It's been quite a year. We've had events just about every
weekend. Our Big Island athletes have been turning in some incredible performances and,
most importantly, it's been a lot of fun.
On Sunday, we ended the year with one final blast at the Peaman ChamPEAnship biathlon. Most of this year's Peaman events have been fairly competitive, but on Sunday at the ChamPEAnship, the level was turned up a notch to see who would take this year's title, as well as the series points championship.
The morning started off with a .75-mile swim in Kailua Bay. Steve McElrath and David Lilliness of Seattle, Wash. were the first swimmers to break out of the pod. They were followed closely by Bill Hall, Peaman, Peter Kotland and relay swimmers Hugh Wilder and Christine DeVoto, who was wearing fins.
At the halfway buoy, Lilliness and McElrath were still in front, with Hall close behind. As they headed back towards the beach, the two leaders began to extend their lead over Hall, while DeVoto and Wilder began to move up from behind. The two swimmers hit the line together and were given times of 18 minutes and 11 seconds for Lilliness, and 18:12 for McElrath. A finned DeVoto was in next at 18:49. Hall followed in 18:53, with Wilder close behind at 18:57.
The top five swimmers were all on relay teams. As their runners took off for the four-mile run, Tom "Cat" Sena headed a pack that included individual leaders Peaman and Peter Kotland. Loke McMichael was also out with the top men and was leading the ladies' race. Chasing McMichael out of the water was Kylee Sandusky, Jane Dierenfield, Maile Mettler and Maggie Grenier.
The transition is always fun to watch. Kotland blasted out of the transition looking strong, as did Matty Cunningham and Ben-Jamin. Soon, Gary Cooke had his shoes on and began his chase.
Out on the road, Kotland looked to be in control, but very close behind him the pressure was on. Ben-Jamin had passed Cunningham, and Cooke was blazing his way up to the leaders.
The ladies' field was still headed up by McMichael, with Sandusky close behind. Grennier was chasing hard and looked to be moving the fastest.
As the men approached the finish, it looked as if Kotland would hold on for the victory. He crossed the line first overall in 42:49. It was a nice way for Kotland to wrap up his season after recently setting a new course record for the Big Island's Ultraman in November and placing 30th overall at the Ironman in October.
Just a couple hundred yards down the road, the battle for second and third was heating up. Cooke had just caught and passed Ben-Jamin, but he wasn't done yet. Ben-Jamin threw in one final kick and beat Cooke to the tape for second place at 43:09. Cooke, who had the day's fastest run of 22:19, followed in third at 43:13. Fourth went to Cunningham at 44:09. The "Aluminum Man" Jaiom Berger of Maui, wrapped up the top five in 46:57.
Dard-Vader Aller was next, taking sixth place at 47:30. His finish was good for six points and a victory in this year's Peaman Series Points Championship. Aller totaled 30 points to take this year's crown.
Back out on the road, McMichael's lead looked safe. She made her way to the finish and clocked in at 49:17. Her time placed her 13th overall. Close behind and still powering towards the pier was Grenier. She once again clocked the fastest female run of 28:26 and crossed the line second at 50:31. Third went to Sandusky, who put together a solid swim and run for a time of 51:34.
Sandusky's finish of 16th overall gave her 16 points and the ladies' series points championship with a total of 121 points. Emma chandler ran her way up to fourth in 55:20. Jennifer Nelson rounded out the women's top five at 57:06.
In the Finned Division, Simmy McMichael made it a mother-daughter sweep as she took first place in 58:00. Bones Traub took second for the Finned Pea-ple and first for the men at 58:32.
The split Pea Relay Competition saw some fast times recorded as Hall teamed up with Rick Simonsen for the victory. Hall and Simonsen combined for a time of 42:29 and their split times of 18:57 and 23:32 were both the day's fastest in their division. Second went to the dynamic duo of Peaman and Jon Kunitake. They gave the winners a run for their money but came up just a little short with their time of 43:19.
The Peaster's other teammate, Leonardo Fraga, followed in third at 45:29. Fourth went to Hall and Len Peddicord at 45:53. Sena and Clay "Colt" Bringman closed out the division with a fifth-place finish in 47:56. Hugh Wilder and Pana Wilder topped the Family Relay Division with their time of 54:43.
Speaking of families, the Pea Wea division grew by leaps and bounds in 1997 and is definitely one of my favorite divisions in Peaman. Chandler Nacino was the first Wea Pea to finish the 200-yard swim and one-mile run. He clocked in at 15:52. Krista Maier was close behind, taking second overall and first for the girls in 16:30. Third went to Nicholas Barto at 19:22. Jennie Barto was next, placing fourth in 20:35. Patrick Hamilton and Ian MacKelvie finished very close together for fifth and sixth with times of 22:10 and 22:11, respectively.
The final passing of the Perpetual Pea of '97 went to Mark "Purple Root" Greenleaf. His continued support and timing expertise has helped to keep Pea Events going year after year. Greenleaf will get to enjoy the Power of the Pea until January 18, when once again it will be passed on to another very special person.
Following the swimming, running and talking story, our entire pod of PEAple gathered at Bianelli's for our annual year-end pea-zza party. Besides eating pizza, we also honored the '97 series points finishers and the '97 Peaman Hall of Fame inductees.
Joining Dard-Vader Aller on the men's series points list was Dusty Roads (41 points), John Shirley (92), John Allan (100), Gecko (213), Papa Pea (281) and Peaman (327).
Ladies' champ Sandusky was followed by Ysabel Thomas with 234 points and Marla Anderson with 393. B.G. Johnson was our one and only finned PEAticipant to finish all seven Peaman Biathlons. She totaled 59 points.
This year's Hall of Fame inductees were Theresa Villa, Lenny "Silver Fox" Katz, Frank "Doc" Ferren and Bill "Papa Pea" Pagett.
It's been a great year, and I can't wait 'til '98.
Hap-pea New Year, and I'll see you at the races. It won't be long, either, because on
Sunday, January 11, the New Year's Resolution Run will kick off the '98 season. Start time
is 7:30 a.m. at Lanihou Center. You can choose between 6.2 miles or 3.1 miles. You can run
or walk, it doesn't matter. Just come join the fun.
Return to Peaman - Posted January 4, 1998