Race Results
Kent Park Cycling, season kick-off
A sunny, yet chilly, day greeted the 125 participants at Kent Park on March 28th. A chance to test early season form, Kent Park has become a challenging season opener and chance to show off new kits and new teams.
Lou Waugeman, riding for the newly formed “Velosport” team based in Davenport showed his early season strength as he and Derek Cassaday broke away from the Cat 1-2 field early on in the 6 lap race. A large group that included Cat 3 racers Geoff Perrill, Grant Headley and Nate Kullborn, chased the duo, but never caught them allowing Waugeman to take the uphill sprint over Cassaday, with Brian Moritz taking third. Ryan Nenninger and Jeff Bradley rounded out the top 5.
Robin Williams snuck away from a strong group of women including Julie Zierke-Clark, Keely Shannon, Brittney McConnell, Dee Mable, Sandy Kestler, Lacey Douglas and Ann Meyer. Williams soloed to the finish for the victory while Douglas took the bunch sprint to finish 2nd ahead of Shannon followed Meyer and Kestler.
Loop the Lake, 5 mile race
Julius Rotich, broke away from a lead pack, taking the lead at mile 1, and never relinquished it. A group of 3, including Tony White, Ryan McCurnin and Brian Werner chased hard, separating themselves from the pack, but never caught Rotich, who won the 5 mile race in 26:00. White eventually pulled away from McCurnin, in the final mile while, finishing 2nd (27:10)and 3rd (27:14) respectively. Brian Werner and Jonathan Estabrook managed to stay ahead of the nearly 400 runner field to finish in 4th (27:23) and 5th (27:37). Keith Abels was the first masters finisher in 28:49.
Traci Kresser, of Clive, showed she’s a runner to beat as she ran a dominant 28:52, more than a minute ahead of second place finisher Casey Owens (29:54). Molly Christensen finished in third (30:47) and Yelena Nanaziashuili (31:10) and Kiera Koras (31:11)
Friendly Sons of St. Patrick Run Joins the 1,000 runner club
This Spring opener became the 6th race in Iowa to hit the 1000 runner mark on March 28th in West Des Moines.
Brad Wall, 41, of Ankeny, won the 381 strong 10k race in 36:09, followed by Keith Abels, 48, of Ogden in 36:49. Colleen Webb, 32, of Des Moines won the women’s race in 38:53. She was followed by Kristen Mitchell, 31, of Ottumwa in 39:38. Marty Kalton ran a 58:11 to finish 163rd in the 10k.
544 finished the 5k race, won by Nathan White, 26, of Des Moines. (15:36). Tony White, 26, brother of Nathan, finished 2nd in 16:55. Ashley Tousley, 26, of Des Moines, finished first among women in 18:09, followed by Danna Kelly, 23, of Des Moines in 18:37 rounded out the top 5. Ani Trane ran a 31:48 to win the Masters title and Alison Miller of Ankeny ran a 42:16 to finish as the 38th female runner.
Sylvan Island Stampede Mountain Bike Race, Rock Island, Ill. April 10
Brian Eppen of Iowa City pulled away from Jessie LeLonde of Wisconsin on the final lap in the Iowa Mountain Bike Championship Series Sylvan Island race. Eppen and LeLonde began to distance themselves from the 28 rider field in the first of 5 laps on the technical singletrack course. Des Moines cyclist, Cam Kirkpatrick, found himself alone in third by the end of the first lap, and stayed there until the finish. Following Kirkpatrick were Brian Fuhrmann of Waukon and Kevin McConnell of Iowa City.
In a blaze of blue, the women of Iowa City stamped their mark on the IMBCS by finishing one-two-three in the 25 rider field. Always strong, Kim Eppen finished a minute and a half ahead of Mercy/Specialized teammate Robin Williams. Brittany McConnell, on the same team, finished third, three minutes behind Williams. Rounding out the top five are Julie Vardaman of Des Moines and Betsy Silzer of Peoria, Illinois.
