Santa Barbara’s Cuyler Gabriel finished third in his age group and 41st overall out of more than 2,600 competitors in the Olympic distance at the USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships in Milwaukee, Wis., last Saturday (Aug. 8).
Gabriel, 18, graduated from Santa Barbara High in June and is headed to attend Cornell College in the fall. He covered the 1,500-meter swim in Lake Michigan, 40-kilometer bike and 10k run in 1 hour, 59 minutes, 25 seconds. His swim time of 17 minutes, 56 seconds was the third fastest among all competitors.
Elisha Smith, 19, of Greenwood, S.C., won the 16-19 age group in 1:56.34 and Jack Toland, 19, of Kirkland, WA., was second in 1:57.19. They both finished behind Gabriel in the swim (Smith 20:01, Toland (20:15) but made up time on the bike leg — Toland clocked 56:19, Smith 56:34 and Gabriel 1:00.51. Smith did the run in 36:56, Gabriel 37:29 and Toland 37:58.
By finishing third, Gabriel earned a spot for next year’s Team USA, an amateur team that represents the U.S. at various world championship multisport events. He also gained a berth in the 2016 ITU World Triathlon Championships, Sept. 11-18, in Cozumel, Mexico.
