Local triathlon club produces seven top-10 finishers in men’s
competition, two in women’s.
SAN JOSE — The local triathlon team Wolfpak recently dominated the Silicon Valley Sprint Triathlon, the second race in the USA Productions Tri Club Challenge.
The Wolfpak men sent nine athletes to the podium in the latest event held June 12 at Almaden Lake Park. That included seven top-10 overall finishers.
Aaron Patterson led the way, covering the 500-yard swim, 10-mile bike ride and 3.1-mile run in 55 minutes, eight seconds to win the men’s title. The 33-year-old clocked the fastest bike (24:17.3) and run (20:16.2) splits.
Teammate Kooper Knutson finished third in 57:28, and Chris Fortuna (58:46), Derek Deisenroth (59:28), Darren Ellenburg (59:54), Kyle Benton Alexander (1:00:08) and Jacob McRoberts (1:00:23) followed in fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and 10th out of 152 racers.
Four of them won their age groups — Patterson, Knutson, 16, Fortuna, 39, and Ellenburg, 45. Knutson’s transition times from swim to bike (49.1) and bike to run (33.7) were best in the division.
On the women’s side, Lorna Fortuna, 37, Courtney Ellenburg, 16, and Susan Hughes, 50, placed first in their age groups for Wolfpak, which produced eight top-25 finishers. Lorna Fortuna (1:05:11) took second overall, and Courtney Ellenburg (1:09:52) and Hughes (1:12:14) were 12th and 19th, respectively.
Teammate Erin Logan (1:08:27) placed 10th, and Haley Houle (1:10:48) finished 15th with the fastest swim (8:23.7) and second transition (52.5).
Also for Wolfpak, Corrine Purcell crossed 17th in 1:11:13; Heidi Alexander (1:13:02) placed 22nd, and Sarah Gilbert (1:13:24) 25th.
Lorna Fortuna and Logan were tops in bike (28:04.2) and run (23:39.5).
The Tri Club Challenge resumes Aug. 15 with the Folsom Olympic Triathlon at Lake Natomas. The winning team in the series will receive a prize purse of $2,750, plus a $500 donation to the club’s charity of choice.
Coached by Dave Wolfsmith, Wolfpak includes athletes from Morgan Hill and Gilroy. They range from 14- to 65-years-old.
