Kootenai Valley Triathlon hailed as success

The first Kootenai Valley Triathlon held by the Libby Christian Church had 68 registered contestants.

“It was a successful day,” Matt Warner, the church’s youth pastor, said. “We had a lot of great feedback from the contestants. It was the first time we put the event on and we were impressed with the outcome.”

The event featured a 5K run that started at the church building on Kootenai River Road. The run ended at the Fred Brown Pavilion in Riverfront Park, where the paddling portion of the competition began.

The paddling portion of the race was seven miles down the Kootenai River to the Bighorn Terrace at the bottom of Kootenai River Road.

The race ended with a seven-mile bike ride back up Kootenai River Road to the Libby Christian Church.

Contestants of the event could compete individually or as part of a team.

First place for the triathlon was a photo finish. Jim Rucker beat Ben Scott by one second. Rucker finished with a time of 1:29:57, and Scott finished with a time of 1:29:58. Jonathan Graves came in third in the men’s division with a time of 1:41:22.

Shana Bernall was the first woman, and the third person overall to cross the finish line with a time of 1:38:14.

Amelia Bauer came in second in the woman’s division with a time of 1:46:19. Amy Fantozzi finished third with a time of 1:47:28.

The first two teams were separated by five seconds. The first place team of Richard and Lesli Harlicker and Jim Regh finished with a time of 1:38:45. Lesli did the running, Richard did the paddling and Regh did the pedaling.

The team of Brittany Katzer, Chey Gurley and Hannah Huck, finished second with a time of 1:38:50. Katzer did the running, Gurley did the paddling and Huck did the pedaling.

The team of Carol Lisle, Dejon Raines and Sharon Sverdrup finished third with a time of 1:41:25. Raines did the running, Sverdrup did the paddling and Lisle did the pedaling.

Jim Rucker ran the fastest leg with a time of 17:01. Rucker also had the fastest leg pedaling with a time of 20:11.  Richard Harlicker had the fastest leg for paddling with a time of 50:30.

Warner said that the first Kootenai Valley Triathlon wouldn’t be the last Kootenai Valley Triathlon.

“We were pleased with the outcome,” Warner said. “We were looking for an event that was different than just a 5K. I think everybody had a lot of fun. It’s a different event that has something for the people that like to run, paddle and bike. We had a lot of positive feedback.”