Santa Barbara's Sports News and Information
Not even the loss of a limb.Barbieri had to have his left leg amputated just above the knee after breaking his femur and suffering serious damage to his femoral artery in a snowboard accident at Mammoth Mountain this past winter.Yet, there he was on late Tuesday afternoon, lined up along the shore with the other competitors ready to do the 1-mile swim at the weekly Reef and Run Series.Barbieri not only completed the swim, he finished in second place in 22 minutes, 17 seconds. … [Read more...]
Three years ago, he was in tough shape. Tipping the scales at 190, there was, by his count, 30 extra pounds on his 5-foot, 9-inch frame.Reality hit this former political consultant when he carried his then 1-year-old daughter Ruby on his shoulders while hiking up Rattlesnake Canyon.“I couldn’t believe how winded I was,” says Ben Romo, currently holding the world’s longest job title: Director, Community Education and Special Programs and Executive Director, Partners in Education … [Read more...]
Leave it to a place that sells ice cream to give you lots of choices.Especially on Sunday.McConnell’s Ice Cream of Santa Barbara 33rd annual Endurance Events had a little something for everybody: 5k, 10k, biathlon (10k run/1-mile swim), 1-mile swim, Kids’ Mile beach run.And, once gain, another great crowd.“We had 190 pre-registrations and expected another couple of hundred on-site sign-ups,” said Kevin Young, founding race director. “But this year, we have a lot … [Read more...]
Westmont cross country runner Matt Day won the Westmonster 5-kilometer through the Montecito campus on a warm Thursday evening.In a sprint finish, Day edged Warrior teammate Jake Jeanson, winning in 16 minutes, 55 seconds. Jeanson was timed in 16:56. Local endurance athlete Eric Forte finished third in 17:05Race director and Westmont tennis player Bryan Cox said the event drew nearly 200 runners. … [Read more...]
Olympian Mark Warkentin led three swimmers under 12 minutes in the 1k ocean swim at Wednesday’s Nite Moves Series at Leadbetter Beach.Warkentin, who swam in the 10k open-water swim at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, came in first Wednesday in a time of 11 minutes, 38 seconds. Cameron Whiting, 18, a standout prep swimmer from Renton, Wash., finished second in 11:48 and Santa Barbara’s Walker Bell, 14, placed third in 11:59.COMPLETE RESULTSThe top female finisher was local … [Read more...]
Spencer Wood led a trio of 12 year olds as top 10 finishers in the 1-kilometer ocean swim at Tuesday’s Reef and Run Series at East Beach.Wood came in third place behind local triathletes Johannes Walcher (16:20) and J. Ritterbeck (18:07) in a time of 18:13. Pre-teen Adam Fuller finished fourth in 18:33 and Ashley Cocklin came in sixth -- and was the first female finisher -- in 19:42.COMPLETE RESULTSWood’s uncle, Neil, also earned a top-10 finish in the 1-mile swim, … [Read more...]
It’s challenging to find new, crisp descriptors for Ernesto Paredes — the ones not already taken, that is, like these…Community builder … strategic visionary … passionate leader … Ironman … family dude … great guy … triathlon stud … etc.And now he’s back as fitness and conditioning coach for Moms in Motion (MiM), a local training club.After taking a couple of summer seasons off for family and pushing the outer boundaries on his own personal tri training … [Read more...]
Chris Braden completed the fastest Nite Moves aquathon of the season Wednesday night, finishing the 1k-swim and 5-k run in 32 minutes, 30 seconds at Leadbetter Beach.Braden, a Dos Pueblos graduate and a member of the University of Colorado triathlon team, covered the ocean swim in 13:40 and ran up and back down Shoreline Drive in 18:51.COMPLETE RESULTSThe previous fastest time of the season was 35:06 by Al Sladek and Kyle Visin.Ireland’s Donncha O’Siadhail finished behind … [Read more...]
It was a family affair in the 1-kilometer ocean swim at the Tuesday evening Reef and Run Series at East Beach.The Schroeders: mom Dawn and kids Grant and Erica finished in the top five in the event. Grant, 16, took top honos in 15:30; 12-year-old Erica was fourth in 18:11 and Dawn came in fifth in 18:53.FULL RESULTS Santa Barbara’s Greg Gaitan led a threesome of 40-something swimmers in the 1-mile swim. Gaitan, 46, finished in 20:05, followed by Neil Wood, 42, in 21:28, and Jon … [Read more...]
In one of the fastest Nite Moves of the season, U.S. Olympian and Santa Barbara local Mark Warkentin held off Australia’s Heydn Tierney in a blistering 1k ocean swim on Wednesday at Leadbetter Beach.Warkentin, who competed in the open-water swim at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, finished Wednesday’s race in 11 minutes, 55 seconds. Tierney, an ocean lifeguard and avid open-water swimmer in Australia, finished in 11:57.COMPLETE RESULTSThird place went to 11-time 2011 Nite Moves … [Read more...]
At 74 years young, Jeff Farrell can swim faster than many people.The two-time Olympic gold medalist finished ahead of 20 swimmers in the 1-kilometer ocean swim at the Reef and Run Series Tuesday night at East Beach. Farrell placed 16th in the field of 36 with a time of 21 minutes, 30 seconds.COMPLETE RESULTSFarrell swam the anchor legs on the U.S. gold-medal winning 4x100 medley and 4x200 freestyle relays at the 1960 Olympics in Rome. At the time, he was one of the fastest 100 … [Read more...]
