Sept. 25, 2006 — The beach at Cane Bay is popular with swimmers and divers, but a group of highly trained athletes made it their home Sunday, competing in a heated swim, bike and run contest at the Toyota Wall2Wall triathlon.
Nate Faulkenberry and Teresa Harper both got out front early and cruised to easy wins. Faulkenberry finished the half-mile swim in 12.26, 15-mile bike ride in 43:54 and three-mile run in 22:33 for a total time of 1:18:58. Faulkenberry, first out of the water and first to complete the bike segment, had the fourth-best time on the run.
"That was amazing!" he said, all smiles and barely showing any signs of fatigue as he crossed the finish line. Faulkenberry, 26, works at Hovensa and has competed in local triathlons for two years.
Harper beat the rest of the women across the finish line in Sunday's race. She had a time of 14.42 in the swim, 51.11 bike and 22.43 in the run for a total time of 1:28.36.
"I did as well as I could have," Harper said after she crossed the finish line. "The run was hot and the water was good."
Harper, 40, teaches at St. Croix Country Day School and has competed in several local triathlons. She won the V.I. Point Series for 2005. A point-series champion has the best overall combined results of the six races held yearly in the V.I. Triathlon series.
"There is quite a triathlon community on this little island," said race organizer Tom Guthrie. The V.I. Triathlon Series organizes six races each year so an athlete can train year round, he said. Three races take place in the spring — Sprint Distance, West is Best and Half Ironman — with the rest in the fall: Love City, Wall to Wall and Caribbean Classic. This is the third year for the Wall2Wall.
Twelve relay teams battled it out over the same course, with the all-woman squad of Samantha Smith, Sue Brown and Alicia Lewitt easily carrying the day.
The race results:
Individual Men
Nate Faulkenberry — 1:18:58
Matt Crafts — 1.20.04
Jason Snow — 1.21.53
James Dean — 1.21.59
Bob Halk –1.23.19
Gabe Weber — 1.23.39
Scott Fricks — 1.23.50
John Harper — 1.25.57
Shane Duncan — 1.26.10
Ben Chandlee — 1.28.26
Todd Harris — 1.32.35
Richard Jean-Pierre — 1.33.43
Glenn Miller — 1.33.51
Roger Hatfield — 1.35.22
Troy Holloway — 1.36.32
John Mitchell — 1.37.45
DeWayne Smith — 1.38.57
Joel Holt — 1.39.01
Eric Jacobs — 1.39.56
Robert Stamper — 1.41.44
Victor Marrero — 1.46.56
Patrick Juarez — 1.48.41
Anthony Gatti — 1.50.08
Hanif LaFond — 1.50.23
Charles Martin — 1.54.07
Richard Difede — 1.54.22
Will Franks — 1.54.50
Kevin Lenahan — 1.55.06
David Nowack — 1.57.29
Mark Daugherty — 2.11.31
Individual Women
Theresa Harper — 1.28.36
Erica Sweitzer — 1.40.06
Arlene Watson — 1.40.24
Heidi Snow — 1.44.37
Alicia Ammons — 1.47.20
Valerie Shoppell — 1.47.53
Denise Blanchette — 1.51.07
Amanda Warehime — 2.10.26
Linda Nelson — 2.25.10
Chantelle Difede — 2.31.36
Relay Teams
Smith, Brown, Lewitt — 1.19.29
Nelthropp, Hatfield, Robinson — 1.23.05
Murphy, Quimby, Kennedy — 1.25.27
Mulloney, Holmes, Thomas — 1.52.51
Levin, Coyle, Goodnough — 1.40.03
Hutchins, Goulding, Fagan — 1.40.49
Pelayo, Gilette, Gumbel — 1.41.54
Dizon, Wade, Potts — 1.43.39
Harris, Fricks — 1.43.45
Flint, Chaffee, Robinson — 1.43.09
Haney, Nurnberger, Nurnberger — 1.47.00
Moran, Harris — 1.52.51
Allaire, Bode — 1.32.33
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