July 16, 2005

Athletes trade shirts for trophies

Brad Serf of Plymouth finished fifth overall in the Culver Triathlon with a course time of 1:01.55. Photo provided/JAN GARRISON

CULVER -- How quickly did the Culver Sprint Triathlon catch on? The best indicator may be the T-shirts -- or, rather, the lack thereof.

So many people signed up over the last few days that organizers from the sponsoring Culver Kiwanis Club and Culver Academies ran out Sunday morning.

But don't worry, more are on the way to celebrate the inaugural event.

"I only had 65 people signed up when I had to send in the T-shirt order," said Russ Schenk, who directed the initial effort. "I went ahead and ordered a gross (144) so I'd have some for the volunteers and late entries."

But the late entries kept coming and coming, right up to race time, until the field had swollen to over 160 participants. The triathlon pulled people from throughout Indiana, along with others from Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Colorado, California, New York, New Jersey, Arizona, Wisconsin, and even Mexico.

The top three finishers in each division also received a piece of Culver Academy history as their awards. Horseshoes used by the Black Horse Troop and the Equestriennes during President George W. Bush's 2005 Inaugural Parade were painted gold, silver and bronze and given away.

Lucas Moser, 21, of Warsaw was the overall men's winner, finishing the approximate 300-meter swim, 12.2-mile bike ride and 3.1-mile run, in 59-minutes, 42 seconds. He was the only person to break the one-hour barrier.

South Bend's Lisa James, 40, was the top woman, finishing in 1:00.56, just three seconds faster than Chris Wickard, 35, of Crown Point. Wickard said she and James finished in the same order the day before at the Valparaiso triathlon.

Wickard has been doing triathlons for eight to nine years, taking time off to have her two sons, now one and three. Along with the Valpo and Culver sprint triathlons, she is planning on doing six others, including three Olympic distance triathlons. She is working up a trip to the Disney World triathlon in late September .

"It will be my first travel," she said. "I'm looking forward to it."

Wickard praised the Culver event, saying organizers had the layout marked well.

"Overall, I think it went well," she said. "There are a couple of things that might be changed, but that comes with experience."

Brad Serf, 30, of Plymouth, finished fifth overall in 1:01.55. He captured the top spot in Clydesdale division (men over 200 pounds) by nearly seven minutes.

"What a beautiful and natural setting for something like this," Serf said of the event on the shores of Lake Maxinkuckee. "It's great to have another event like this in Marshall County."

Serf said his interest in triathlons started in the mid-1980s, but he hasn't done as many over the past 10 years. But he believes the sprint triathlons will renew everyone's interest.

"The shorter ones give more people a chance to try one," he said. "It's a great sport."

Alex Banfich, 14, Plymouth, did exactly that. Banfich, a rising sophomore at Culver Academy, is more widely known for her distance running during the cross country and track seasons. But she is also a member of the Academy's swimming team, which was "definitely a big help" in her placing seventh overall (1:07.11) and taking the age-group win in her first attempt.

It didn't hurt when she put her state-level running abilities to use in the last leg. Banfich covered the approximate 3.1 miles in 15:39, the fastest for anyone -- woman or man -- in the field.

Banfich said her most difficult time came in "the transition from the bike to running. My legs felt like lead at the start but I felt fine after the first mile.

"I'll definitely do another," she added. "It was a fun race."

Greg Miller, 45, of Bremen, said he was talked into the triathlon by his son's friend, Brad Leeper.

"He kept saying, 'Come on. It'll be fun. We gotta try this,'" he said after completing the course in 1:22.53. "I would never have done it, otherwise. But it was fun."

Miller said he had run the Chicago Marathon in October to raise money for the 3C's Scholarship Fund, "so I had some idea what I was getting myself into."

But he really didn't train for the event, especially the swimming portion.

"But I finished around 13 minutes, so I'm happy with that."

The youngest participant was Rob Lauzen, 12, of Aurora, Ill., who finished the course in 1:26.49. The oldest participant was retired Gen. Robert Tanguy, 79, Culver. Tanguy finished in 2:23.44.

Tanguy, who told the crowd "I've never swam more than a hundred yards in my entire life," finished the swimming portion in 33:07 and the biking in 1:21.05. He covered the final running leg in 29:33. As he crossed the finish line, he smiled and waved to the applauding crowd of participants and volunteers.

"Thanks for waiting on me," he laughed.

Culver Sprint Triathlon Results

1. Lucas Moser, Warsaw, 0:59.42; 2. Craig Bewick, Gurnee, Ill., 1:00.56; 3. Thomas O'Neill, Naperville, Ill., 1:01.05; 4. Marc Lauderman, Bremen, 1:01.27; 5. Brad Serf, Plymouth, 1:01.55; 6. Art Jacobs, Plymouth, 1:02.42; 7. Frank Marrs, South Bend, 1:03.10; 8. Josh Daugherty, Winamac, 1:03.10; 9. Tommy Locklin, Millersburg, 1:03.27; 10. Steve Jungbauer, Leesburg, 1:03.54.

Division Winners

Overall: Lucas Moser, Warsaw, 0:59.42.

