2010-2011 History Events
| April 9-10, 2011, Tuscaloosa, AL - Collegiate National Championship |
The Stevens Institute of Technology Club Triathlon Team had a thrilling time in Tuscaloosa, Alabama this past weekend at the USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championships. There were four men and three women who made their way to the National Championships to represent the finest triathletes that Stevens has to offer. For such a small Division III school, Stevens had an extremely impressive lineup of talented individuals who had numerous people asking, “Where’s Stevens?” all throughout the weekend. The entire team showed the competition what they were made of and definitely established Stevens’ name in the competitive world of collegiate triathlons.
The men’s side consisted of a full-scoring team comprised of Nicholas Walulik, Aaron Perelman, Matthew Smith, and Luke Niezelski. The men’s race kicked off at 7:30am when the first wave of guys started their swim. Nick was the highest placing Stevens male of the day coming in at 151st. His most noteworthy performance came out of his killer 40km bike split where he averaged over 23 mph and came in as the 95th fastest male on a bike that day. His intense training during the Stevens’ Cycling Team club season has definitely shown its benefits for Nick in Alabama. On an individual level, Nick’s finishing time of 2:14:41 and his run split of 45:55 were both personal bests and were very impressive for the stand-out Senior. Coming up in second for Stevens was Matt in 268th with a time of 2:23:57. All three of Matt’s splits were very good and showed that he is a well-rounded addition to the team, especially with his 10km run split right at 45 minutes. Very close behind was Luke at 281st overall and with a solid time of 2:24:53. Luke clocked the fastest 1 mile swim for the Stevens’ men and the 38th fastest male swim split in the whole race coming in just over 21 minutes. Matt and Luke both trained with the Varsity swim team throughout the school year and had great swims during this race thanks to that. Aaron rounded up the men’s team with a time of 2:28:16 and finishing place of 447th. He is an awesome runner with a split of 42:25 which put him in the 230th fastest male slot. With a little more experience in the swim, Aaron has great potential to place even higher in the next couple championships. There were a total of 595 male triathletes that competed in Tuscaloosa that morning and gave our men’s team some serious competition.
Because the men’s team was able to send four individuals to score for Stevens, they were scored amongst all the other teams at the race. Out of the 80 full men’s teams in Alabama competing in the championships, Stevens came in at 43rd. Considering all of the huge Division I schools that were in attendance and the fact that a lot of teams had more than four men competing for points, the Stevens men had an outstanding performance. The male triathletes from our small Division III Technology school made a huge impact at the race and really came out on top.
The women’s side was one short of a full-scoring team, but included the female stars from the Fall NECTC season: Amanda Nauman, Gabrielle Czernik, and Jamie Brabston. The women’s race started two and a half hours after the men’s race at 10am and this ended up being a huge disadvantage because of the enormous temperature difference in those few hours. All of the women had to race in 80+ degree temperatures and coping with the humidity was atrocious after being so used to the frigid East Cost all winter. However, after attacking the race in full force and dealing with the extreme temperatures, Amanda was the highest placing Stevens female of the day coming in at 77th. Contributing to such a solid time was her notable 10th fastest female swim split thanks to all the training she did with the Varsity swim team throughout the school year. Jamie wound up close behind in 91st with a time of 2:39:26. She had an equally impressive run split just under 50 minutes and the 78th fastest female 10km split of the day! Like Nick, her time with the Stevens Cycling team has also improved her bike power and lead to a great split. After powering through the intense temperatures with all her might, Gabby brought the team home at 278th with a time just barely over three hours at 3:02.45. Like Amanda, Gabby’s time with the Varsity swim team helped her achieve the 43rd fastest female swim split of the day. Both Gabby and Amanda exceeded all expectations with their strong finishes in Alabama after only two weeks to prepare for the triathlon following the NCAA Swimming Championships. There were exactly 400 female triathletes competing in Tuscaloosa that morning and the Stevens women had an amazing finish all things considered. The men and women contributed to Stevens’ great finish as a team.
The outstanding accomplishments of every individual on the team can be recognized all over the results of the race. It is very exciting to see how fast the Stevens triathletes are becoming and this is leading the way to bigger and better things for the team in the years and championships to come. This is just the beginning and the triathlon club will only get faster! The upcoming NECTC season will be Stevens’ best performance yet!
| October 2, 2010, Montauk, NY - MightyMan Sprint Triathlon |
Thirteen Stevens athletes competed in the MightyMan Sprint, the NECTC Championships in Montauk, New York. The Stevens Triathlon Club proved to be one of the top competitors when honored with the second place prize for completing the season as the second best team in the Northeast behind West Point.
