YMCA SPRINT TRIATHLON - Swim, bike, run, win

By Steve Roush
Published in Sports on July 31, 2005 9:14 AM

• Print
• Email

Stephen Frank is a U.S. Air Force pilot by trade, and a triathlete on the side.

He doesn't move nearly as fast as the aircraft he flies, but his time of one hour, 19 minutes and 11 seconds was good enough to win the 20th annual Goldsboro Family YMCA Sprint Triathlon on Saturday morning.

The race that started and finished at Walnut Creek began with a half-mile swim, continued with a 20-mile bike ride to Seven Springs and back, then finished with a 5K run.

Frank, 31, completed his swim in 10:46, had a time of 51:01 on the bike and ran a sizzling 17:01 over the final three-plus miles to win his first YMCA Sprint Triathlon.

"It was a very smooth race," said Frank, whose wife, Alicia, won her age group (30-34) with a time of 1:40:19. "The weather was perfect and this is a great course."

Alan Tripp, 24, of Greenville, crossed the line next with a time of 1:19:38, followed by Fayetteville's Jeremy Mount, 33 (1:21:07).

There were a total of 106 competitors, ranging in age from 15 to 67.

Youth wasn't necessarily served on this day as 57-year-old Phyllis Mason of Wilmington was the first woman to cross the finish line with a time of 1:30:59. She was followed by 47-year-old Courtney Rudder of Apex (1:33:21) and 33-year-old Emily Blum of Winterville (1:37:06).

Nicholas Inabinet, 16, of Greenville, won the 15-19 male category (1:22:14), followed by New Bern's Eric Golike, 18, (1:29:28) and LaGrange's Will Collins, 19, who was state champion in the 1,600 and 3,200 at Eastern Wayne and will attend East Carolina University and run cross country (1:33:17). Jeannine Erasmus, 16, of Cary, won the female 15-19 category (1:47); and Goldsboro's Tim Spalding, 26, won the men's 25-29 category (1:33:40).

Other area triathletes who finished in the Top 3 in an age category included: C.C. Wilkins (3rd in men's 40-44, 1:29:15); Joanna Thompson (2nd, women's 45-49, 2:04:19); Lisa Weston (3rd, women's 45-49, 2:05:10); Charles Royal (1st, Clydesdales, 1:45:48); and Nickolas Ruthledge (2nd, Clydesdales, 1:53.11).