Published November 6, 2011 09:10PM
Matt Reed dominated the field and emerged the winner of the 2011 Amica 19.7 Phoenix sprint triathlon this morning under picture perfect skies at Wildhorse Pass, Chandler, Ariz.
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Reed, the 2008 Olympian Trial champion, finished the half-mile swim, 16.1-mile bike and 5K run with a winning time of 1:04:15.
“I am happy with the way I raced today. It’s always great to win,” said Reed. “The course was technical and had a lot of corners. I really enjoyed it.”
Reed was second out of the water behind Brian Lamar, who finished as the overall runner-up (1:05:02).
“I had a bit of a cold and had trouble breathing during the swim,” said Reed. “I didn’t feel on top of my game. But I knew I could break out on the bike. I put everything I had into the bike.”
“Matty (Reed) is an ox on the bike,” said Lamar. ”It’s really hard to stay with him. He showed his strength and I started to fade. Overall, I was pleased with my performance today.”
Lamar’s second-place finish was just ahead of Matthew Russell, who placed third with a time of 1:05:05.
Lauren Gross was the first female to cross the finish line at Wildhorse Pass this morning. She took the Amica 19.7 sprint distance title with her winning time of 1:12:13.
“I had an awesome race today,” said Gross. “I really struggled this season, so this was a good day for me. I was second out of the water, took the lead on the bike and ran by myself the whole way. The run was good and fast.”
Charisa Wernick was the runner-up in the women’s pro division. She finished in 1:13:22. Kathy Rakel took third (1:14:24).
A mix of professionals, amateurs and first-time competitors were among the hundreds of triathletes who competed at the Amica 19.7 Phoenix. The pros competed for a $10,000 prize purse in the Amica 19.7 Phoenix sprint.
Today’s event also featured an international distance triathlon. Peter Nye was the victor, finishing the 1.5K swim, a 34K bike ride and 10K run in 1:53:35.
The top female in the international distance was Cara Payne. She took the title in 2:08:43.
The Amica 19.7 Phoenix is part of the 2011 Amica 19.7 Triathlon Series, a sprint distance series of events held throughout the country. The Amica 19.7 Phoenix was the final event in the 10-race series.