Local triathletes up to challenge at Ironman

CLEARWATER — While Saturday's Ironman World Championship 70.3 saw course records set in the men's and women's fields, local age groupers did their best to set personal records.

More than 1,250 finished the 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike ride and 31.1-mile run. Among them were several dozen local triathletes.

Finishers included Daniel Chechele, 49 of St. Petersburg, 4:35:24; Robert Repp, 22 of Palm Harbor, 4:46:06; Christina Noordstar, 32 of Tierra Verde, 4:46:27; Rob Boos, 39 of Belleair, 4:48:48; Robert Maue, 40 of Clearwater, 4:49:44; Larry Witt, 44 of Palm Harbor, 4:57:47; Jason Trieloff, 39 of Clearwater, 5:06:14; Owen Clifton, 46 of Tarpon Springs, 5:08:36; Tony Scott, 45 of St. Petersburg, 5:14:37; Thomas Jensen, 45 of Clearwater, 5:21:40.

Additional age groupers included Jennifer Sullivan, 43 of Safety Harbor, 5:27:35; Darren Harris, 47 of St. Petersburg, 5:42:38; Dave Orlowski, 53 of Clearwater Beach, 5:54:02; Melissa Dipple, 48 of Tierra Verde, 5:54:02; Tye Gruss, 42 of Largo, 5:55:17; Theresa George, 44 of Dunedin, 6:09:22; Francis McDermond, 31 of Pinellas Park, 6:11:11; Carol Ardell, 53 of St. Petersburg, 6:14:04; Jenna Casper, 33 of St. Petersburg, 6:15:37.

Rounding out the field were Franklin Clark, 39 of Safety Harbor, 6:18:06; Chris Steffen, 19 of Pinellas Park, 6:19:35; Diane Berberian, 50 of Clearwater, 6:20:38; Clare Kelley, 53 of St. Petersburg, 6:21:35; Sofia Bereza, 59 of Clearwater, 6:44:25, Bill Kolar, 61 of St. Petersburg, 6:56:34.

Road runners

Tarpon Springs residents Scott Stolz, 48, and his wife, Joan, 47, traveled to Healdsburg, Calif., for a half-marathon on Oct. 25. Both ran a 1:54:44. Joan Stolz finished sixth out of 63 in her age group, and overall the Stolzes finished 239th and 240th out of 1,100 runners. It was their first half-marathon.

Cycling

Several Pinellas County residents headed to Nokomis on Sunday for the Sarasota Senior. The event was a qualifier for the State Senior Games championships that will be held in Cape Coral on Dec. 9-11.

The races contested were the 5K and 10K time trial events, with the top five finishers in each five-year age group qualifying for the state championships.

Local qualifiers included John Sinibaldi Jr. of Seminole in the 50-54 age group. He took first in the 5K and second in the 10K. Mike McCollum of Largo placed third in the 60-64 age group.

Sandy Scott of Seminole, the current state champion and state record-holder in both events in the 65-69 year age group, also won gold medals. Chuck Kleim of St. Petersburg placed first in the 5K and second in the 10K in the 75-79 age group.

In the women's division, Rose Marie Ray of Seminole took home gold in the 5K and 10K.

College update

The University of Florida's women's cross country team was runnerup at the Southeastern Conference Championship in Starkville, Miss., this month.

The Gators were led by Ali Crabb, a sophomore from St. Petersburg, who finished fifth overall with a time of 20:42.57 for the 6K race.

Watermen

Pinellas County residents J.P. Ahterholt, a supervisor with the city of Clearwater's Recreation Department, and Skip Maxell, co-owner of the Clearwater's Double Barrel Surf Shop, led the charge at the second annual 22-mile Causeway to Causeway Paddle on Florida's East Coast.

Atherholt and Maxwell placed fourth and seventh overall with times of 4:20:04 and 4:46:38. Atherholt placed first in the Unlimited Paddleboard Division; Maxwell, fourth.

Et cetera

Blake Arnold, 14 of St. Petersburg, finished first in his age group and eighth overall with a time of 17:42, at the 5K run to benefit the Arthritis Association at The Pier on Oct. 30.

Terry Tomalin can be reached at ttomalin@sptimes.com.