Race Coverage

Garrick Got it Done...

garrick.gifBy Brock LeFlorette

As Garrick Dietze (Facebook photo L) crossed the finish line at Sunday’s Waseca Sprint, a sparse crowd (thanks to semi-yucky weather) cheered admiringly and the announcer called him a rockstar.

The man smiled and thrust both fists over his head.

“I got it done!” he exclaimed.

He did indeed. Garrick had just finished his first tri, which is rockstarry enough, right? Making his accomplishment more salient and savorable, though, was the fact that he is a Clydesdale.

Actually, he is TWO Clydesdales. You see, Garrick is 6’5” and weighs 400 pounds, at least that’s what he weighed before battling the chilly 20-mph winds during his 18.65 mile odyssey.

Most would agree that Garrick’s effort was the performance of the day.

Dietze wasn’t the only one who “got it done.” Kevin O’Connor got it done before everyone else as he had for the last three years here. The win was his 5th of the 2015 season....

 

KO got a great push from Most Improved co-frontrunner Bennett Isabella, who finished 26 seconds after the winner and 1:19 in front of obvious Rookie of the Year nominee Toby Henkels, whose three-race resume features two wins, plus his 3rd on Sunday.garlic-grilled-salmon-salad.gif

FYI, Isabella was fresh off a vacation in Canada where he caught a zillion fish and claimed to have thrown some of them back.

 

Marta Lewinski was the first woman to cross Waseca’s finish line but needed the next woman to wait at least three minutes before her win could become official. Unfortunately for her, Julie Busch finished 1:39 later. FYI, Marta ordered the Salmon salad (photo R) at lunch in Northfield. She shared some of it in exchange for our Cajun chicken. The salmon was yummier than the bird.

Busch is enjoying her best season. In addition to her win here, she has a 3rd (Fairmont Sprint) and a 4th in her backyard (North Mankato). FYI, her 12-year-old daughter Grace, won the girls junior title, and her husband Matt rocked a 6th place finish in the companion 1/3 IM.

 

The semi-yucky weather resulted in a larger-than-usual no-show rate. The sprint race, therefore, had only 89 finishers. Forty-two athletes finished the 1/3 IM. RESULTS

2024SwimOffSquare
2024ChisagoSquare
2024AppleMSSquare
TimberSquare2024
2024TrinonaSquare
https://alexandriatriathlon.weebly.com
2024GLT180
2024Apple180
2024GMClearwater180
Timber180-2024
Trinona180
2024HRT18-
2024Chisago180x300
MooseLT180x