A pair of 37-year-olds took top honors at the 2008 USA Triathlon Age Group nationals. Jason Schott of Atlanta, Georgia, took the men's 35-39 category and the overall age group title won last year by Ben Collins of Seattle, Washington. Last year, Schott finished second to Craig Greenslit in the USA Triathlon Nationals in the 35-39 category and 11th overall. In 2006, Schott was 9th overall at age group nationals in Smithville, Missouri.

While any race for the overall in the USA Triathlon nationals is complicated by the 17-wave format that leaves each individual guessing who their closest rival might be, Schott’s remote control duel with 25-29 contender Adam Webber of Denver, Pennsylvania had some dramatic back and forth shifts. Webber’s 17:11 swim gave him a 51-second advantage over Schott, but the Georgian got it all back and 54 seconds more with a 57:41 to 59:26 advantage on the bike. On the run, Schott’s 35:55 to Webber’s 36:11 made up for the 20 seconds in bad transitions. And at the end, Schott’s 1:54:08 carried the day.

Brooke Davison of Boulder, Colorado won the 35-39 title as well as the USA Triathlon national women's overall age group crown. Earlier this year, Davison took the overall age group title at St. Anthony's, the Boulder 5430 sprint tile and the Loveland (Colorado) Lake-to-Lake overall title. She also was first overall amateur and third overall woman at the Boulder 5430 Long Course Triathlon.

Davison dominated the field in much the same manner that Julie Swail (now Ertel) did at the 2002 nationals. At the end, Davison’s 2:05:52 overall time held a 3:45 advantage on overall runner-up Cathy Yndestad of St. Paul, Minnesota. Davison’s 18:20 swim gave her a 2:03 advantage of Yndestad, the winner of the 30-34 division. Davison’s second-best 1:03:55 bike added another 1:31 to her lead. In closing, Davison’s fourth-best 41:09 run was 30 seconds faster than Yndestad. Like Schott, Davison gave back roughly 30 seconds with slower transitions.

In the closest duel of the day, Lindsey Whalen of Chicago, Illinois nosed out Kirsten Sass of McKenzie, Tennessee for the Women’s 25-29 title by 8 seconds – 2:12:42 to 2:12:50. Whalen started with a 3:14 lead out of the swim, gave back 4:08 on the bike, then outran Sass by 53 seconds to eke out the win.

The remarkable Madonna Buder of Spokane, Washington, earned the largest margin of victory – 45 minutes and 53 seconds -- over Molly Hayes of Bozeman, Montana, for the Women’s 75-79 title. Buder, who is now 78 years of age, earns extra credit because there were no men’s finishers in the 75-79 category.


USA Triathlon Nationals Age Group championships
Hagg Lake, Oregon
September 20, 2008
S 1.5k/ B 40k/R 10k

Results

Overall Women

1. Brooke Davison (Boulder CO) 2:05:52
2. Cathy Yndestad (St. Paul MN) 2:09:37
3. Stacey Richardson (Chapel Hill NC) 2:09:51
4. Shannon Donley (Anchorage AK) 2:10:52
5. Lori Deschamps (Anchorage AK) 2:12:06
6. Lindsey Whalen (Chicago IL) 2:12:42
7. Kirsten Sass (McKenzie TN) 2:12:50
8. Pamela Jennings (Eureka CA) 2:13:09
9. Holly Walker (Bozeman MT) 2:13:22
10. Mandy McLane (Windemere FL) 2:14:05

Overall Men

1. Jason Schott (Dahlonega GA) 1:54:08
2. Adam Webber (Denver PA) 1:54:58
3. Nathan White (Des Moines IA) 1:56:03
4. Eric Bell (Knoxville TN) 1:56:06
5. Doug Clark (Morristown NJ) 1:56:16
6. Richard Swor (Dearborn MI) 1:56:26
7. Damian Hill (Naknek AK) 1:57:13
8. Mark Harms (Madison WI) 1:57:43
9. Brian Bich (Duluth MN) 1:57:47
10. Bruce Gennari (Brentwood TN) 1:57:59

Masters Women

1. Steph Popelar (Parker CO) 2:14:15
2. Karen Oppenheimer (Bend OR) 2:17:09
3. Kerry Simmons (Point Lookout NY) 2:17:42

Masters Men

1. Doug Clark (Morristown NJ) 1:56:16
2. Brian Bich (Duluth MN) 1:57:47
3. Bruce Gennari (Brentwood TN) 1:57:59

Grand Masters Women

1. Lauren Binder (Portland OR) 2:26:28
2. Karen McKeachie (Ann Arbor MI) 2:31:02
3. Diane Ragali (Lake Bluff IL) 2:35:27

Grand Masters Men

1. Steven Smith (Granger IN) 2:15:17
2. Tom Dutton (Livonia NY) 2:24:22
3. Michael Zinn (Dallas TX) 2:26:25

F19 Under

1. Kelsey Markham (Collierville TN) 2:29:33
2. Stephanie Stambaug (Watchung NJ) 2:33:09
3. Jessica Lester (Long Beach NY) 2:42:29

