Desirae Ridenour, Maya Munzar and Jason Sandquist were among several Cowichan Valley athletes with impressive results at the Subaru Shawnigan Lake Triathlon on May 25.
Cowichan Bay's Ridenour was the top female finisher in the high school super sprint division, the Western Canadian championship for students ages 12-15, completing the 500m swim, 10km bike and 4km run in 47 minutes and 51 seconds. Munzar, of Cobble Hill, finished second among female athletes in the high school sprint, the Western Canadian championship for students ages 16-18, completing the 500m swim, 22km bike and 5km run in one hour, 10 minutes and 13 seconds, just 19 seconds back of winner Megan Kinghorn of Victoria. Munzar was also second among female athletes in the overall spring category, where she beat all Cowichan Valley athletes, male and female.
Sandquist placed second overall among all entries in the Olympic distance, completing the 1.5km swim, 44km bike and 10km run in 2:10:22, just 43 seconds behind Penticton's Wade Carlson.
Another Penticton athlete, Justin Birks, was the overall winner in the half iron distance - 1.9km swim, 88km bike, 21km run - with a time of 4:07:17. Tenille Hoogland of Victoria was the top women's finisher at 4:37:05. The lone entry from the Cowichan Valley was Cowichan Bay's Roger Van Nieuwkerk, who finished in 6:01:15, good for fifth in the men's 45-49 age group.
The top women's finisher in the Olympic distance was Brit Cooper of Victoria, with a time of 2:28:13. In addition to Sandquist, other Cowichan Valley finishers included Johnathan Tillie (Duncan, 2:26:19), Paul Auton (Duncan, 2:28:39), Chris Cochrane (Duncan, 2:30:46), Rudy Massimo (Shawnigan Lake, 2:41:29), Steven Sharpe (Ladysmith, 2:41:39), Robert Lamothe (Mill Bay, 2:46:36), Petrus Klopper (Ladysmith, 2:55:08), Alexander Daether (Chemainus, 2:55:09), Kim Simons (Duncan, 2:59:17), Garth Fuller (Malahat, 3:08:12), Ian Bartlett (Cobble Hill, 3:08:57), Fiona Dalrymple (Shawnigan Lake, 3:12:28), James Ramsey (Duncan, 3:14:23), Luann McCallum (Duncan, 3:20:23), and Gord Webster (Cobble Hill, 3:32:15).
The first male across the line in the high school sprint was Carsten Lapointe of Vancouver, with a time of 1:03:27. The field included Esmee Zinkan (Shawnigan Lake, 1:21:06), Jose Sterling (Shawnigan Lake, 1:22:59), Sean Vinik (Shawnigan Lake, 1:36:49), Christina Dal Pozzo (Shawnigan Lake, 1:42:42), Whitney Dluhosh (Mill Bay, 1:48:35), Sean Morris (Shawnigan Lake, 1:51:03), Sydney Brown (Mill Bay, 1:54:17).
Other sprint finishers outside of the high school championships included Nick Patenaude (Shawnigan Lake, 1:13:49), Lisa Helmer (Shawnigan Lake, 1:14:19), Cam McDiarmid (Mill Bay, 1:14:25), Lesley Hartford (Mill Bay, 1:15:36), Jill Ramstead (Duncan, 1:15:44), Jim Broere (Mill Bay, 1:18:05), Paul Klassen (Cobble Hill, 1:19:03), Brad Sinclair (Mill Bay, 1:19:11), Christopher Brown (Shawnigan Lake, 1:20:50), Frazer Dalrymple (Shawnigan Lake, 1:21:21), Kim Shockey (Duncan, 1:24:30), Adrienne Hollings (Shawnigan Lake, 1:24:58), Alison Keple (Duncan, 1:29:57), Chase Robertson (Shawnigan Lake, 1:31:03), Francene Benoit (Shawnigan Lake, 1:31:52), Diane Bomans (Shawnigan Lake, 1:33:45), Jenn Symonds (Mill Bay, 1:34:44), Jenn De Valk (Mill Bay, 1:36:07), Neil Hamilton (Duncan, 1:36:08), Richard Anderson (Cobble Hill, 1:38:07), Erika Lucas (Duncan, 1:45:37), and Sarah Westgate (Cobble Hill, 1:48:35).
First place in the high school super sprint went to Noah Beglaw of Keremeos, with a time of 44:30. Entries from the Cowichan Valley also included Jeremy Kissack (Mill Bay, 51:52), and Keating Teft (Cowichan Bay, 1:10:04).