-Sports Fest: Bonness, Weaver earn triathlon titles 

By JIM ALRED, Staff Writer 

Both Joe Bonness and Sara Weaver came out of the water a few places away from the lead, but they both overpowered the competition on the bike leg of Sunday's sprint triathlon in the Marco-Naples Sports Fest to cruise to victory. 

Sara Weaver, from left, Graig Rety, and Joe Bonness come out of the water during Sundays sprint triathlon at the Marco/Naples Sports Fest 2000. Romain Blanquart/Staff

The strategy was exactly what Bonness, a Naples resident who races in triathlons the world over, had in mind. 

"My expertise is the bike," Bonness said. "I just wanted to go out and see what kind of lead I could get on the bike and hold onto it in the run, because I knew there were a couple of fast runners out there." 

Bonness' strategy worked perfectly as he developed close to a 35-second lead on the competition and held on to win in 57:45, just two seconds ahead of Sanibel's Scott Slind. 

Like Bonness, Weaver wasn't the first out of the water, but her bike leg gave her close to a two-minute cushion on her nearest competitor, and she was never really pushed in the run. 

"In the run, I had some guys I was kind of competing with, but there were no other females around me," Weaver, a Naples resident, said. "I just wanted to go out and have fun, and that's what I did." 

Weaver finished the race in 1:10.12, almost nine minutes ahead of second-place finisher Maureen Bonness. 

The conditions for the event were a bit chilly for spectators as the triathletes hit the water with the air temperature close to 51 degrees. Many of the athletes joked that the water was much warmer than it was standing out in the wind. 

"It was kind of cool at first, but once it warmed up it was a real nice day for a triathlon," Weaver said. 

While most people probably wouldn't consider a triathlon a sprint, the name derives from the shortened length of the three events. The swim was 1/4 mile, the bike was 10 miles and the run was five kilometers, or 3.1 miles for those keeping track. 

The winners had mixed feelings on the distance of the event. Bonness, who usually competes in the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon, doesn't care too much for its shorter cousin. 

"I really prefer the Ironman distance (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile cycle, 26.2 mile run)," he said. "Believe it or not, the sprint triathlons hurt more, because you're trying to go so fast. In the Ironman, you're just looking to survive and keep going." 

While Bonness is leery of the shorter version, Weaver likes it. 

"I have two small children now, so that limits the amount of training I can do," Weaver said. "Training for this fits right into my schedule." 

The athlete who probably stole the early part of the show was Caroline Humphreyville. The 12-year-old wonder kid was the first out of the water beating the entire field in the swim portion. She went on to not only win her age group, but she finished third overall for females in 1:13.07. 
 
 

RESULTS

Male Overall: Joe Bonness 57:45; Male 01-17: 1. Marco Magdalner 1:18.54, Jordan Bohn; Male 18-24: 1. Michael Raneri 1:13.15, 2. Joey Sorenson; Male 25-29: 1. Jeff Dani 1:05.59, 2. Tye Coze; Male 30-34: 1. Scott Slind 57:47, 2. Andrew West, 3. Brad Woodham; Male 35-39: 1. Gregory Shatto 1:02.07, 2. David Browne, 3. Paulie Blakenship; Male 40-44: 1. Craig Rety 59:50, 2. Brian Doyle, 3. Mitch Norgart; Male 45-49: 1. David Frank 1:02.37, 2. John Ruppert, 3. Rick Miller; Male 50-54: 1. Ed Lafitte 1:10.09, 2. Julian Santoya 1:27.35, 3. JP Cassanati; Male 55-59: 1. Michael Kilbourn 1:09.12; Male 60-99: 1. Edward Jancsey 1:32.05. 

Female Overall: 1. Sara Weaver 1:01.19; Female 01-17: 1. Caroline Humphreyville 1:13.07; Female 25-29: 1. Allison Morell 1:20.03; Female 30-34: 1. Lisa Lee 1:15.04, 2. Beth Saunders, 3. Dawn Castaldo; Female 35-39: 1. Jenny Boreham 1:14.18, 2. Kimberly Eaves 1:20.19; Female 40-44: 1. Maureen Bonness 1:10.02, 2. Susan Cone, 3. Michelle Mace; Relay Results: Male Relay 1. Bohn/Bohn/Humphreyville 1:20.23