team Parker, with brother Matthew and father Michael, won the short course portion of the team triathlon.
Austin Parker grabs a sweatband from his teammate and brother, Spencer Parker, before beginning the bicycle portion of the Great Race on Route 38A near Emerson Park on Sunday. Team Parker, with brother Matthew and father Michael, won the short course portion of the team triathlon.
The 2006 and 2007 champions navigated the wind and choppy waters to claim the long tradition course title at Great Race XXXII Sunday at Emerson Park. The foursome of Fred Joslyn, Glenn Swan, Al Shaver and Mike Packer finished in 1:20:43, well ahead of second-place Route 17 Masters (1:39:28).
Team Parker (Spencer Parker, Austin Parker, Matthew Parker and Michael Parker) also made a return trip to the podium. The 2007 short course champs took back the title, finishing in 1:08:28.
Joslyn got the Perennial Contenders off to a decent start, finishing ninth (5:16) in the 10K run, while Swan took sixth (45:45) in the cycling portion. Shaver and Packer then brought home the title by blowing away the competition in the kayak race.
And the conditions weren't optimal either. Although the rain held off for much of the race, the high winds made for extremely choppy conditions on Owasco Lake.
“(The wind) made the canoe want to always turn to the left side,” said 11-year-old first-time participant Nikoli Biljamoski.
Steering the canoe was more difficult than in past years, forcing teammates to rely on strategy before speed.
“The choppy waves slowed us down,” canoeist Chris Felter said. “Once you got momentum up and your speed, it would just get knocked down. So instead of going straight at the wave we had to go in at an angle.”
Past champion Spinach (Scott Weeks, Mariano Garcia, Dave Loparco and Michael Schlimmer) finished third in the long course at 1:39:44), Wild Stallions (Jon French, Corey Burns, Fred Goodnough and Brian Watson) took fourth at 1:41:25 and 2008 winner Action Sports (Josh Henry, Andrew Melnycnenko, Matt Belknap and Benedict Schlimmer) finished fifth at 1:42:17.
Chris Mason and his father, Wayne, have competed at the Great Race for nine years, and along with Bill Golembieski and Roger Button, finished in the top 10 for the first time, finishing seventh (1:44:32.
“It was great this year,” Chris Mason said. “We brought in a really good biker (Golembieski). It was our first year in the top 10 and I've been wanting to do it for years.”
Bad Kitty & The Cougars (Laura Kline, Amy Kneale, Caryle Zipprich and Tamara Lewis) was the top female long course team, finishing in 1:58:39.
Team 5, 6 ...GO! was the top female team in the short course, comprised of Mary Bushallow, Gabrielle Dello, Tate Mason and Liz Calandro. They finished with a time of 1:25:26.
In the long course, individual winners included Cody Foster in cycling (34:05) and Paul Foster in the 10K (3:37). In the short course, Jake McAndrew won the 5K (5:08), Austin Parker took first in cycling (25:10) and Christopher Brown and Bruce Brown won the canoe portion (6:14).
Sharon Franchina took part in the biking portion of the Great Race, something that has become a tradition for her since 1984. Being a school teacher makes it hard for her to train year-round, but as soon as the final bell rings for summer, she's off on her bike.
“When I get out in June, that's my goal - to train for the race,” she said.
Several competitors had friendly rivalries as well. Chris Gilmore and Ryan Gilmore, former cross country and track and field teammates at Auburn High School, competed against each other in the 10K.
“We just go out and train together, trying to build each other up together,” Chris said.
And while many of the top teams consisted of Great Race veterans, this year saw the largest field ever for the 32-year-old competition. For the founders, this of course is a good sign, though it did pose one problem.
“We ran out of T-shirts,” said Great Race co-founder Jim Hanley.
http://auburnpub.com/articles/2009/08/10/sports/sports05.txt
Team Parker (Spencer Parker, Austin Parker, Matthew Parker and Michael Parker) also made a return trip to the podium. The 2007 short course champs took back the title, finishing in 1:08:28.
Joslyn got the Perennial Contenders off to a decent start, finishing ninth (5:16) in the 10K run, while Swan took sixth (45:45) in the cycling portion. Shaver and Packer then brought home the title by blowing away the competition in the kayak race.
And the conditions weren't optimal either. Although the rain held off for much of the race, the high winds made for extremely choppy conditions on Owasco Lake.
“(The wind) made the canoe want to always turn to the left side,” said 11-year-old first-time participant Nikoli Biljamoski.
Steering the canoe was more difficult than in past years, forcing teammates to rely on strategy before speed.
“The choppy waves slowed us down,” canoeist Chris Felter said. “Once you got momentum up and your speed, it would just get knocked down. So instead of going straight at the wave we had to go in at an angle.”
Past champion Spinach (Scott Weeks, Mariano Garcia, Dave Loparco and Michael Schlimmer) finished third in the long course at 1:39:44), Wild Stallions (Jon French, Corey Burns, Fred Goodnough and Brian Watson) took fourth at 1:41:25 and 2008 winner Action Sports (Josh Henry, Andrew Melnycnenko, Matt Belknap and Benedict Schlimmer) finished fifth at 1:42:17.
Chris Mason and his father, Wayne, have competed at the Great Race for nine years, and along with Bill Golembieski and Roger Button, finished in the top 10 for the first time, finishing seventh (1:44:32.
“It was great this year,” Chris Mason said. “We brought in a really good biker (Golembieski). It was our first year in the top 10 and I've been wanting to do it for years.”
Bad Kitty & The Cougars (Laura Kline, Amy Kneale, Caryle Zipprich and Tamara Lewis) was the top female long course team, finishing in 1:58:39.
Team 5, 6 ...GO! was the top female team in the short course, comprised of Mary Bushallow, Gabrielle Dello, Tate Mason and Liz Calandro. They finished with a time of 1:25:26.
In the long course, individual winners included Cody Foster in cycling (34:05) and Paul Foster in the 10K (3:37). In the short course, Jake McAndrew won the 5K (5:08), Austin Parker took first in cycling (25:10) and Christopher Brown and Bruce Brown won the canoe portion (6:14).
Sharon Franchina took part in the biking portion of the Great Race, something that has become a tradition for her since 1984. Being a school teacher makes it hard for her to train year-round, but as soon as the final bell rings for summer, she's off on her bike.
“When I get out in June, that's my goal - to train for the race,” she said.
Several competitors had friendly rivalries as well. Chris Gilmore and Ryan Gilmore, former cross country and track and field teammates at Auburn High School, competed against each other in the 10K.
“We just go out and train together, trying to build each other up together,” Chris said.
And while many of the top teams consisted of Great Race veterans, this year saw the largest field ever for the 32-year-old competition. For the founders, this of course is a good sign, though it did pose one problem.
“We ran out of T-shirts,” said Great Race co-founder Jim Hanley.
http://auburnpub.com/articles/2009/08/10/sports/sports05.txt
Citizen
Hot Jobs
Off the Menu
The Citizens' Say
Post your comment - click hereThere are No comments posted.