Along with his athleticism, male long sprint winner Mark Ziegert brought his sense of humor to Saturday’s Eagle Lake Triathalon.

Asked why he finished first in the long sprint, Ziegert joked about his competition.

“Some of the fast guys aren’t here,” said Ziegert, who has competed in the event four times with his best finish before Saturday being third place.

The 49-year-old Granger, Indiana resident finished with a time of 1:35:12.

Swimming is Ziegert’s strongest event. Ziegert swam at Western Illinois University.

“I usually come out of the water a couple minutes ahead of everybody,” Ziegert said. “I can usually bike as fast as everyone. Running is the difficult part for me.”

Recently, Ziegert has averaged six triathalons a year.

“I had done a couple when I was in college,” Ziegert said. “I then started a career and then all of a sudden I got back to working 40 hours a week and a neighbor knew that I used to swim and he asked me if I wanted to try a relay. I did a relay with a couple of guys. I realized I could do a triathalon by myself. I bought a bike and for the last 12 years I’ve competed in triathalons.”

The female winner in the long sprint was Peggy Hasse with a time of 1:50:24. Hasse was also making her fourth appearance at the triathalon.

“I don’t put pressure on myself to do better than the year before,” said Hasse, who is a Three Rivers resident. “I just come in with a goal to do my best for today.”

The 47-year-old expects to do six triathalons this year. She also does running and biking races.

She was a cross country runner at Centreville High School and 15 years ago she began her triathalon career.

“I found a group of people that taught me how to swim and I was already biking for fun,” Hasse said.

Matthew Evans, who will be a senior this year at Penn High School, was the male short sprint winner with a time of 35:51.

The 17-year old Mishawaka, Indiana, product also competed in the short sprint last summer. He finished fifth last year.

“It was all about the bike,” said Evans about why he was successful on Saturday. “I got a new road bike. It was light and felt good. That was pretty much the difference.”

Evans will be the captain of the cross country team this year at Penn. He competes in cross country, swimming and track.

“Cross country is probably my best,” Evans said. “This year we’re hoping to make it to state as a team.”

With a little help from his mother, Evans got interested in triathalons.

“I did my first triathalon at Eagle Creek State Park in Indianapolis,” Evans said. “My mom told me I my as well try competing in a triathalon. I had been on the club swim teams and I could run and I figured the bike wouldn’t be too bad.”

Elkhart, Indiana product Maisha Seebeck was the short sprint female winner with a time of 41:27.

Seebeck was competing in a triathalon for only the second time. She competed at the Barron Lake Triathalon last summer and finished second.

“I grew up as an athlete thanks to my father (Doug) and I’ve always been interested in sports,” said the 27-year old Seebeck. “Paula Turk is my triathalon mentor so she’s really inspired me to do this. She’s a legend in this area and she puts on these events and she runs in a lot of triathalons herself.

“It’s really been fun for me. I love each of these events separately. Running is probably my hardest.”

Seebeck swam and ran track and cross country at Grand Rapids Christian High School.

“I’ve lost a lot of my running ability since high school,” Seebeck said.

In the short sprint triathalon, the swim is 200 yards, biking is 6.9 miles and running is 1.4 miles.

In the long sprint triathalon, the swim is 800 yards, biking is 17.2 miles and running is 5.3 miles.

 

MALE LONG SPRINT

Top 3 overall
1. Mark Ziegert 1:35:12; 2. Nigel Bosch 1:36:43; 3. Patrick Draeger 1:37:18
Age division winners
15-19
Garrett Vanparys 1:50:28
20-24
Brandon Thorpe 1:38:25
25-29
Randall Stark 1:42:45
30-34
Nick Larsen 1:43:31
35-39
Jason Potsander 1:40:44
40-44
Dennis Tsang 1:47:52
45-49
Gene Crusie 1:39:25
50-54
Mike Teske 2:01:48
55-59
Mark Mravec 1:50:20
60-64
Dean Warstler 1:56:30
65-69
Don Ransome 2:07:22
70-74
Joe Dervin 2:40:30

FEMALE LONG SPRINT
Top 3 overall
1. Peggy Hasse 1:50:24; 2. Jennifer Riggs 1:50:46; 3. Heather Schuh 1:57.56
Age division winners
20-24
Annmarie Lindzy 2:28:02
30-34
Katherine Pummill 2:05:46
35-39
Sarah Cira 1:58:53
40-44
Alison Ladson 2:20:45
45-49
Tracy Eaves 2:30:07
50-54
Julie Allen 2:07:12
55-59
Lisa Smith 2:09:15

 

MALE SHORT SPRINT
Top 3 overall
1. Matthew Evans 35:51; 2. Eddie Drudge 37:08; 3. Greg Dischler 37:33
Age division winners
1-14
Alistair Byrd 43:14
15-19
Andres Oberlie 37:51
25-29
Andrew Weingart 39:11
30-34
Steven Cohen 42:08
35-39
Chris Fruehwirth 37:56
40-44
Steve Camilleri 38:46
45-49
Thomas Schroeder 39:12
50-54
Daniel Brown 38:37
60-64
Jeff Miller 40:21
65-69
Dave Hanichak 52:16
75-79
Bill Coar 1:37:15

FEMALE SHORT SPRINT
Top 3 overall
1. Maisha Seebeck 41:27; 2. Honna Gableman 43:34; 3. Bethan Hamilton 44:28
Age division winners
1-14
Tatum Montague 47:43
15-19
Aarthi Manunathan 53:33
20-24
Mac Kapala 46:55
25-29
Andrea Bray 45:13
30-34
Mary McKnight 47:49
35-39
Malinda Smith 46:27
40-44
Michelle Crouch 45:00
45-49
Tina Sharkey 49:21
50-54
Laurie Brubaker 51:54
55-59
Mary Sill 51:43
60-64
Mary Anne Boyd 52:11
65-69
Donna Jepson 1:04:06
70-74
Carole Snow 1:11:17