First Posted: 8/20/2013
The 32nd installment of the Wilkes-Barre Triathlon was held on Aug. 18, starting at Harvey’s Lake and finishing at the Penn State Wilkes-Barre campus in Lehman Township.
Wyoming resident Nick Hetro took home first place in the Sprint Division in a time of 1 hour, 19 minutes and 53 seconds. Hetro finished the day with the best swim and run times. He was second in the bike portion of the course.
The Sprint Division was made up of a 26-kilometer bike course, a 5.5-kilometer run course, and a 0.75-kilometer swim at Harvey’s Lake.
The event started with the swim where Hetro posted a time of 13:29. He then got to Penn State Wilkes-Barre in a time of 43:09 on his bike. The final loop was a 21:33 run that started and finished on the campus.
Other locals in the Sprint Division were Kaylene Sutkowskik in the 20-24 age division. She finished with a time of 2:10:28. Sarah Argo, who participated in the 30-34 age division took home a time of 2:00:47. Also in that division was Nicole Valkenburg, of Exeter, with a time of 2:03:46.
Pittston’s Phil Pisano came in with an 18th-place finish in the Sprint Division with a time of 1:49:39. That gave him a second place finish in the 40-44 male division. James Albert, also from Pittston, finished at 1:57:45 and in fifth place in that division.
In the 50-54 female division, Pittston’s Laurie Chiumento had a time of 2:32:03. That was good for third place in her division.
There were several locals that participated in the Olympic Triathlon. Although the course was similar, there were many differences.
The race started with a 1.5-kilometer loop in Harvey’s Lake. Upon completion of the swim, a 40-kilometer bike course that winded through Harvey’s Lake, Noxen, Idetown, Huntsville and Jackson Township, ending at the bike/run transition area at Penn State.
Following the bike ride, a challenging 11-kilometer run course was the finisher.
Wyoming’s Charlene Aquilina came in third place in the female division with a time of 2:41:42. Aquilina’s swim time of 26:05, which was third fastest for the females, helped her get to the third place finish.
West Pittston’s Erin Hannigan finished with a time of 2:48:49 and a win in the 20-24 age division for the females. On the male side, Wyoming’s Chris Tamanini posted a time of 2:37:48. Tamanini’s 21:08 in the swim – which was second fastest – game him a third place finish.
Exeter’s Scott Meuser finished second in the 50-54 male division with a time of 2:38:38
Sean Robbins of Shavertown bested the Olympic Distance Course in 2:10:34. Philadelphia’s Emily Sherrard took the Women’s Championship with a time of 2:24:36, which was good for 5th place overall.
Robbins became a three-time winner of the event. The last person to accomplish that feat was Australian Greg Welch from 1991-93.
The 2013 Wilkes-Barre Triathlon was run in memory of former race official John McHugh.