F20-24

1. Chris Tommerdahl (Chapel Hill NC) 2:14:09
2. Lauren Chiodini (Laguna Niguel CA) 2:17:24
3. Julie Gliesing (Redding CT) 2:19:38

F 25-29

1. Lindsey Whalen (Chicago IL) 2:12:42
2. Kirsten Sass (McKenzie TN) 2:12:50
3. Pamela Jennings (Eureka CA) 2:13:09

F 30-34

1. Cathy Yndestad (St. Paul (MN) 2:09:37
2. Holly Walker (Bozeman MT) 2:13:22
3. Cindi Bannink (Madison WI) 2:14:24

F35-39

1. Brook Davison (Boulder CO) 2:05:52
2. Stacey Richardson (Chapel Hill NC) 2:09:51
3, Shannon Donley (Anchorage AK) 2:10:52

F 40-44

1. Steph Popelar (Parker CO) 2:14:51
2. Karen Oppenheimer (Bend OR) 2:17:09
3. Kerry Simmons (Point Lookout NY) 2:17:42

F45-49

1. Judyann Cummings (Denver CO) 2:21:52
2. Holly Nybo (Portola Valley CA) 2:22:16
3. Pippa Michaels (Far Hills NJ) 2:22:45

F 50-54

1. Kelly Molaski (Bellingham WA) 2:19:01
2. Bridget Dawson (Portland OR) 2:20:58
3. Barbara Kuhlmeier (Corpus Christi TX) 2:21:18

F55-59

1. Karen McKeachie (Ann Arbor MI) 2:31:02
2. Diane Ragali (Lake Bluff IL) 2:35:27
3. Sandi Wiebe (Vancouver WA) 2:37:46

F60-64

1. Laurie Binder (Portland OR) 2:26:28
2. Nancy Avitabile (Bethesda MD) 2:45:20
3. Jo Adamson (Alpharetta GA) 2:46:26

F65-69

1. Elizabeth Brackett (Chicago IL) 3:01:21
2. Ellouise Morse (Anacortes WA) 3:10:19
3. Lois Leon (Stamford CT) 3:17:01

F70-74

1. Jan Miller (Green Valley AZ) 3:01:36
2. Susan Bradley-Cox (Lexington KY) 3:12:53
3. Harriet Anderson (San Carlos CA) 3:17:20

F75-79

1. Madonna Buder (Spokane WA) 3:29:36
2. Molly Hayes (Bozeman MT) 4:15:29

M19 Under

1. Eric Lagerstrom (Gresham OR) 2:00:04
2. Matthew Gloekler (Bow NH) 2:06:00
3. Cameron Schafer (Chicago IL) 2:06:46

M20-24

1. Brian Duffy Jr. (West Chester PA) 1:58:17
2. Patrick Davis (Waterloo IA) 1:59:05
3. Kenneth Rakestraw (Newport Beach CA) 1:59:18

M25-29

1. Adam Webber (Denver PA) 1:54:58
2. Nathan White (Des Moines IA) 1:56:03
3. Eric Bell (Knoxville TN) 1:56:06

M30-34

1. Mark Harms (Madison WI) 1:57:43
2. Curt Wood (Chaska MN) 1:59:21
3. J.J. Bailey (Des Moines IA) 1:59:43

M35-39

1. Jason Schott (Dahlonega GA) 1:54:08
2. Craig Greenslit (Berthoud CO) 1:58:15
3. Roger Thompson (Spokane WA) 1:58:37

M 40-44

1. Doug Clark (Morristown NJ) 1:56:16
2. Brian Bich (Duluth MN) 1:57:47
3. Bruce Gennari (Brentwood TN) 1:57:59

M45-49
1. Pete Kain (Cupertino CA) 2:00:26
2. Tim Sheeper (Menlo Park CA) 2:02:37
3. Jason Engel (San Juan Capistrano CA) 2:04:32

50-54

1. Steve Pyle (Boulder CO) 2:07:42
2. Patrick Wallace (Lake Oswego OR) 2:09:15
3. Curt Eggers (Henrietta NY) 2:09:17

M55-59

1. Dean Harper (Walnut Creek CA) 2:10:42
2. Kevin Keane (Sacramento CA) 2:11:40
3. Michael Orendorff (Pueblo CO) 2:12:14

M60-64

1. Steve Smith (Granger IN) 2:15:17
2. Tom Dutton (Livonia NY) 2:24:22
3. Michael Zinn (Dallas TX) 2:26:25

M65-69

1. Robert Plant (Woodside CA) 2:29:44
2. Hugh Dunseath (Clifton Park NY) 2:31:02
3. David McNeely (Glen Arm MD) 2:31:34

M70-74

1. Jon Adamson (Alpharetta GA) 2:36:20
2. John Weber (New York NY) 2:54:28
3. Roger Brockenbrough (Pittsburgh PA) 2:57:10