V.I.'s Luikens wins Wall-2-Wall Triathlon
Published: October 2, 2012
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He took runner-up in last year's event, so Dedrick Luikens was not going to be denied again.
Luikens took top honors at the Wall-2-Wall Sprint Triathlon and finished the 800-meter swim, 15-mile bike ride and 3-mile run in 1 hour, 20 minutes and 10 seconds at Sprat Net Café at Cane Bay on St. Croix on Sunday.
In what was described as "near perfect race conditions," the event attracted more than 25 individual athletes - eight relay teams were also in action - and kicked off the St. Croix triathlon season. Three athletes also competed in the shorter-distance Try-a-Tri race.
On the women's side, Sissel Holloway was the first individual woman out of the water and cruised to the title in 1:23:24. There were only six women in action.
"Where were you, girls?" USVI Triathlon Federation Secretary Theresa Harper sarcastically asked. "The race started off with a highly competitive swim field, mixed with age-groupers and relay teams."
Harper was coming off a two-year Wall-2-Wall Sprint Triathlon title run before the 22-year-old Holloway unseated her on Sunday. The pair also went 1-2 at the 13th Love City Triathlon on St. John last month.
The win for Holloway comes only a few days before she leaves her native St. Croix and heads to Auckland, New Zealand, for the 2012 ITU World Championship Series Grand Final, which will be held Oct. 18-22.
Holloway's father, Troy, won the men's 40-49 age category and took second overall among the men. He also posted the fastest bike split of the race, which was just ahead of the men's 50-plus age category winner, Scott Fricks, the USVITF president.
Luikens posted the fastest bike time and finished first in the sprint division at the Triple Play Triathlon in April, and was the runner-up at the at the Caribbean Classic Olympic Triathlon last November. Coupled with his overall title on Sunday, Luikens also won the men's 30-39 age division.
Jon Salo finished in 1:22:01, was third overall and won the men's 20-29 age division.
"It was no surprise that Billy Bohlke, second place in the 30-39 group, had the fastest time on the 3-mile run," Harper said.
Bohlke is coming off a string of local road race wins that include the 29th annual Memorial Day 2-Mile Road Race, the 24th Paradise 5K and the Run To Your Library 5-kilometer Race.
Lukata Samuel, 16, has been a rising star in the St. Thomas triathlons. He made the trip down, finished in 1:38:52 and was the only men's Under-20 participant.
"I think we'll be seeing more of him in the upcoming races," said Harper, who won the women's 40-49 age division in front of Amanda Warehime and Laverne Fredericksen.
Sarah Stamper (1:43:44) won the women's 30-39 age division while Carol Fricks (1:38) took the 50-plus age division.
The first to finish the 800-meter swim was relay member Alex Lewit. His team featured David Parris on the bike and Randall Nielson on the run and they won the overall relay race with a time of 1:15:56.
After winning the Try-a-Tri race, Frank Pugliese dashed off to prepare breakfast for many of the competitors at Eat @ Cane Bay. Dominic Pugliese, an 11-year-old student at Country Day School, was second, followed by Linda Nelson. The Try-a-Tri course included a 300-yard swim, followed by a 4½-mile bike ride and a 1½-mile run.
After Sunday's race, the VITF presented awards to the top finishers in the 2011-2012 Individual Point series. First place went to Tyler Jowaisas and Theresa Harper, while Troy Holloway and Laura Hood took second. Last year's Wall-2-Wall Sprint Triathlon champion Kellen Hood was fourth along with Carol Fricks.
The next race is the October Surprise Triathlon on Oct 28. For more information about future events, visit the USVI Triathlon Federation website at http://vitf.org.
- Contact sports writer Aaron Gray at 714-9102 or email agray@dailynews.vi.
Wall 2 Wall Triathlon results
St. Croix, Sunday
Men's Under 20
1 Lukata Samuel 1:38:52
Men's 20-29
1 John Salo 1:22:01
2 TJ Vandehey 1:34:08
Men's 30-39
1 Dedrick Luikens 1:20:10
2 Billy Bohlke 1:22:42
3 Matt McNutty 1:22:57
4 Jason Snow 1:24:44
5 Jay Gleason 1:26:21
6 Jeff Wagner 1:33:23
7 Ivan Espinosa 1:42:20
8 Steve Wagner 1:43:32
Men's 40-49
1 Troy Holloway 1:20:56
2 Mike Klein 1:26:40
3 Steve Horness 1:32:42
4 Mervin Mills 1:44:10
5 Mark Langlois 1:55:39
6 Scot McChain 2:02:37
Men's 50+
1 Scott Fricks 1:22:05
2 Roger Hatfield 1:31:04
3 Will Franks 1:54:19
4 John Harrison 2:03:17
Women's 20-29
1 Sissel Holloway 1:23:24
Women's 30-39
1 Sarah Stamper 1:43:44
Women's 40-49
1 Theresa Harper 1:29:01
2 Amanda Warehime 1:45:06
3 Laverne Fredericksen 1:49:00
Women's 50+
1 Carol Fricks 1:38:00
Relays
1 Lewit, Parris, Nielsen 1:15:56
2 Washshah, Brown, Willock 1:22:03
3 Jascen, Morgan, Frett 1:24:02
4 Schaetz, Kennedy, Snow 1:28:20
5 Williams, Harper, Stapleton 1:33:10
6 Crowther, Crowther, Crowther 1:43:37
7 Black, Davis, Carr 1:44:18
8 Hyzer, Hyzer, Folger 2:01:12
Try-A-Tri
1 Frank Pugliese 1:01:04
2 Dominic Pugliese 1:06:06
3 Linda Nelson 1:09:15
Source: USVI Triathlon Federation secretary Theresa Harper
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