ISLE FILE
Stoltz, Dibens capture Maui's Xterra triathlon
Advertiser Staff and News Services
Conrad Stoltz of South Africa made a strong comeback from injuries to win the Xterra World Championship yesterday on Maui.
He finished the nearly 27-mile triathlon in 2 hours, 40 minutes, 54 seconds, becoming the first male to win three times since the event started in 1996.
"Finally winning again was more of a relief," said the 33-year-old from Stellenbosch, South Africa, who won in 2001 and 2004.
He broke a wrist and a vertebrae in his back in a training accident and did not compete in last year's race.
Julie Dibens of England won the women's title in her first attempt. She led throughout the race and finished in 3:01:24.
"It was an experience for sure," said the 32-year-old old from Salisbury, England. "I knew I had to have a lead after the swim. The bike was an uncertainty because I haven't done much mountain bike racing."
The course included a 1.5-kilometer rough water ocean swim; a 32-kilometer bike ride over rough mountain trails to a height of 1,400 feet on the slopes of Haleakala; and an 11-kilometer trail run over sand and lava fields and through a section of thick brush and thorny kiawe.
A total of 533 triathletes from 38 states and 24 countries started the race. The field included 75 professionals who competed for $130,000 in prize money, with Stoltz and Dibens each receiving $25,000.
LOCAL NOTES
Kailua's Alexander Eiler was the top amateur finisher, placing 26th overall in 2:57:34. Honolulu's Marion Summerer was the top women's amateur, placing 14th overall among women in 3:29:35.
Honolulu's Amy Bennett did the entire race in a cast after breaking her wrist during a photo and video shoot with The Advertiser on Tuesday. Bennett was one of only four women (and two age groupers) to complete the Hawaiian Airlines Double — the Ironman World Championship and Xterra World Championship races. She placed second in the Double in 17:23:58 (11:55:54 Ironman and 5:28:04 Xterra).
Honolulu's Mark Geoghegan was second in the men's amateur Double in 13:17:45 (9:54:02 Ironman and 3:23:43 Xterra).
Honolulu's Fouad "Ed" Fattoumy won the physically challenged division in 3:46:33.
SOCCER
UH SHUTS OUT LATECH
Junior midfielder Alexis Choi tied a single-match school record with three assists as Hawaii defeated Louisiana Tech, 5-0, yesterday in a Western Athletic Conference soccer match at Ruston, La.
Mari Punzal, Taryn Fukuroku, Tehane Higa, Kelli-Anne Chang and Vanessa Bailey scored for the Rainbow Wahine (11-4-2 overall, 4-1 WAC). Louisiana Tech fell to 2-13-1 and 0-5-1.
Choi tied the assist record held by five others, including senior captain Jessica Domingo, who accomplished the feat against Duquesne earlier this season.
Koren Takeyama and Ambree Ako also assisted on goals. It was the sixth straight match in which Ako either scored or assisted on a goal, including all five WAC matches.
Kori Lu and Nicole McClure, who split playing time in goal, teamed for UH's eighth shutout of the season.
VOLLEYBALL
TOP SEEDS IN STATES
Kamehameha and Hawai'i Baptist received the top seeds in Division I and II, respectively, for this week's New City Nissan Girls State Volleyball Championships.
Both tournaments will be played Wednesday through Saturday. The Division I tournament is at Hilo Civic Auditorium, while the Division II tournament is at McKinley and Radford high school gyms.
Three of the four Division I seeds are from Kamehameha. Kamehameha (18-1), of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu, is followed by No. 2 Moanalua (12-4) of the O'ahu Interscholastic Association, No. 3 Kamehameha-Maui (10-2) and No. 4 Kamehameha-Hawai'i (14-1).
In the Division II tournament, Hawai'i Baptist (14-4) of the ILH is followed by No. 2 Seabury Hall (12-0) of Maui, No. 3 Hilo (15-1) of the Big Island and No. 4 Farrington (12-4) of the OIA.
An intriguing first-round matchup has ILH runner-up Word of Life (12-6) playing OIA runner-up McKinley. Both teams lost in their respective league tournament finals.
Also, the final Division I state berth will be determined today in a match between Kailua (7-9), the OIA's sixth-place team, and Waiakea (12-3), the Big Island runner-up. Scheduled time is 3 p.m. at Radford.
CROSS COUNTRY
UH EIGHTH IN WAC
The University of Hawai'i women's cross country team finished eighth in the eight-team Western Athletic Conference championships Saturday at Logan, Utah.
Idaho scored a low-best 39 points to win the title. UH scored 215.
Boise State's Breanna Sande won the race, finishing the 5-kilometer course in 17 minutes, 1.32 seconds.
Chantelle Wilder was UH's top finisher, placing 23rd among the 70 runners in 17:53.21.
