The Bucknell-bound standout swimmer has another accolade to add to his collection: Christian was recently named the Colorado 4A Swimmer of the Year.  This honor is bestowed upon only one swimmer in the entire state of Colorado in the 4A division.  Christian rightly earned the title after being named to the 4A All-State First Team in both the 200-freestyle and 100-freestyle.

To view the Denver Post article on the All-State teams, click here.

Camp at Steinaker State Park

Campers Swam in Red Fleet Reservoir

Riptide held its second youth triathlon camp last week at Steinaker State Park near Vernal, UT.  26 campers utilized the excellent and safe training environment to get ready for the Dinoland Triathlon and touch up on their racing.  The campers practiced open water swimming at beautiful Red Fleet State Park as well as Steinaker State Park.

The access road to Steinaker State Park has very little traffic and is perfect for practicing group riding and completing interval workouts.

The Dinoland Triathlon capped off the week on the 2nd to last day of camp.  The sprint distance version of the race offered a great way for the campers to compete against each other and put what they learned during the week to use.

Jocelyn Petrella Dinoland Bike

Dinoland Swim at Red Fleet State Park

Team Riptide competed in the Dinoland Triathlon over the weekend and took three podium spots in the process.

On the men’s side, Branden Rakita was second out of the water but quickly took the lead on the punishing climb out of T1.  Dan Mackenzie was a few spots back along with Adam Truex.  Going into T2, Rakita held a comfortable lead after posting the fastest bike split of the day.  Mackenzie began the run leg in 3rd place behind Englishman James Hadley but had him in his sights and was ready to run.

At the finish, Rakita took the win, well deserved after 2 runner up finishes in prior years.  Mackenzie emerged in 2nd due to his fastest run split of the day.  Adam Truex was next on the team and crossed the line in 5th.

For the women, Jocelyn Petrella came out of the water in 2nd place and would hold that position all the way to the finish.  Kelsey Withrow led from the start and Petrella just could not catch her despite putting in a huge effort on the run.  She had the fastest women’s run split of the day, edging out Amy Dannwolf who was 2 seconds slower and finished in 4th place on the women’s side.

The junior athletes participated in the sprint triathlon, with Linley Wendt bringing home top honors with the overall win!  Thomas Hill took home a 6th place finish overall, and 4th in the 19 & Under division.  James Hill was 14th overall and 8th in the 19 & Under division.

14-year-old Taylor Fogg led the way for the junior girls team with a 2nd place finish overall!  Fiona Dretzka was next across the line in 8th place, 5th in the 19 & Under division.

Riptide Multisports is excited to be featured in this month’s issue of Rocky Mountain Sports Magazine.  Included is a picture of team members at the team’s crit loop and profile of the team.

Rocky Mountain Sports Magazine is distributed at over 850 outlets with circulation of over 80,000.

On Tuesday, June 9th, Riptide Multisports Elite Team members Jocelyn Petrella and Jordan Jones presented to over 50 members of the Rocky Mountain Triathlon Club.

The presentation focused on swimming, with Petrella on swim training and technique, and Jones on open water swimming and racing.  Following the presentation, the duo fielded questions from the club on a wide range of topics.

The Riptide Elite team appreciates the opportunity to offer their knowledge to the local triathlon community and welcomes requests to do so.  Groups interested in hosting a team presentation should email Jordan Jones at jordanj191 AT gmail.com.

With hundreds of members, the Rocky Mountain Triathlon Club is the largest triathlon club in the Denver area and meets regularly for workouts and social events.  If you would like to learn more about RMTC them you can find them at rmtriclub.com.

Bethany Handley recorded another win for Riptide on Sunday at the Route 66 Triathlon in El Reno, Oklahoma.  After spending the week moving, Bethany made a last-minute decision to enter the race and make the 30-minute drive to El Reno from her new home in Oklahoma City.  

Bethany was the first female out of the water, her nearest competitor over two minutes behind!  Adjusting to her new bike and going sans-aerobars, Bethany lost some ground on the bike, but then battled back with a blazing 39:03 10k, the 4th fastest run time of the day, male or female!  

Bethany’s win qualifies her for the Best in the US Amateur Triathlon Competition in Mission Viejo, California on September 27th.  The Best in the US gathers the top male and female triathletes from each of the 50 states and brings them together to race head to head in an Olympic distance race.

