Thomas, Loggins capture titles

Nineteen-year-old David Thomas established himself as the man, make that the young man, to beat at this year's Charleston Sprint Triathlon Series on Sunday — though he was too humble to admit it.

Thomas, a junior at the College of Charleston, won the first of this summer's four sprint triathlons in a personal best of 58 minutes flat, nearly a minute and a half faster than the next closest competitor, William Schultz V.

In a classic example of a top triathlete, Thomas didn't have the fastest times in any of the three events. He was fourth in the .3-mile swim, third in 13-mile bike and fourth in the 5-kilometer run, but he used his 18-minute, 12-second run to finish off Schultz.

Thomas' star started rising in last year's series when he accomplished two goals: breaking the coveted hour mark and finishing in the top five for the series.

He has a new goal this summer: "I want to win the series."

Beyond that, Thomas is ramping up for another successful year with the TriCougars, a year-old triathlon club at C of C.

By contrast to Thomas, the winner of the women's open-elite category is a seasoned veteran on the local triathlon scene for nearly two decades, dominating it for most of that time.

Patt Loggins, 46, of James Island won with a time of 1:05:15, but Loggins did not remain for the awards ceremony.

According to accounts, she alleged that some competitors were cheating by drafting during the bicycle leg of the triathlon. Drafting is considered illegal by USA Triathlon standards.

The unsanctioned Charleston triathlon series urges competitors not to draft, but does not have regular course monitors and relies on competitors to adhere to typical rules of the sport.

Those alleged to have cheated denied that they were.

Sunday's triathlon drew 302 competitors and 293 finishers to James Island County Park, according to unofficial results. Race Director Paul King noted that the field came from 21 different states, including athletes from Colorado and Washington.

Results in Sunday's first race of the Charleston Sprint Triathlon Series at James Island County Park:

OPEN/ELITE: Male — David Thomas 58:00, William Schultz V 59:21, Brian Fancher 1:00:42, Adam Martin 1:00:53, Cole Atkins 1:02:09. Female — Patt Loggins 1:05:15, Tracy McKee 1:06:06, Heather Smith 1:07:50.

MASTERS: Male — Richard James 1:02:28. Female — Julia Sanford 1:09:27.

CLYDESDALE (Male over 200 pounds) — Chuck Smith 1:09:56.

ATHENA (Female over 150 pounds) — Zahra Hajiaghamohsen 1:20:17.

AGE GROUPS (top male and female): 15-under — Matthew Halter Jr. 1:30:43. Elizabeth Kovarik 1:37:31. 16-19 — Allan Dapore 1:15:24. Kristen Thomas 1:12:51. 20-24 — Phil Gregory 1:05:35. Carlyn Sander 1:14:32. 25-29 — Stephen Sprinkle 1:06:48. Jamie Turner 1:07:31. 30-34 — Brian Groat 1:03:04. Kim Mendoza 1:08:53. 35-39 — Mike Owens 1:03:46. Siobhan Maize 1:10:10. 40-44 — Bubba Gillis 1:04:43. Caroline Sinkler 1:12:39. 45-49 — Lance Leopold 1:03:31. Sherri Greenberg 1:19:28. 50-54 — Ben Futrell 1:10:50. Janet Bell 1:20:12. 55-59 — Rick James 1:02:38. Cathy Burton 1:25:33. 60-64 — James Radley 1:21:06. Anne Boone 1:30:09. 65-69 — Marshall Wakat 1:12:33. No female. 70-74 — Donald Blanchard 1:34:45. No female. 75-79 — William Boulter 1:28:36. No female. (See complete results at www.rmssports.com.)>