Sandpoint resident claims second at triathlon
COEUR d'ALENE — The calm water of lake Coeur d'Alene was broken Saturday morning as competitors in the Coeur d'Alene Triathlon entered the water.
Among them were the men and women's first-place winners, Matt Seeley and Holly Walker.
Seeley, a 36-year-old Polson, Mont., math professor, crossed the finish in one hour, 54 minutes and three seconds.
"It's a good race," he said while catching his breath by the finish.
"The course has changed the last few years, but the hills are good out there."
He said he made up his time in the biking leg, which is his strongest discipline, pedaling his way from fourth to first place in the 40 kilometer ride.
"I'm always stronger on the bike — anything that makes it longer is to my advantage," he said.
While he has retired from racing professionally, Seeley still competes in local races.
His first Coeur d'Alene triathlon was in 1989, and he has since placed first eight times in the race.
He said he has more than 60 wins in his career and has placed second and third in Ironman in previous years.
Walker, 32, also biked well. The Bozeman, Mont., resident finished the race in two hours, 14 minutes and 37 seconds.
Sandpoint resident Jeff Smith finished three minutes and 36 seconds after Seeley.
"Seeley passed me right at the beginning," he said.
Smith focused on his own race because he "knew (Seeley) was going to blow everybody away on the bikes."
Smith said the biking portion was the toughest, and he was surprised by the hills.
This triathlon is the 25-year-old Coldwater Creek contractor's 9th this summer.
All the racing is rounding out his disciplines he said, and while he is usually weakest in running, "this one was one of the best runs in my life."
Sandpoint's Trever Gray finished third overall, one minute behind Smith, capping a strong showing for Sandpoint.
Top 10 men
1. Matt Seeley, 1:54:03, Polson, Mont.; 2. Jeff Smith, 1:57:39, Sandpoint; 3. Trever Gray, 1:58:40, Sandpoint; 4. Joe Byers, 1:59:28, Spokane; 5. Brian Hadley, 2:01:04, Coeur d'Alene; 6. Ben Greenfield, 2:01:18, Liberty Lake; 7. Cameron Chesnut, 2:03:31, Post Falls; 8. Kjell Schioberg, 2:04:02, Hamburg, Germany; 9. Drew Magill, 2:04:26, Sammamish, Wash.; 10. Geoff Badger, 2:04:57, Calgary, Alberta
Top 10 women
1. Holly Walker, 2:14:37, Bozeman; 2. Eve Nelson, 2:16:37, Spokane; 3. Suzanne Endsley, 2:18:29, Coeur d'Alene; 4. Janet Collar, 2:18:33, Spokane; 5. Vicki Scates, 2:19:07, Otis Orchards, Wash.; 6. Megan Gaskill, 2:19:51, Missoula; 7. Katie Ward, 2:20:05, Spokane; 8. Julie Devlin, 2:23:02, Spokane; 9. Chrystie Hjeltness, 2:23:14, Post Falls; 10. Kc Richards, 2:23:19, Spokane