Age 11-14: 1. Rob Lauzen, Aurora, Ill., 1:26.49. Age 15-19: 1. Patrick Schulthesiss, Monticello, 1:04.14; 2. Jack McLiver, Plymouth, 1:14.01; 3. Brad Leeper, Bremen, 1:16.03. Age 20-24: 1. Frank Marrs, South Bend, 1:03.10; 2. Josh Daughtery, Winamac, 1:03.10; 3. Tommy Locklin, Millersburg, 1:03.27.

Age 25-29: 1. David Salzman, Chicago, 1:05.11; Michael Badalov, Chicago, 1:15.16. Age 30-34: 1. Craig Bewick, Gurnee, Ill., 1:00.56; 2. Brad Serf, Plymouth, 1:01.55; 3. Daniel King, Plymouth, 1:06.00. Age 35-39: 1. Todd Brandenburg, Kokomo, 1:09.05; 2. Thaddeus Borchers, Winona Lake, 1:09.52; 3. Jim Doyle, Fort Wayne, 1:10.09.

Age 40-44: 1. Thomas O'Neill, Naperville, Ill, 1:01.05; 2. Art Jacobs, Plymouth, 1:02.42; 3. Doug Morris (unlisted), 1:05.08. Age 45-49: 1. Marc Lauderman, Bremen, 1:01.27; 2. Steve Jungbauer, Leesburg, 1:03.54; 3. Bruce Borawski, LaPorte, 1:04.12. Age 50-54: 1. Mark Lawerance, Indianapolis, 1:04.39; 2. Neil Tate, North Manchester, 1:06.33; 3. Bruce Daugherty, Syracuse, N.Y., 1:06.

Age 55-59: 1. Charlie Brown, Culver, 1:17.04; 2. Robert Runkle, Edwardsburg, Mich., 1:20.37; 3. James Sturman, Culver, 1:51.24. Age 70-72: 1. Jim Henderson, Culver, 1:21.05. Age 73-78: Paul Gignilliat, Culver, 1:32.16. Age 79-99: Bob Tanguy, Culver, 2:23.44.

Clydesdale: 1. Brad Serf, Plymouth, 1:01.55; 2. Jay Costas, Valparaiso, 1:08.54; 3. Justin Clevenger, Westfield, 1:11.25.

Overall Women

1. Lisa James, South Bend, 1:00.56; 2. Chris Wickard, Crown Point, 1:00.59; 3. Monica Keil, Wolcottville, 1:04.32; 4. Cassandra Rozycki, Chesterton, 1:04.41; 5. Ashley Brooks, Phoenix, 1:05.36; 6. Helen Talford, Fort Wayne, 1:06.57; 7. Alex Banfich, Plymouth, 1:07.11; 8. Resia Rinker, Syracuse, 1:07.42; 9. Linda Douglass, South Bend, 1:10.30; 10. Jen Coleman, Warsaw, 1:11.03.

Division Winners

Overall: Lisa James, South Bend, 1:00.56.

Age 11-14: 1. Alex Banfich, Plymouth, 1:07.11; 2. Hayley Costas, Valparaiso, 1:14.53; Katie Denniston, Atherton, Calif., 1:33.50. Age 15-19: 1. Emma Reidy, Crawfordsville, 1:12.59; 2. Heather Reeves, Cicero, 1:15.35. Age 20-24: 1. Colleen Fletcher, Edwardsburg, Mich., 1:13.34; 2. Sarah Baugher, Racine, Wis., 1:19.20; 3. Molly David, Chicago, 1:37.22.

Age 25-29: 1. Molly Sturman, Chicago, 1:12.20; 2. Lee Ann Zahrt, Winamac, 25, 1:16.12; 3. Ilana Nudelman, Chicago, 1:18.02. Age 30-34: 1: Monica Keil, Wolcottville, 1:04.32; 2. Cassandra Rozycki, Chesterton, 1:04.41; 3. Bridgette Vanschoyck, South Bend, 1:21.01. Age 35-39: 1. Chris Wickard, Crown Point, 1:00.59; 2. Helen Talford, Fort Wayne, 1:06.57; 3. Linda Douglass, South Bend, 1:10.30.

Age 40-44: 1. Ashley Brooks, Phoenix, 1:05.36; 2. Resia Rinker, Syracuse, N.Y., 1:07.42; 3. Margaret Marburg, Maplewood, N.J., 1:16.13. Age 45-49: 1. Pasty Doty, Syracuse, N.Y., 1:14.50; 2. Elizabeth McKindley, South Bend, 1:15.50; 3. Lynn Schemid, Granger, 1:16.14. Age 50-54: 1. Jean Gaumer, Logansport, 1:28.45; 2. Gail Freeze, 1:28.45; 3. Kim White, Culver, 1:32.19. Athena: 1. Rhonda Wagner, Osceola, 1:19.41; 2. Kim White, Culver, 1:32.19; 3. Melody Myers-Kinzie, Brownsburg, 1:49.50.

Relays

Men's Relay: 1. Weitzel-Mast-Mangerson, 56.14; 2. Goel-Garrett-Branden, 1:03.34; 3. Denniston, 1:04.49. Co-ed Relay: 1. Drudge-Crist, 1:01.47; 2. Pence-Holtmeyer, 1:22.49. Women's Relay: no entrants.