Courtesy: USAT

A brand new U.S. citizen and a resident athlete at the Olympic Training Center were among the winners at Saturday's USA Triathlon National Junior Championships and Worlds Qualifier, part of the Granite Ledges Triathlon at Newfound Lake, N.H.

Top U.S. junior and under-23 triathletes competed in the race in hopes of winning national titles and of qualifying for the ITU World Triathlon Championships on Nov. 9 in Cancun, Mexico. The race was also the finale of the USA Triathlon Junior and U/23 National Triathlon Series, which was established to get junior triathletes experienced in draft-legal racing.

The overall winners in international distance race (1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run) were Matthew Kowalski (23; Northville, Mich.) and Courtney Bennigson (23, Boston, Mass.). Bennigson is a resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The overall winners of the sprint distance race (0.5-mile swim, 16.7-mile bike, 5k run) were Manuel Huerta (18, Miami, Fla.), who recently became a U.S. citizen, and Sarah Bickerstaff (19, Alva, Okla.).

The Olympic distance competitors (aged 18-23) took off first. Thirty men and eight women started the swim in the lake at Wellington Lake Park. David Kuendig (22, Port Orange, Fla.) and Kowalski exited the water first in 19 minutes, 10 seconds, followed closely by a group of six that included Timothy O'Donnell (21, Annapolis, Md.), Bryan Beckman (20, Eldorado Hills, Calif.), Bryan Rother (22, St. Peters, Mo.), Chris Shaffer (20, Delmar, N.Y.), Barrett Brandon (20, Lincoln, Mich.), and Michael Arce (19, Arlington Heights, Ind.).

After a hilly bike course, Kowalski and Beckman arrived at T2 in front of the pack. Kowalski had a strong run (33:36) and finished almost a minute ahead of Beckman. Third-place finisher Chris Valenti (Boulder, Colo.) came from behind with the strongest bike and run of all the competitors, making up 4.5 minutes, to claim the third worlds qualifying spot.

"Going into the run, I tried to win it in the first two miles," Kowalski said.

In the women's event, Kelsey Withrow (19, Colorado Springs, Colo.) exited the water first, 40 seconds ahead of Bennigson. Bennigson quickly caught her on the bike and continued the rest of the race by herself in front. Sunny Gilbert (23, Boulder, Colo.) came from behind with the second fastest run of the day to beat third-place finisher Terra Baker (22, Austin, Texas).

"I wanted to see what I could do - I have been injured lately," Bennigson said. "I knew I was rested, but I wasn't sure if I was sharp."

Twenty-seven men started the sprint distance race. Michael Orton (19, Reston, Va.) came out of the water first, almost one minute ahead of the next 11 athletes. However a group formed on the bike and left T2 together. Huerta, who just became a U.S. citizen, completed the 5k in 16:47 to win the race. Christopher Stehula (17, Arroyo Grande, Calif.) finished second, with Justin Caskey (Boulder, Colo.) rounding out the podium.

In the women's event, Bickerstaff came from behind on the bike, making up almost 1.5 minutes to the fastest swimmer, Ashley Carusone (17, High Springs, Fla.). Bickerstaff used a solid run to get the victory. Jasmine Oeinck (17, Littleton, Colo.) came in second and Grace Anne Nathanson (17, Baton Rouge, La.) was third.

"I was jumping from person to person (on the bike), then worked with Ashley Carusone, knowing that strong runners were behind," Bickerstaff said. "I didn't know how strong Ashley would be on the run, and I finally realized that I had won with a half-mile to go."

USA Triathlon National Junior Championship and Worlds Qualifier
Sept. 21, 2002; Bristol, N.H.

Sprint Distance
0.5-mile swim, 16.7-mile bike, 5K run
Men
1. Manuel Huerta (18, Miami, Fla.) 1:11:24; 2. Christopher Stehula (17, Arroyo Grande, Calif.); 3. Justin Caskey (19, Boulder, Colo.) 1:11:48; 4. Randall Lewis (19, Provo, Utah) 1:12:05; 5. Rehan Mahmood (18, Memphis, Tenn.) 1:12:05; 6. Michael Orton (19, Reston, Va.) 1:12:46; 7. Casey Guthrie (18, Reno, Nev.) 1:13:21; 8. Evan Walther (19, Ithaca, N.Y.) 1:15:04; 9. Paul Lancaster (16, West Palm Beach, Fla.) 1:15:19; 10. Patrick Johnston (19, Harrison Township, Mich.) 1:16:15

Women
1. Sarah Bickerstaff (19, Alva, Okla.) 1:21:20; 2. Jasmine Oeinck (17, Littleton, Colo.) 1:21:47; 3. Grace Ann Nathanson (17, Baton Rouge, La.) 1:21:59; 4. Ashley Carusone (17, High Springs, Fla.) 1:23:38; 5. Katie Siegal (17, Germantown, Tenn.) 1:24:24; 6. Caroline Humphreville (15, Naples, Fla.) 1:25:29; 7. Christy Tucker (15, Austin, Texas) 1:26:02; 8. Julie Carusone (15, High Springs, Fla.) 1:27:02; 9. Anne Basso (18, Raleigh, N.C.) 1:28:32; 10. Lauren Yagiela (19, Northville, Mich.) 1:29:13

International Distance
1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run Men
1. Matthew Kowalski (23, Northville, Mich.) 2:01:20; 2. Bryan Beckman (20, Colorado Springs, Colo.) 2:02:15; 3. Christopher Valenti (23, Boulder, Colo.) 1:07:42; 4. Chris Shaffer (20, Del Mar N.Y.) 2:04:21; 5. Bryan Rother (22, St. Peters Mo.) 2:05:16; 6. Kyle Poland (22, Lebanon, Ohio) 2:05:38; 7. Timothy O'Donnell (21, Annapolis, Md.) 2:05:44; 8. David Kuendig (22, Port Orange, Fla.) 2:06:00; 9. Chris Boudreax (23, San Diego, Calif.) 2:07:57; 10. John-Paul Henry (19, Greenwood Village, Colo.) 2:08:10

Women
1. Courtney Bennigson (23, Boston, Mass.) 2:15:26; 2. Andre Lapar (22, Glen Cove, N.Y.) 2:15:53; 3. Darren Ogilvie (18, Shelburne, Vt.) 2:17:19; 4. Sunny Gilbert (23, Boulder, Colo. 2:22:17); 5. Terra Baker (22, Austin, Texas) 2:24:37; 6. Kelsey Withrow (19, Colorado Springs, Colo.) 2:28:06; 7. Sara Tarkington (21, Boulder, Colo.) 2:28:33; 8. Katherine Niblett (21, Vista, Calif.) 2:29:24; 9. Caitlin Shea-Keney (20, Hull, Mass.) 2:31:00; 10. Mary Dishman (20, Boulder, Colo.) 2:48:30