by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
It was a virtual déjà vu when Matthew Payne crossed the finish line first, followed shortly after by Patrick Parish at the 34th annual Sartell Apple Duathlon May 28 at Sartell Middle School.
The top overall winner, Payne, also won last year’s Apple, and Parish came in second place last year too.
Payne, 39, of Golden Valley won with a time of 01:22:28.96. Parish, 31, of Minneapolis, crossed the line at 01:22:56.50 – less than 30 seconds after Payne. Third overall winner was Wade Cruser, 29 of Sauk Rapids, with a time of 01:36:56.22.
Diane Hankee, 39, of Lino Lakes, was the female winner of the Apple, with a time of 1:34:53.72. It was her second Apple win, a race she said she has competed in “six or seven times” throughout the years. Second was Dani Vsetecka, 32, of Rochester, at 01:35:15.43; and Susie Fox, 33, of Chaska, was third with 01:36:56.22.
Nearly 300 duathletes participated in the event. Many of the participants were Sartell residents, and some of them won in various age categories. Pam Stevens, for instance, was first in her age division of females ages 60-64. Her husband, Daryl Stevens, came in second of his age division of 70-74. For many years the Stevenses were the directors of the Sartell Apple Duathlon, years during which it became known as one of the most admired and prestigious duathlons in the nation. The Apple is a 5k run, a 33k bike course and another 5k run.
On the morning of May 28, the current co-directors, Adam Konczewski and Lisa Bollinger, greeted and congratulated the duathletes as they crossed the finish line. Many commented on the nice, cool weather that made the race less grueling than usual.
“It was an awesome race because of the beautiful weather,” said top winner Payne. “It was ideal for me.”
Payne, the father of two children, is an electrical engineer.
Relay winners
Larry Hosch of St. Joseph was a relay winner who did the biking portion of the Apple.
“It was good,” he said. “I put out the numbers I was hoping to get.”
Hosch and his running teammate, Steve Pekarek, finished first in the two-member team category with a time of 1:25:08.88. Their team is dubbed Team Rocket.
Second was Team Pikus-Schmitz (Matt Schmitz of Woodbury and Chris Pikus of Minneapolis) and third was Team Px2 (Steve Pleghaar of Elk River and Joe Palicaka of Ramsey).
The winning female relay team was Team Twinning So Hard!, with a tie of 01:37:26.14. Its members were Cheri Bates of Sauk Rapids and Marey Scully of Hastings. Finishing in second place was Team Grade A Teachers (Jennifer Olson of Rice and Shannon Houghton of Sartell). Third was Team Just Duel It! (Jessica Paul of Sauk Rapids and Cricket Vierzba of St. Cloud.
The co-ed winning teams were first-place Call Me An Uber (names not specified) with a time of 01:41:43:40; second-place Minds Over Matter of St. Cloud (names not specified) and third-place Pavlov’s Army (Jon Kern of St. Cloud and Beth Flynn of Sartell).
The three-person relay team winners were Team Raldree of Minneapolis (names not specified) in first place at 1:37:55.55; The Three Amigos of Maple Grove (names not specified) in second place; and Trip ‘n’ Fall (Ryan Hunstiger of Golden Valley and Katie and Sean Bailey of Sartell).
Kids’ race
The Kids’ Apple Duathlon took place the night before the adult race, on Friday, May 27, also at Sartell Middle School.
The overall winners of the 77 participants in the ages 6-10 division were first-place Faith Quinn, 9, of Winona with a time of 13:36.17; second-place Bella Farrow, 8, of Rochester; and third-place Ryan Karls, 7, of St. Cloud.
The winners of the girls’ division were Faith Quinn, Farrow (see also overall winners above) and Madden Quinn, 9, of St. Cloud.
The winners of the boys’ division, ages 6-10, were Ryan Karls, 7, of St. Cloud with a time of 14:35.67; Bennett Brown, 9, of Plymouth; and Noah Johnson, 8, of Rochester.
The overall winners in the ages 11-16 division were first place Johnny Nemeth, 10, of Sartell with a time of 23:27.16; Macy Iyer, 12, of Edina; and Jacob Lemke, 13, of Sartell.
There were 38 participants in the ages 11-16 category.
The Kids’ Apple Duathlon offers two courses, a short one and a longer one with a maximum of a 4.5-mile biking portion sandwiched between two .5 mile runs.
Some of the earliest finishers enjoy water, energy drinks and conversations at the finish line area of the Sartell Apple Duathlon May 28. Fourth from left is the overall winner of the race, Matthew Payne of Golden Valley. Second from right is Larry Hosch of St. Joseph, who, along with a teammate, won the men’s relay-team division. Hosch, a former St. Joseph mayor and former State House representative, did the 33-mile biking portion of the race.
Duathlete Steve Sander of Eden Prarie, who did both the running and biking portions of the Sartell Apple Duathlon, is welcomed across the finish line by his son, Evan. Sander. Steve finished 16th overall in the race with a finish time of 1:33:26.90.
Matthew Payne, overall winner of the Sartell Apple Duathlon, crosses the finish line with a time of 01:22:28.96, which was slightly longer than his time last year when he was also the winner of the event. Payne hails from Golden Valley.
Sartell Apple Duathlon co-directors Lisa Bollinger and Adam Konczewski greeted and congratulated duathletes as they crossed the finish line May 28.
Two winners congratulate each other just minutes after crossing the finish line of the Sartell Apple Duathlon May 28 at Sartell Middle School. Dani Vsetecka of Rochester (left) came in second of the many female participants in the race, and Diane Hankee of Lino Lakes was the top female winner.
After a grueling final run, Diane Hankee crosses the finish line at the Sartell Apple Duathlon May 28 at Sartell Middle School. Hankee, of Lino Lakes, was the top female winner of the race with a time of 1:34:53.72.
Matthew Payne, overall winner of the Sartell Apple Duathlon, crosses the finish line with a time of 01:22:28.96, which was slightly longer than his time last year when he was also the winner of the event. Payne hails from Golden Valley.
Shortly after crossing the finish line, Larry Hosch of St. Joseph paused to rest after his two-man team was the top winner in the men’s relay-team category in the May 28 Sartell Apple Duathlon. Hosch rode the biking portion of the race, mainly because of an Achille’s-tendon injury, which will keep him from running for five weeks. Hosch is a former mayor of St. Joseph and a former State House representative.