The tri club put Stevens on the map of recognition after topping major Division 1 schools like Penn State, Syracuse, and Bucknell. After last year’s 5th place finish behind Columbia, Boston University, Army, and Syracuse, the team did everything in their power to get to the podium this year.
Nick Wahulik, President of the Triathlon Team stated, “Successful in this accomplishment (2nd place finish), we impressed ourselves and our competition, who continuously had to ask us, “Where IS Stevens?” Everyone knows who we are after this year’s amazing season, that’s for sure.”
Jamie Brabston and Gabrielle Czernik also had great races at Montauk. All season Jamie and Gabrielle battled to place higher than each other as they always seemed to cross the finish line within seconds of each other. On this day Jamie got the best of the inter-team rivalry finishing with a time of 1:14.47. Gabrielle had the 12th fastest swim of the day and finished with a time of 1:15.03. Jamie and Gabrielle’s respective 6th and 7th place finishes landed the women’s team crucial points for the overall Stevens score.
The men really stepped up to help keep Stevens in the second place spot as a team in the conference. Evan Wilson and Nick Walulik were the men’s top finishers. Nick Walulik was second off the bike in transition, but could not hold off the light feet of Evan only a couple tenths of a mile from the line. With Evan’s first place swim and blistering fast 17:16 5K run, he finished 6th with a time of 1:03.28. Nick had the 4th fastest bike split of the day and finished 8th overall in a time of 1:03.54.
Matthew Smith, Luke Niezelski and Aaron Perelman were the next Stevens athletes to finish the race. They finished in 13th, 19th and 26th respectively with times of 1:04.36, 1:06.43 and 1:07.53. A few highlights for these guys included Luke’s 3rd place swim finish and Matt’s 7th place swim finish, in typical Stevens fashion. On the flip side, Aaron accidentally swam off course as the buoys were not marked well, but ended up sprinting the run just under 18 minutes and making up lost ground. Overall, this was a good race for these three men. These finishes really helped solidify Stevens in the Second place spot as a team.
Rounding out the day Stevens had Aaron Williams, William Gerboth, Orlando Martinez, Nicole Ogrosso and Kimberly McCaffrey. After a tenth place swim finish, Aaron finished 31st with a time of 1:09.40. Will and Orlando finished 42nd and 57th respectively. Nicole also had a strong race, finishing in 72nd overall with a time of 1:20.52. Kimberly finished not far behind with a time of 1:23.12. Nicole and Kim’s places on the women’s side were 19th and 22nd, adding significant points to the women’s team.
The Stevens triathletes are very proud of our accomplishments this year. With individual wins at multiple races, individual point series podium finishes, and a second place team finish in the entire NECTC, the Stevens Triathlon team really achieved above and beyond its goals this year. We now hope to bring this momentum to nationals in the spring.
The results from the race are posted here:
http://results.active.com/pages/displayNonGru.jsp?rsID=100573
| September 26, 2010, Rye Town, NY - Jarden Westchester Triathlon |
The Stevens Institute of Technology Triathlon team had a very successful race this past Sunday at the Jarden Westchester Triathlon, held in Rye Town, New York. It was an Olympic distance race consisting of a 0.9 mile swim, 24.9 mile bike and 10k run. The eight Stevens athletes who finished battled through the course to all finish with personal bests. Highlights included a podium overall age group finish and a second place finish in the 15-19 age group division.
Matthew Smith headed up the race for Stevens as the top overall male finisher. Matthew did not have a weak part of his race yesterday. His swim was strong as usual, seventh overall out of the water, and his bike and run splits were also solid. He finished with a great time of 2:15.32 and finished 7th in the 20-24 age group division. Nick Walulik was Stevens’ second male finisher of the day finishing with a time of 2:18.48 and 11th in the 20-24 age group. Luke Niezelski also had a great day, finishing second in the 15-19 age group division with a time of 2:19.35. He had the eighth fastest swim of the day, crossing the timing pad right after Matthew. Rounding out the males was Aaron Perelman and Aaron Williams finishing in times of 2:21.36 and 2:25.20. Aaron Perelman clocked the fastest Stevens 10k split at 41:34. Steven Chick was unable to finish the race due to bike malfunction. However, as a whole, the men had a very impresive showing finishing with personal bests.
As a team, Stevens had a very good race at the Westchester Triathlon. Both the men and women performed at their peak potential for an Olympic distance race, posting the most personal best times at one race. They plan on holding this momentum and bringing more speed into the conference championship race next weekend at Montauk, NY.
