PO‘IPU — Jacob Punzal celebrated his birthday by participating in his first triathlon on Sunday. “This is my first time,” said Punzal, completing the event in 2:07:01. “And today is my birthday. Now that I did the whole thing, I
PO‘IPU — Jacob Punzal celebrated his birthday by participating in his first triathlon on Sunday.
“This is my first time,” said Punzal, completing the event in 2:07:01. “And today is my birthday. Now that I did the whole thing, I gotta go to work.”
That time put Punzal at the bottom of the 30-39 Men age group, but the accomplishment elevated his spirits to a new level.
“I bought this bike at a garage sale for $10,” he said. “Last night, I had a flat tire so I had to change that, and I only learned the gearing this morning going up Oma‘o Road.”
The TriKaua‘i Triathlon consists of a 750-meter swim, a 14-mile bike ride up Oma‘o Road and down Maluhia Road and a 5K run along Po‘ipu Road.
Leo McCarthy repeated as the first overall winner, crossing the finish line on a 1:05:27 performance, bettering his July finish of 1:05:59 by almost 30 seconds.
Daniel Velasco, the top finisher of the February event, finished at 1:13:08, good for second in his age group below Cayce McGraw (1:09:43), finishing second overall.
Marion Summerer dominated the women, crossing third overall and first for the women at 1:10:00.
Pierce Murphy, the Island School student who finished second in the recent Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association state cross country meet, topped the 5K Fun Run.
“He’s always run his best times at this event,” said Dr. Shawn Murphy, Pierce’s dad, who greeted his son at the finish line with two cups of cold water.
Pierce set the pace for the field of about three dozen runners with a first overall finish at 16:23, or a 5:17 mile. That pace was a blistering six minutes ahead of second finisher Greg Wirtz who stopped the clock at 22:22, or a 7:12 mile.
Charlette Hartwig was the first female finisher, crossing fifth overall at 25:22, or an 8:10 mile.
Emma Rausch, a Swim Kaua‘i Aquatics athlete, followed at 25:39, or an 8:16 mile, first in her age group.
Pierce was not alone in the high school representation as Kaua‘i High School girls cross country team mates Cinzia Bruno and Kendall Andersland joined the triathlon, and several Kapa‘a High School athletes participated in the Fun Run.
“I want to beat her,” said Andersland, a Kaua‘i junior, who became hooked on triathlons during the cross country season when Bruno participated in the Kaua‘i Marathon.
“She went out and got a job so she could buy a bike, and combined with an early Christmas from grandma, she’s got a bike,” said an Andersland supporter. “She’s been training for this since cross country.”
Andersland’s goal of topping Bruno took place early when she overtook the Red Raider sophomore in the swim phase, leaving the water at 9:03 to Bruno’s 9:37.
A spill during the bicycle phase failed to close the gap and Andersland crossed the tape at 1:33:11, first in the 1-19 age group. Bruno crossed at 1:47:33.
“I don’t know what happened,” Andersland said of the spill at one of the turns near the Koloa bypass road. “I was between the cones, but I think that was the wrong way, and the next thing, I was on the ground. My shoelaces got caught in the chain so they had to pop the chain so I could get free.”
Andersland showed the strawberry on her left knee, a badge to her accomplishment, noting that even while going down, she didn’t feel like she was falling.
Carolyn Pryce, 10, was No. 3 in the 1-19 age group, completing the event at 2:08:39 with the company of her dad.
“This was the youngest competitor in the field,” said Brian Curll, president of the Pu‘uwai Canoe Club and triathlon organizer. “This was a father-daughter effort. We had people from Micronesia, there was a guy from London, and a lot of visitors this time.”
The field totalled 86 individuals and 15 teams, down from the 106 individuals registered for the July event.
Curll said he coaches young athletes from high school and just wants to expose them to different sports options instead of them just knowing football and canoe paddling.
Proceeds from the TriKaua‘i Triathlon benefited the paddling programs.
Three events, including the first-ever run/bike/run duathlon are being planned for the 2010 calendar.
“I’ll be here again next year. The only difference is I’m going to have a $20 bicycle,” said Punzal, readying for his job.
For more information, visit the Pu‘uwai Canoe Club Web site at www.puuwaioutriggercanoeclub.org.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com