Congratulations Bethany!

Amy Dannwolf traveled to The Big Island of Hawaii to compete in the Honu 70.3 on Saturday.  In her first half-Ironman distance race (1.2mi swim, 56mi bike, 13.1mi run), Amy finished 24th overall, including the pro women.  After a strong swim, Amy struggled with back pain on the bike, but came back with a strong run over the hilly and hot half-marathon to finish in 5 hours and 12 minutes.  

The Riptide Elite and Junior teams traveled to Austin, Texas over Memorial Day weekend to race in the Capital of Texas Triathlon and meet with sponsor Rocket Science Sports. On Saturday the team was issued their new 2009 racing kits and received a lesson in the technology behind them from Rocket Science Sports founder Marcin Sochacki. The Riptide teams can now race confidently in the best racesuits and wetsuits available.

The Riptide Team. Photo by David Liu.

The Riptide Elite team was lead by Jordan Jones, who placed 22nd overall in the ITU Pan American Cup held after the amateur races. Jones came back from a disappointing swim that had him out of the water in 41st place, thus missing the main bike pack. Despite the early race setbacks, Jones used his ever-solid run to work his way up to 22nd. Adam Truex finished just seconds behind in 23rd place, combining his first-rate swim with his much improved run. Matt Balzer was next across the line for Riptide in 29th place, followed by Tate Behning in 34th. Tate had the 6th fastest run of the race, covering the 10k in the sweltering mid-day heat in 32:16.

Adam Truex on the bike. Photo by David Liu

Jocelyn Petrella led the Riptide women with a 13th place finish in the women’s ITU Pan American Cup. Jocelyn showed strong perseverance after suffering from illness from swimming in the Oklahoma River in the Oklahoma City ITU Pan American Cup the previous weekend. Her improving bike leg should make her a force in races to come this summer when she is healthy and able to combine all three disciplines.

Cyrus Severance and Bethany Handley both had very strong showings in the Elite Amateur division, each placing 5th. Cyrus showed off his vast improvements in the water, exiting in 7th place — just 58 seconds back from the leader, Riptide’s coach, Sean Wendt! Sean lead the swim out in 18:10 and finished in 23rd place overall. Bethany, a former University of Tennessee swimmer, lead the women out of the water, after losing a few places on the bike, Bethany rallied back with the second fast run of the women’s invitational race.

Cyrus Severance on the run. Photo by David Liu.

The Riptide Junior Team competed in the Sprint race. Linley Wendt finished 8th overall and first in his age-group. Linley had one of the fastest 750m swims of the day with an 8:46. 15-year-old James Hill finished 62nd overall and 5th in his age group, a promising result for the young speedster. Taylor Harp, who at only 14 years of age was one of the youngest competitors, finished 24th among females and 4th in the 17 & under age bracket, a remarkable result in a sport where women don’t normally peak until their 30s!

Branden Rakita remained consistent at the Xterra Southeast Cup in Pelham, AL on Saturday placing 8th overall.
He was second out of the water, with 3-time World Champion Conrad Stoltz on his heels. Once on the bike and run, Branden raced smart and stuck to his pace. He moved up to 6th overall in the Xterra Series after 3 of the 8 regional cup races. Branden will be back at it in two weeks in Couer D’Alane, Idaho on June 6th.

On May 15-16, Riptide Multisports had several athletes competing in the Boys 4A and 5A High School Colorado State Swim Championships. With the format of these meets being a prelims and finals meet the goal was to make top 8 in prelims so you could swim finals the next day, or at least 9-16 so you could swim consolation finals the next day. A top 16 prelim swim would get you a swim the next day scoring points for your high school.

With that in mind, CONGRATULATIONS to Christian Treat who is the 4A HS State Champion in the 100 free posting a 46.90 and 200 free posting a 1:41.79. This is the first ever State Champion for Riptide.

Also, placing in the top 16 were:

5A
Linley Wendt 15th 200 free posting a 1:48.12, and 14th in the 500 free posting a 4:52.27

Michael Bennett 11th 100 fly posting a 53:40

Andy Nelson 4th 100 free posting 47.98, and 8th 100 breast 59.77