The results from the race are posted here:
http://results.active.com/pages/page.jsp?eventID=1896812&pubID=3
| September 19, 2010, Lebanon, NJ - Buckman Sprint Triathlon |
The Buckman Sprint Triathlon, held in Lebanon, New Jersey, set the stage for the first sprint triathlon of the Stevens Triathlon Club’s season. A record 15 Stevens triathletes joined the field of 49 collegiate racers in the 0.5 mile swim, 17 mile bike, and 5 K run.
In what has become typical Stevens fashion, 6 of the top 8 swimmers out of the water were Stevens racers. After the swim, Nicholas Walulik set off to complete the second fastest bike of the day. Nick’s steely nerves and perfect pacing yielded a 4th place overall finish with a time of 1:22:23. Following Nick; Matt Smith, Luke Niezelski, Aaron Williams, and Will Gerboth showed the meaning of teamwork by pushing each other to 7th, 8th, 10th, and 11th place finishes respectively. Rounding out the men’s collegiate triathletes, Aaron Perelman (13th place), Isaac Spingarn (16th), and Orlando Martinez (21st) scored valuable points for the team.
Overall the Stevens Institute of Technology Triathlon team is showing they are truly a forced to be reckoned with. Stevens has sent an average of the most triathletes per triathlon and this dedication will continue for the final two races of the season, at the West Chester Triathlon and he conference championship, Mightyman.
More result can be found at
http://www.lin-mark.com/results/buckcollege2010.txt
| September 12, 2010, Nockamixon State Park, PA - 2nd NECTC Race |
The Stevens Institute of Technology Triathlon Club had its largest team showing at the second NECTC race this season on Sunday, the 11th of September. Twelve athletes from Stevens competed in the Quakerman Triathlon at Nockamixon State Park in Quakertown, PA.
Amanda Nauman had a spectacular performance finishing 1st in the female collegiate division over nine and half minute ahead of her closest competitor. Amanda has really shown that she is a force to be reckoned with and looks to finish high in the races to come. Nick Walulik was Stevens' top male finisher finishing 7th overall in the male collegiate division. Nick had the second fastest swim and fifth fastest bike of the race.
Luke Niezelski had a very impressive performance for his first race with the Stevens Triathlon Club. He finished 12th overall and had the fourth fastest swim of the day. Aaron Perelman, in only his second race ever, placed 17th for males and had the 11th fastest run split of the day. Aaron Williams was next to finish for the men, he had the fastest swim to bike transition in the race and finished 27th in the male division.
Gabrielle Czernik and Jamie Brabston were the next to finish for Stevens and finished fourth and sixth respectively. William Gerboth, Matthew Smith, Orlando Martinez and Nicole Ogrosso rounded out the day for the Stevens team with solid finishes. Finally, one of the most exciting highlights included Stevens team members, Matt, Nick, and Amanda, finishing first, second, and third in the swim portion of the race respectively.
As a whole, Stevens had a great race this past weekend and we’re looking to carry this momentum to the Buckman Sprint in Lebanon, NJ this up-coming weekend.
More results can be found at
http://www.compuscore.com/cs2010/sept/quakecol.htm
| August 29, 2010, Lakeville, MA - Cranberry Trifest Olympic Triathlon |
The Stevens Institute of Technology Triathlon Club started the season with a bang at the Cranberry Trifest. This was an Olympic size triathlon consisting of a 1500m swim, 26.2 mile bike and 10K run. Stevens had eight athletes participating in the event including four new members of the team, Kimberly McCaffrey, Gabrielle Czernik, Aaron Perelman and Jamie Brabston. Stevens other competitors included Nick Walulik, Amanda Nauman, Aaron Williams and a graduate student, Nicole Ogrosso.
Nick Walulik was Stevens' top finisher with a time of 2:21:52. He finished ninth in the male collegiate division and 46 overall of the 636 competitors at Lakeville, MA. Amanda Nauman was Stevens' top female finisher finishing fifth in the female collegiate division and also had the fifth fastest swim of the day. Her final time was 2:30:19. Aaron Perelman had an amazing performance at his first triathlon, finishing second for Stevens' males with a time of 2:33:17. Aaron had the fastest 10K run split by a Stevens Triathlon member with a time of 43:42. Gabrielle Czernik and Jamie Brabston had a great first race of the season finishing eighth and ninth respectively in the female collegiate division. They are motivated and have high hopes for the rest of the season. Aaron Williams rounded out the Stevens' male triathletes with a time of 2:37:00. Nicole Ogrosso and Kimberly McCaffrey finished out the rest of the day with times of 3:05:00 and 3:15:10.
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