Carpinteria local Matt Organista pedals along Butterfly Beach during this year's Santa Barbara Triathlon.
Is it Matt Organista’s time to win the Carpinteria Triathlon?
The local resident has been competing in the town’s annual autumn endurance event since he was in high school. Now, at the age of 20, the former Carpinteria High swim star is considered one of the favorites in Sunday’s Olympic distance race.
The triathlon begins at 7:30 a.m. at Carpinteria City Beach, at the end of Linden Road. There are two races: the Olympic distance of a 1.5-kilometer ocean swim, 40-k bike and 10-k run, and a sprint course that consists of a .5-k swim, 15-k bike and 5-k run.
In addition, there is a relay division for the Olympic distance.
Organista is coming off a good showing at the Santa Barbara Triathlon, where he finished sixth in the long course event behind older and much more experienced triathletes.
He didn’t do his hometown race last year, but in 2008 he was engaged in a tight battle with Ventura’s Josh Spiker for the sprint triathlon title and came up a few seconds short. In 2007, he entered the Olympic distance and placed fifth. When he was 17, he finished second to former UCSB swim All-American and elite triathlete Mike Shaffer in the sprint race.
Shaffer, 45, who is doing the sprint race again in the Clydesdale division, was part of a world-record 202-mile continuous open-water relay swim from Ventura to Santa Barbara’s Stearns Wharf and back south to La Jolla Cove in San Diego. He was a member of the Ventura Deep Six, which completed the nonstop swim down the coast on Monday in 4 1/2 days.
Other contenders in the Olympic distance Sunday include Kyle Visin of the Santa Barbara Triathlon Club, Taj Hudson of Santa Barbara and Goleta’s Stepan Paul.
Adrienne Binder of Santa Barbara is considered the favorite for the women. The former Auburn University swimmer won the sprint race at the Santa Barbara Triathlon last month.
Andrea Stouffer of Santa Barbara, the fifth woman finisher at last year’s Olympic distance, is another strong challenger for the top spot.
The sprint race could be taken over by youngsters. Max Silva of Dos Pueblos High leads a group of nine competitors in the 15-19 age group.
Walker Bell, 13, of Santa Barbara will have two competitors to race against in the 13-14 group.
The youngest entrant is Zachary Zernik, 10, of Newbury Park. His father, Fred, is also competing.
Doug Maijala of Atascadero is the oldest competitor at age 81.
