CU’s Jessica Broderick Claims Women’s Collegiate Title

Cédric Wane Takes Third in Men’s Race

April 18, 2009 (Lubbock, TX) – Athletes battled chilly early conditions and a challenging bike course at Buffalo Springs Lake during this year’s USAT Collegiate National Championships. A cool start to the day (a brisk 38 degrees when athletes were checking their bikes into the transition area before the sun came up) gave way to sunny skies and dry, warm air with temps rising into the low 70s.

Jessica Broderick led the University of Colorado with her individual win in the women’s race with a time of 2:18:34. Broderick, who said she is accustomed to training in cold water in Boulder, used a swim of 23:15, a bike leg of 1:11:36 and a run of 40:24 to hold off Ashley Morgan of Army, one of the pre-race favorites and a formidable threat on the bike and run.

“I gave everything I had on the run knowing that Ashley [Morgan] is a strong runner,” Broderick said. “I couldn’t have done it without my team here screaming for me – it was amazing.”

Additional scorers for the CU women included Ashley Walker, 2:27:35, and Heidi Spees, 2:30:44. Although UC-San Diego dominated the women’s team competition with a low score of 41 points, CU-Boulder took the runner-up spot with 70 points, followed in third by Navy with 76 points.

The CU men were led by Cédric Wane’s third place podium showing. The hard fought battle among the men was evidenced by the fact that Wane’s time of 2:01:42 was merely nine seconds from second place and only twenty-nine seconds away from first. UC-Berkeley’s John Dahlz claimed the men’s individual title, while Navy’s Derek Oskutis took second.

Dahlz, who has battled back from injuries suffered in a cycling crash, finished with a time of 2:01:13. He was second out of the water with a 21:05 swim leg in 53-degree water. He posted the best bike leg among the leaders, averaging 24.4 mph and held his lead with a 10K run of 36:31. Oskutis of Navy and Wane of Colorado attempted to close on Dahlz with their run splits of 34:14 and 34:39, respectively.

“That was probably one of the hardest races I’ve ever done,” said Dahlz. “Deceptively hilly. The swim was cold, the run was hot – it was a little bit of everything. I couldn’t warm up for the swim. I swam as hard as I could to try and warm up. I got into a rhythm on the bike, but I was so cold. Right around mile 2 of the run I started overheating somehow. I just was trying to stay upright for the final 4 miles.”

In addition to Wane, Colorado’s top men included Todd Darlington, 2:12:01, and Steve Richard, 2:12:25. Their effort was good for a fourth place finish in the men’s team competition, behind UC-Berkeley, Navy and Army.

In the men-women combined team competition, CU-Boulder finished third. Navy took top honors, and UC-Berkeley claimed the runner-up spot.

More racing action took place later in the afternoon as Buffalo Springs Lake hosted the USAT Twenty-12 Talent ID Invitational.