Local women show an iron will

The Carson City area had an impressive turnout in the first Aflac Iron Girl Lake Tahoe event on Sunday.

Gardnerville's Megan Waskiewicz came in third overall at 1 hour, 16 minutes, 58 seconds.

"I loved every single minute of it. You couldn't have asked for a better day," said Waskiewicz, who also topped the 40-44 age group. "It's all in my neighborhood, so I was right at home."

Two area fitness training programs filtered many new triathletes into the sport Sunday. Kaia Fit, a women's fitness program, and Sierra Race and Running trained about 60 women to compete.

Nicole Johnston, owner of Sierra Race and Running, said 26 women participated in the Tri Girls training program, 22 of whom had never done a triathlon before.

"For many, they had been inactive for many years and were looking for a motivating way to get into shape," she said. "And for some, completing a triathlon was on their bucket list of things to complete in life."

Johnston finished 10th overall and second in her 30-34 age category with a time of 1 hour, 23 minutes and 19 seconds.

But she saved her praise for the women in her group.

"All 26 of us finished the race, and it was an amazing day," she said. "They deserve all the credit for two months of grueling workouts to get them race ready."

Kaia Fit trained 35 competitors from Carson City, Gardnerville and Reno. Waskiewicz was one of the trainers.

"That was really neat for me that I got to share my love and passion for triathlons with a bunch of women who've never done a triathlon before," she said.

- Steve Yingling of the Tahoe Daily Tribune contributed to this report.

Top 15 overall

1. Teri Albertazzi 1:12:37

2. Stephanie Artis 1:13:06

3. Megan Waskiewicz 1:16:58

4. Briana Biller 1:19:08

5. Sarah Clement 1:19:24

6. Laura Niel 1:20:12

7. Rachelle Carano 1:20:14

8. Marlene Summers 1:20:35

9. Holly O'Brien 1:23:00

10. Nicole Johnston 1:23:19

11. Chrissy Robertson 1:23:22

12. Erika Klenk 1:25:27

13. Carly Clusserath 1:25:32

14. Andrea King 1:25:33

15. Natalie Collin 1:26:02

15 -19

Place No. Name Age City St Time

1 344 Erika Klenk 15 Truckee CA 1:25:27

2 479 Carly Clusserath 17 Soda Springs CA 1:25:32

3 346 Emily Field 19 Carson City NV 1:45:17

20-24

Place No. Name Age City St Time

1 350 Briana Biller 22 South Lake CA 1:19:08

2 365 Holly O'Brien 22 Stateline NV 1:23:00

3 363 Lisa Anderson 24 Davis CA 1:30:52

25-29

Place No. Name Age City St Time

1 401 Rachelle Carano 29 Reno NV 1:20:14

2 491 Tiffany Good 29 1:26:02

3 483 Alicia Lerud 29 Reno NV 1:28:23

30-34

Place No. Name Age City St Time

1 275 Marlene Summers 32 Redwood City CA 1:20:35

2 429 Nicole Johnston 33 Genoa NV 1:23:19

3 244 Annie Jadrnicek 30 South Lake CA 1:27:46

35-39

Place No. Name Age City St Time

1 339 Stephanie Artis 35 Roseville CA 1:13:06

2 446 Chrissy Robertson 38 Zephyr Cove NV 1:23:22

3 334 Sarah Feliz 35 Reno NV 1:27:21

40-44

Place No. Name Age City St Time

1 465 Megan Waskiewicz 40 Gardnerville NV 1:16:58

2 138 Natalie Collin 41 South Lake CA 1:26:02

3 182 Kristen Loos 40 Carson City NV 1:28:24

45-49

Place No. Name Age City St Time

1 17 Sarah Clement 48 Truckee CA 1:19:24

2 62 Laura Niel 46 Reston VA 1:20:12

3 38 Kathryn Biasotti 46 South Lake CA 1:26:37

50-54

Place No. Name Age City St Time

1 95 Andrea King 52 Zephyr Cove NV 1:25:33

2 71 Carol Chaplin 53 Stateline NV 1:29:13

3 437 Janice Mills 50 Walnut Creek CA 1:36:20

55-59

Place No. Name Age City St Time

1 114 Melanie Mociun 58 Mill Valley CA 1:26:07

2 109 Debbie Melnikoff 56 Santa Cruz CA 1:31:17

3 108 Leigh Ann Tanner 55 Saratoga CA 1:33:57

60-64

Place No. Name Age City St Time

1 116 Kathy Cole 60 Napa CA 1:43:46

2 117 Katherine Tatro 64 Carson City NV 1:54:40

3 119 Jill Carter 61 South Lake CA 2:25:39

65-69

Place No. Name Age City St Time

1 122 Sue Griffith 65 Carson City NV 2:06:04

2 121 Claudia Gardner 68 San Anselmo CA 2:09:45

3 123 Joyce Peterson 65 South Lake CA 2:15:50

For a complete list of results, go to irongirl.com/Events/Lake_Tahoe_South_Shore/Results