By Alex Glassman

A mob of 297 athletes recently took over Lake Pleasant Park to contend against one another in the inaugural Amica Championship. The event focused its course out on Castle Hot Springs Road and consisted of a half-mile swim, a 17 mile bike ride and a 5k run. Attending were a mix of professionals, amateurs and first-time competitors. Many competitors placed top 10 in their age groups in previous races in the series held throughout the country.

In the men’s overall and the first man to win the Amica Championship was Joe Gambles out of Boulder, Colorado. In the past he’s set course records at the Lake Stevens Ironman and the Vineman Ironman, and this race was no different. Three-miles into the bike Gambles took the lead and never looked back. For the remainder of the race he was in command, finishing two minutes and twenty-four seconds ahead of runner-up, Kevin Collington, who was initially in the lead coming out of the water.

Winning the women’s overall was Alicia Kaye, who stated in a post race interview she came to race with the “goal of winning.” Her biggest challenge was the uphill bike and second place finisher, Malaika Homo. Kaye’s training partner, Amanda Felder, finished in third.

Top 10 finishers in each the male and female category each received a handsome purse. And in the words of Alicia Kaye, “The race was tough, but really well organized […] It was a beautiful course and the backdrop was stunning.”

PRO WOMEN
Alicia Kaye (1:16:34)
Malaika Homo (1:18:39)
Amanda Felder (1:19:07)
PRO MEN
Joe Gambles (1:06:04)
Kevin Collington (1:08:28)
Chris Foster (1:08:41)

OVERALL WOMEN – AMICA TRIATHLON SERIES WINNERS
Kathy Rakel (1:25:19)
Karen Walls (1:28:14)
Susy Bacal (1:33:40) 
OVERALL MEN – AMICA TRIATHLON SERIES WINNERS
Kevin Taddonio (1:16:02)
Bruce Balch (1:20:52)
Yaniv Atzmon (1:22:14)

WOMEN’S AGE GROUP WINNERS
16-19: Maggy Palacios (2:19:10)
20-24: Megan Black (1:48:56)
25-29: Regina Cormier (1:55:35)
30-34: Emily Francone (1:35:05)
35-39: Shawn Shoemaker (1:37:05)
40-44: Tammy Lamb (1:34:15)
45-49: Elizabeth Hollick (1:49:13)
50-54: Beth Howard (1:39:36)
55-59: Diane Dedek (1:43:39)
70-74: Kay Martin (2:27:00)

MEN’S AGE GROUP WINNERS
16-19: Dylan Barr (1:28:02)
20-24: Cole Fugate (1:35:04)
25-29: Kenny Steil (1:24:14)
30-34: Ryan Mortensen (1:34:55)
35-39: Jeff Francoc (1:23:39)
40-44: John Nadeau (1:34:48)
45-49: Bobby Gonzales (1:22:45)
50-54: Neal McLughlin (1:22:50)
55-59: Neil Howk (1:30:36)
60-64: Rob Holmes (1:38:46)
65-69: Richard Lewis (1:51:34)
70-74: William Haines (2:22:35)
75-79: Lyle Langlois (2:39:43)