Post by alanmoore on Apr 6, 2012 15:32:17 GMT -6
Centenary students Jonathan Martin and Taylor Atkinson have qualified to represent Centenary College at the National Collegiate Triathlon Championships being held in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on Saturday, April 21st.
Both qualified by racing in the South Mid-West Conference triathlon championships this past Saturday, March 31st, in Grand Prairie, Texas. The South Mid-West Conference is composed of all colleges and universities in the states of Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma with triathlon clubs. Schools qualifying teams and individual racers were Centenary, Texas A&M, University of Texas, Oklahoma State, UT-Tyler, Texas Tech, Louisiana Tech, Baylor, North Texas, LSU, ULM, St. Mary's, Texas State, UT-Arlington, and SMU. This was the first year that a qualifying event was required to attend the national championships.
Martin, a senior from Shreveport, stepped his race up a notch to finish as the 15th male overall on the course at Joe Pool Lake which consisted of a 1,000 meter open water swim, a 19-mile bike, and a 5-mile run. His finish time was 1:40:44.5 and included a 22.4 mile per hour average on the bike and 6:10/mile pace on the run portion. Martin has attended the national triathlon championships all four years he has been at Centenary and getting that 15th place against the best in the conference to qualify was a perfect cap to his collegiate racing career.
Atkinson, a sophomore from LaPlace, had a tougher time in his qualification race. Due to constant fogging of his goggles, his swim did not go as smoothly as he had hoped. That required him to up his pace during the bike and run to make up lost ground. He would finish in 58th place in 1:55:41.8, good enough to qualify for Tuscaloosa. He pushed a 21.7 mph average on his bike and kept a constant 7:29/mile pace on the run. Going to Alabama will be Taylor's second time to race in the national championships.
See photos from the SMW Conference Triathlon Championships at the FaceBook page for the Centenary Cycling & Triathlon Club.
Over 1,000 collegiate triathletes from all over the nation will be competing in Tuscaloosa over the Olympic Distance course (1500 meter swim, 24.8 mile bike, 6.2 mile run). Besides individual results there will also be team scoring for championship awards. USATriathlon coordinates the championships.
Both qualified by racing in the South Mid-West Conference triathlon championships this past Saturday, March 31st, in Grand Prairie, Texas. The South Mid-West Conference is composed of all colleges and universities in the states of Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma with triathlon clubs. Schools qualifying teams and individual racers were Centenary, Texas A&M, University of Texas, Oklahoma State, UT-Tyler, Texas Tech, Louisiana Tech, Baylor, North Texas, LSU, ULM, St. Mary's, Texas State, UT-Arlington, and SMU. This was the first year that a qualifying event was required to attend the national championships.
Martin, a senior from Shreveport, stepped his race up a notch to finish as the 15th male overall on the course at Joe Pool Lake which consisted of a 1,000 meter open water swim, a 19-mile bike, and a 5-mile run. His finish time was 1:40:44.5 and included a 22.4 mile per hour average on the bike and 6:10/mile pace on the run portion. Martin has attended the national triathlon championships all four years he has been at Centenary and getting that 15th place against the best in the conference to qualify was a perfect cap to his collegiate racing career.
Atkinson, a sophomore from LaPlace, had a tougher time in his qualification race. Due to constant fogging of his goggles, his swim did not go as smoothly as he had hoped. That required him to up his pace during the bike and run to make up lost ground. He would finish in 58th place in 1:55:41.8, good enough to qualify for Tuscaloosa. He pushed a 21.7 mph average on his bike and kept a constant 7:29/mile pace on the run. Going to Alabama will be Taylor's second time to race in the national championships.
See photos from the SMW Conference Triathlon Championships at the FaceBook page for the Centenary Cycling & Triathlon Club.
Over 1,000 collegiate triathletes from all over the nation will be competing in Tuscaloosa over the Olympic Distance course (1500 meter swim, 24.8 mile bike, 6.2 mile run). Besides individual results there will also be team scoring for championship awards. USATriathlon coordinates the championships.