Dwyer, Benes win age groups at Toyoya U.S. Open Triathlon

     Approximately a dozen area triathletes took to the road last Sunday, October 10, for the Toyota U.S. Open Triathlon, held in Rockwall, Texas, east of Dallas.

     Conroe Triathletes' Michael Dwyer and The Woodlands Running Club and Brian Loncar Racing Team's Grace Benes left with first place age group finishes in the International Distance event, which featured a 1.5-kilometer swim in Lake Ray Hubbard and a 40-kilometer bike and 10-kilometer run through the city of Rockwall.
     The winner of this year's CB&I Triathlon, Benes easily won her age group by almost 18 minutes in 2:20:15 and was the top non-professional age grouper while Dwyer easily took down fellow Team USA competitor Michael Zinn of Dallas by more than six minutes with a division-winning time of 2:29:29.
     Willis' Mark Haas (Conroe Triathletes) was sixth in the 50-54 age group with a time of 2:30:31, two spots ahead of The Woodlands' Michael Novelli, who was 8th in the 31-participant age group in 2:40:35.
     Benes' husband, Mikey, and Panorama Village's Paris Menefee (Conroe Triathletes) finished 12th and 17th respectively in the 30-34 and 40-44 divisions with finishing times of 2:31:51 and 2:34:02.
     Novelli's daughter, Becca, 20, of The Woodlands, was fourth in her age group in 3:04:41.
     Four area athletes made the trip north for the 800-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike and 5-kilometer run Sprint race.
     The Woodlands' Michele Rossi, 26, competed in the men's collegiate division and posted a time of 1:34:03, while Benjamin McHenry, Jeffrey Kastendieck and Alan Bentrup, all of Spring, competed in the 30-34 age group.
     McHenry led the trio with a 1:25:08 time, while Kasntendieck and Bentrup crossed the finish lline in 1:32:34 and 1:49:33.