Race Coverage

Six Minnesotans Earn National Du Titles...

Monday, 27 June 2016 00:10

Photo (L-R) - Hot Dog Guy, Patrick Parish, Tiffany Payne, Matt Payne and someone else.

By Usatriathlon.org

BEND, Ore. — The best duathletes in the United States raced for national titles on Saturday at the 2016 USA Triathlon Duathlon National Championships, led by elite champions Alycia Hill and Matt Lieto, age-group standard winners Jesse Dunn and Kirsten Sass and sprint victors Keith Jackson and Sarah Barber.

The day’s events began with the elites on the standard 10-kilometer run, 40-kilometer bike, 5-kilometer run course, where Lieto posted the day’s fastest time of 1 hour, 58 minutes, 48 seconds to win a national title in only his second-ever duathlon. Hill won the women’s title in 2:13:49 in her first duathlon event....

“It’s great to see USAT come here for national champs,” said Lieto, an elite triathlete who typically races long-course triathlon events and lives along the bike route for the race in Bend. “For me it’s always challenging yourself to different aspects of racing. My glaring weakness in triathlon is the run, so doing a duathlon where you bookend my strength with two runs is not ideal, but it forces me to get outside of my comfort zone and stretch myself, and I’ll be better prepared for my next triathlon.”

Dunn (Logan, Utah) had the fastest time of the day in the standard race, earning the overall title and the men’s 25-29 title in 1:59:17. Two-time defending champion Matthew Payne took second overall and the men’s 35-39 title in 2:01:33 after sustaining a 2-minute penalty, and Evan Pardi (Yachats, Ore.) was third overall and won the men's 20-24 age group with a time of 2:02:46.

Sass (McKenzie, Tenn.) successfully defended her overall standard title, finishing in 2:14:53. Her time, which was more than 3 minutes faster than the rest of the women’s field, was also good enough to clinch the 35-39 title. Brianna Troksa (Veradale, Wash.) won the women’s 20-24 title with the second-fastest overall time in 2:18:03, and Stephanie Pancoast grabbed the women’s 25-29 title in 2:20:09 for third overall.

Sass also won the 35-39 title in the sprint race later in the day, clocking in at 1:08:44 for third overall, while Barber (Boise, Idaho) claimed the overall title in 1:08:32 on the 5k run, 20k bike, 2.5k run course. Barber won the women’s 40-44 age group and the Masters title en route to her overall win. Jane Tullis (Rome, Ga.) was second overall and the winner of the women’s 15-19 age group who crossed the line in 1:08:39.  READ MORE