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Longview News-Journal
Deller, Rooney Capture
First Mini-Triathlon Titles
By
HARRY ENEMAN
Monday,
November 05, 2007
About 50
athletes, led by Eric Deller and Tammy Rooney, converged
upon Longview Saturday to test their skills in swimming,
cycling and running.
The competitors
participated in the first Mini-Triathlon sponsored by the
City of Longview Parks and Recreation Dept. at the Paula
Martin Jones Recreation Center, 1230 South High St.
Deller, of
Longview, and Rooney, from Tyler, claimed the top spots in
the overall male and female categories of the
mini-triathlon.
The participants
were timed in three events beginning with a 240-yard snake
swim in the center's indoor pool (84 degree water
temperature) followed by a 14-mile cycling course routed
from High St. to Sabine and FM 2087 and wrapped up with a
6.2 mile run that traversed portions of High St.,Nelson,
Green, Richardson, Flanagan and Avalon.
Deller, 24,
paced the men by completing the mini-triathlon in a time of
one hour, 12-minutes and 24 seconds, including times of
three-minutes, 21 seconds in the swim; 41 minutes, 16
seconds in the cycling route and 25 minutes, 52 seconds in
the run. Taking second and third were Longview's Sergio
Martinez (total time of 1:17:54) and Steve Farris of Tyler
(1:19:39).
Rooney, 49,
seized the overall women's crown with a course mark of
1:24:05, which was sixth overall in the field. Her closest
challengers for the female prize were Kami Needbalek of
Tyler (1:29:51) and Longview's Dona Thomas (1:31:23).
Rooney's tri-event times were 5:38 in the swim; 46:53 in the
cycling and 29:03 in the 6.2 mile run.
Awards also went
out to the top two finishers in the different age
categories.
Claiming prizes
in the female divisions were Olivia Bach of Marshall (first,
15-19 year-olds); Kelli Coleman of Denton (first, 20-29);
Delaine Cocks of Grand Prairie (second, 20-29); Longview's
Bonnie Workman (first, 30-39); Mollie Lemaire of Kilgore
(second, 30-39); Needbalek (first, 40-49); Thomas (second,
40-49); Beth Wells of Henderson (first, 50-59); Mattie Neely
of Gilmer (second, 50-59); and Suzanne Wood of Longview
(first, 60-&-over).
Those collecting
awards in the various men's categories included 14-&-Under:
Elliot Bach of Marshall (first); 15-19: Andrew Hernandez of
Denton (first); 20-29: Julio Hernandez of Overton (first)
and Andrew Sears of Denton (second); 30-39: Sergio Martinez
of Longview (first) and Clint Funderburk of White Oak
(second); 40-49: Farris (first) and Isidoro Garcia of
Kilgore (second); 50-59: John Sloan of Longview (first) and
Duke Gill of Flint (second0; and 60-&-over: Arlis Wood of
Longview.
The competitors
ranged in age from 13-year-old Elliot Bach to Suzanne Wood
and Arlis Wood, both in their 60s.
In addition to
participants from East Texas communities such as Longview,
Kilgore, Gilmer, Marshall, Henderson, White Oak and Tyler,
the initial Mini-Triathlon attracted competitors from
Metroplex locations including Dallas, Mesquite, Grand
Prairie, Arlington and Denton.
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