Sonja Kent, Patrick Parish Race To USAT Sprint Titles

Age Group Nationals wraps in Burlington with more than 1,000 sprint competitors.

Read the race recap from USA Triathlon below:

Sonja Kent outdistanced the women’s field by more than a minute, and Patrick Parish earned his second overall national title in the last three years to highlight Sunday’s USA Triathlon Sprint National Championship at Waterfront Park.

More than 1,000 competitors completed the 750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike, 5-kilometer run course to conclude the two-day USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships, contested in Burlington for the second straight year. In all, over 3,000 athletes competed in the Olympic- and sprint-distance events on the weekend to create the largest-ever USA Triathlon National Championship event.

Kent (West Boylston, Mass.) put together an extremely consistent effort en route to the women’s overall and 20-24 age group titles in 1 hour, 5 minutes, 25 seconds. The Worcester Polytechnic Institute collegiate swimmer had the day’s fifth-fastest swim, sixth-fastest bike and fifth-fastest run.

“You come here, and I feel like it’s a serious event. This is my ‘A’ race, and I can really go out. I rested for it …” said Kent, who entered the race with the goal of winning her age group. “It’s so well run, too. This was the best race I’ve ever been to. It was so well organized, and I really loved it here.”

Taylor Spivey (Redondo Beach, Calif.) was second to Kent in the overall and 20-24 standings in 1:06:29, while women’s 17-19 winner Taylor Fogg (Colorado Springs, Colo.) took third overall in 1:07:05.

After winning Sprint Nationals in Tuscaloosa, Ala., in 2010, Parish (Bloomington, Minn.) ran to his second overall short-distance title in three years Sunday in 57:46. “I raced yesterday, so I felt pretty sore. I had a good swim … and felt good on the bike. It’s a really cool bike course. Once you get out on the freeway you can just fly. It’s a lot of fun,” said Parish, who also finished as the day’s top men’s 25-29 competitor.

Parish, a former Duke University runner, finished with the day’s second-fastest bike and run, including a 16:03 5k off the bike. Parish outdistanced men’s 20-24 winner Thomas Pilliod (Marietta, Ga.), who was second overall in 58:44, and men’s 17-19 champion Brent Demarest (Charleston, S.C.), who placed third overall in 59:06, to take the win.

Tony Morales (Lexington, S.C.) originally crossed the line in 57:45 – less than a second in front of Parish – but was assessed a two-minute penalty for a position violation on the bike dropping him to eight place overall in 59:45.

The Sprint Nationals Masters titles went to Kerry Simmons (Point Lookout, N.Y.) in 1:08:44 and Dave Slavinski (Point Pleasant, N.J.) in 59:26. Lorrie Beck (Williamston, N.J.) and Michael Orendorff (Pueblo, Colo.) earned the Grand Masters wins in 1:15:36 and 1:07:42, respectively.

Both winners – Kent and Parish – were among an estimated 100 athletes to compete in both the Olympic- and sprint-distance races on the weekend. And regardless of what event each athlete competed in, they were able to measure themselves against the nation’s top amateur triathletes this weekend in Burlington.

“This is the test. This is where you get to see how you stack up against the best of the best. It’s not the best of your area – it’s the best in the country,” Slavinski said. “This is where you put all that training to the test to see if you’re doing the right things or if someone else is doing it better than you.”

In addition to the bragging rights of claiming an age group national title, Sunday’s top finishers also earned coveted spots to represent the U.S. at the 2013 ITU World Championships in London. The top 18 finishers (rolling down to 25th place) in each sprint-distance age group in Burlington qualified for a Team USA slot. Team USA is comprised of amateur athletes who represent the U.S. at each ITU World Championship event.

2012 USA Triathlon Sprint National Championship, Burlington, Vt.
(750m swim, 20k bike, 5k run)
Sprint National Champions – Complete Results
Overall Female: Sonja Kent (West Boylston, Mass.), 1:05:25
Overall Male: Patrick Parish (Bloomington, Minn.), 57:46
Masters Female: Kerry Simmons (Point Lookout, N.Y.), 1:08:44
Masters Male: Dave Slavinski (Point Pleasant, N.J.), 59:26
Grand Masters Female: Lorrie Beck (Williamston, N.J.), 1:15:36
Grand Masters Male: Michael Orendorff (Pueblo, Colo.), 1:07:42
Athena 39 & Under: Louise Grausso (East Moriches, N.Y.),1:25:04
Athena 40+: Heather Koerber (Sudbury, Mass.), 1:15:19
Clydesdale 39 & Under: Vedat Kaplan (Frederick, Md.), 1:14:40
Clydesdale 40+: Mark Ziegert (Granger, Ind.), 1:08:21
F17-19: Taylor Fogg (Colorado Springs, Colo.), 1:07:50
M17-19: Brent Demarest (Charleston, S.C.), 59:06
F20-24: Sonja Kent (West Boylston, Mass.), 1:05:25
M20-24: Thomas Pilliod (Marietta, Ga.), 58:44
F25-29: Robyn Winkler (McKenzie, Tenn.), 1:10:54
M25-29: Patrick Parish (Bloomington, Minn.), 57:46
F30-34: Megan Kelly (Stamford, Conn.), 1:08:24
M30-34: Mark Miller (Marlborough, N.H.), 1:00:23
F35-39: Suzanne Huelster (Riverton, N.J.), 1:08:08
M35-39: Jeffrey Fejfar (Olive Branch, Miss.), 1:00:42
F40-44: Sara Cannon (Portland, Ore.), 1:09:58
M40-44: Dave Slavinski (Point Pleasant, N.J.), 59:26
F45-49: Kerry Simmons (Point Lookout, N.Y.), 1:08:44
M45-49: Barry Phelps (Shrewsbury, Mass.), 1:01:58
F50-54: Tracy Disabato-Aust (Sunbury, Ohio), 1:10:42
M50-54: Bobby Gonzales (El Paso, Texas), 1:03:22
F55-59: Lorrie Beck (Williamston, N.J.), 1:15:36
M55-59: Lincoln Murdoch (Omaha, Neb.), 1:05:24
F60-64: Ann Dannis (Dallas, Texas), 1:19:32
M60-64: Michael Orendorff (Pueblo, Colo.), 1:07:42
F65-69: Ruth Hamilton (McLean, Va.), 1:31:25
M65-69: Don Utsinger (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), 1:16:48
F70-74: Beatrice Burns (Hamden, Conn.), 1:30:17
M70-74: Marshall Wakat (Charleston, S.C.), 1:20:25
F75-79: Diane Stuart (West Hartford, Conn.), 2:18:45
M75-79: Roger Brockenbrough (Pittsburgh, Pa.), 1:32:13
M80-84: Wayne Fong (Chatsworth, Calif.), 2:08:57
M85+: Robert Powers (White Bear Lake, Minn.), 2:24:51