Area Athlete Report - September 4-6, 2010

Kent Morris, 50, led area athletes at Sunday's Summertime Blues Sprint Triathlon in Freeport by winning his age group in a time of 1:13:40 -- 34 seconds ahead of Iron Star Triathlon race director Greg Pennington. Morris' daughter, Brittany, 15, also reached the podium in her division by taking second in 1:41:42.

The Conroe Triathletes also took a number of athletes south and were led by Jimmy Fleming, 71, with an age group win in the 70-and-over division. Fleming needed just 1:24:52 to cross the finish line.

Recent Ironman Lake Placid finisher Paris Menefee was fourth in the 40-44 age group as he posted a time of 1:15:20. Amy Antley and Jill Bennett had sixth place age group finishes in the 30-34 and 40-44 divisions, respectively.

At the Disneyland Half Marathon in Anaheim, California on Sunday, The Woodlands Running Club's Patrick Morein and Rachel Wilcox-Pereira didn't need a fairy tale to help them finish in 1:46:46 and 2:02:26, respectively. Additionally, Drew George, 45, and Henrita Van Wyngaarden, 41, of The Woodlands also finished in 2:01:39 and 2:01:40, respectively.

Montgomery's Laurie Paschal, 35, and Magnolia's Sara Vanderford, 48, rounded out the area's top six in California with a times of 2:11:07 and 2:11:11, respectively.

The race had 12,358 finishers, including 238 from Texas.

The Woodlands' Sergio Roldan, 37, led all men in the Woodlands MultiSport coverage area on Monday in the sprint division of the Avia Austin Triathlon with a time of 1:31:27 over the 700-meter swim, 27-kilometer bike and 5-kilometer run course. He was 37th overall and ninth in a competitive 35-39 age group.

Magnolia's Lundin Matthews, 22, was fifth in his age group in 1:38:53.

He was followed by The Woodlands' Stewart Comrie, 43, and Spring's Ben McHenry, 32, in 1:40:09 and 1:40:22, respectively. It was Comrie's first triathlon ever.

The best women's time from the area was posted by The Woodlands' Stacey Aubuchon, 26, as she registered a one hour and 42-minute time on the course, but it was Alexandria Bouthillette, 13, of The Woodlands who went to the podium with a second place finish in the 19-and-under division with a 1:44:30 showing.

However, the bulk of the local activity took place in the Olympic division.

The Woodlands' John Laskowski, 41, who is one of approximately 15 Texans who have won a lottery slot for next month's Ford Ironman World Championship, took fifth in his age group with a personal-best time of 2:19:48.

Team Strive teammate Rick Parker, 46, and Finish Strong Coaching's Jim Harrington, 46, both of The Woodlands, took fifth and seventh, respectively, in their age group with times of 2:22:02 and 2:26:28.

Mike Novelli, 53, of The Woodlands grabbed sixth in the 50-54 division with a 2:36:01 clocking while his 20-year-old daughter, Becca, also scored a sixth place finish in her division with a time of 2:39:44.