Saturday, March 29, 2009: clear skies, warm sun, and glassy surf met the congregation of UCSD triathletes that had converged on beautiful UC Santa Barbara to survey the race site the day before the race. Everyone was itching to go and looking forward to the next morning. With a good look around, the team headed home to bed, anxious and excited about the 1500 meter ocean swim, a 40 kilometer bike and a 10 kilometer run of the Olympic-distance, West Coast Collegiate Triathlon Conference Championship.

The next morning, dawn broke behind a thick marine layer, accompanied by wind, a choppy ocean and mid-50 degree water. With a gritting of the teeth, the Tritons lined up on the beach and wave-by-wave took the running plunge into the Pacific to begin their battle for conference glory.

Fighting through the choppy surf, intermixed with 2 foot swell, the competitors strung out along the swim course that took them parallel to the coast and then doubled back to finish on the beach. A quick run up several flights of stairs to the top of the bluff brought the Tritons to their waiting bikes justs as the sun began to break through the clouds and warm the coast.

The bike route, a single, large loop, began on narrow, bumpy bike paths before heading onto gently rolling streets. New to this year's edition of the race were several quick out-and-back jaunts up deceptively steep climbs. After fighting through the quick turns and narrow paths through the UCSB campus back to transition, the Tritons attacked the final 10 kilometer run to the finish. With two loops around a scenic lagoon and over mixed terrain, the men and women of the UCSD Triathlon Team pushed through the pain of tired legs and burning lungs to will themselves over the line!

The results left several Tritons battered and bruised but smiling broadly in accomplishment. A strong showing from the entire women’s team brought them to the top of the team podium, with Darlene Hunt in 3rd, List Fong in 6th, Allison Johnston in 9th, Sarah Kavaler coming in 12th, and Bethany Sotak in 19th. Top finishers for the men, finishing 5th as a team, were Marc Schommer in 9th, Robert Krohn in 12th, Michael Libutti in 15th, Sante Kotturi in 33nd and Frank Uyeda in 42st. Combined, the UCSD team was just edged out as the top overall team, ranking 2nd overall. Congratulations to all the Tritons who raced!

Article by: Robert Krohn

Women 

Men