Aptos’ Marissa Ferrante wins West Coast Collegiate Triathlon Conference Championship

Aptos High alumna and Stanford Triathlon Club member Marissa Ferrante won the West Coast Collegiate Triathlon Conference Championships in Arroyo Grande on Saturday, according to preliminary results that will become official Tuesday at 3 p.m.

“My race went really well,” Ferrante said in a phone interview Sunday. “I made some big improvements from last year.”

The sophomore who studies anthropology completed the Olympic-distance triathlon at Cal Poly in 2 hours, 10 minutes, 55.3 seconds to finish with about a two-minute lead over the next closest competitor. Erika Erickson was second in 2:12:56.5 and Katherine Nielsen was third in 2:15:13.9.

“Some of the girls I placed ahead of yesterday placed in the top 10 of Nationals last year, so I think I’m right on target,” said Ferrante, who plans to compete in Nationals next month.

Ferrante finished the swim in 19:54.4, the bike in 1:11:56.9 and the run in 36:51.8. Coming out of the water, Ferrante was in fourth just behind the strongest swimmers, and she caught the first girl “right away” on the bike.

“I hit the run and just ran hard and ended up with a two minute lead,” Ferrante said of the final portion of the tri.

Berkeley’s Yoni Doron-Peters won the men’s race in 1:59:07.7 with just a four-second lead, Jane Smith won the female Olympic division in 2:24:55.3 and Tom Trauger won the men’s Olympic division in 2:10:50.1.

Next weekend, the Stanford Triathlon Club plans to compete at the UC Santa Barbara Sprint Triathlon. Collegiate Nationals are scheduled for April 21 in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

“Ultimately, I would love ot win nationals, but definitely my goal is to get top-five,” Ferrante said.

– Christina Gullickson, on Twitter at CGullTweets

Aptos’ Tommy Zaferes settles for 11th at Ixtapa triathlon

Aptos resident and pro triathlete Tommy Zaferes placed 11th in men’s division at the Ixtapa ITU Triathlon Pan American Cup event in Mexico on Saturday.

Zaferes had the second-fastest swim — completing the two-lap, 1.5-kilometer course in 18 minutes, 17 seconds — and the third-fastest bike — completing the two-lap, 40-kilometer course in 1:00:19, according to results on the International Triathlon Union website.

He suffered a setback in the run, where he finished the two-lap, 10-kilometer course in 35:22. His run time was about five minutes off winner Crisanto Grajales.

Grajales, a Mexico native, won with an overall time of 1:52:01. Zaferes’ time, including transitions, was 1:56:47.

Zaferes next races in Mazatlan in April.

– Christina Gullickson, on Twitter at CGullTweets

Timing glitch briefly shows Aptos’ Chris David as Big Sur Mud Run winner

A runner dives into the first mud pit during the Big Sur Mud Run on Fort Ord in Seaside, Calif. on Saturday March 24, 2012. (AP Photo/ Monterey County Herald, David Royal)

A competitor struggles through of the final mud pit during the Big Sur Mud Run on Fort Ord in Seaside, Calif. on Saturday March 24, 2012. (AP Photo/ Monterey County Herald, David Royal)

A team of runners clothed in business attire emerge from the second mud pit during the Big Sur Mud Run on Fort Ord in Seaside, Calif. on Saturday March 24, 2012. (AP Photo/ Monterey County Herald, David Royal)

Marina’s Palmer is the real winner; Watsonville’s Rodriguez places second overall

While several events were canceled this weekend due to rain, there was one that wasn’t stopped by the weather — and, for a brief moment, it appeared as though Aptos’ Chris David had taken it by storm.

In Big Sur Mud Run results up early Sunday morning, it looked like David crossed the finish line almost twice as fast as runner-up Eric Palmer on Saturday. With a chip time of 17 minutes, 12 seconds, the 44-year-old appeared to have bested Palmer of Marina by 17:12 with a 3:18-per mile pace.

In actuality, though, David is not related to Superman. Palmer won the event, and by mid-morning organizers had discovered the error and reset the results, giving David a DNF.

“It looks as though [David] started his race at 8:00am and then went back to the start line after the race to get his belongings and tripped the mat again,” Buzz Ayola with Buzz Word Productions said in an email. ” The software thinks that he started an hour later.”

This was the seventh running of the Big Sur Mud Run, a 5-mile obstacle race on the CSU-Monterey Bay campus/Fort Ord, in Seaside. The event is a popular one, regularly drawing about 1,500 individual racers in addition to relay teams.

Palmer won in 34:41. Watsonville’s Ivan Rodriguez placed second [37:22] and Salinas’ Raymundo Morales was third [39:47]. Santa Cruz’s Brendon Drobny was the only other Santa Cruz County runner to make the top 10. He finished in 41:02 for seventh place overall.

The women’s winner was Piper Delaney of Marina, who was 10th overall and finished in 41:52. Meanwhile, Harvard alumna Kelli Okuji was the top female runner from Santa Cruz County. The Aptos resident finished in 47:58 for 12th among women and 85th overall.

Santa Cruz County age group winners were as follows: Santa Cruz’s Jose Ogarrio in 43:29 [men's 50-59] and Soquel’s Joe Alvarez as the only entrant in 1:11:09 [men's 70-79]. For more coverage of the event, the Monterey County Herald was there.

– Christina Gullickson, on Twitter at CGullTweets