Race Coverage

Colorado's Alexandra Schwein Earns Women's Draft-Legal Sprint Triathlon National Championship Title; Ken Axford of Colorado Springs Tops Masters Men

April 29, 2022 · By USA Triathlon

• Short Course
• Collegiate
• Age Group

IRVING, Texas — In the women’s race of the Draft-Legal Sprint Triathlon National Championships, Alexandra Schwein, 25, (Broomfield, Colo.) pulled ahead late on the run in a tightly contested race to win the national title in 1:05:52.

A former member of the University of Colorado Boulder collegiate club triathlon team, Schwein shook off some pre-race nerves to swim the third fastest time of the day and recorded the second fastest run to hold off fellow podium placers Jenna Topott, 16, (Allen, Texas) who finished in 1:06:05 and Shantelle Tupaz, 16, (Pleasanton, Calif.) who finished in 1:06:12. Toppott took home the women’s 15-19 age group national title.

“I’m pretty excited (to win). I didn’t do as well as I wanted yesterday (in the Super Sprint Time Trial National Championships), and I was super nervous before this race, so I was happy to do well today,” said Schwein, who also won the F20-24 age group in the Aquathlon National Championships on Friday and plans to race in Saturday’s Age Group Mixed Relay National Championships and Sunday’s Aquabike National Championships. “We figured, we came all the way to Texas, so might as well race as many times as we can.”

Ken Axford, 45, (Colorado Springs, Colo.) won the men’s Masters national title in a time of 1:00:31. Peter Valentyik (Boulder, Colo.) won the M50-54 age group in 1:01:02, and Grzegorz Zgliczynski (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) won the M 55-59 age group in 1:00:55.

The Draft-Legal Sprint Triathlon National Championships features a style of triathlon racing that involves riding in packs on the bike.

Miguel Mattox (Mill Valley, Calif.) won the men’s overall national title in both the Draft-Legal Sprint Triathlon National Championships and Aquathlon National Championships on Friday.

Mattox — who also raced Thursday’s Super Sprint Time Trial National Championships and the open water swim competition — covered the 750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike and 5k run Draft-Legal Sprint Triathlon course in a time of 56 minutes, 32 seconds to secure his first national championship.

Racing in his first draft-legal triathlon, Mattox, 27, emerged out of the water of Lake Carolyn in first place, clocking a 9:26 swim split. Mattox then held steady on the bike, riding with the leaders in the main bike group, before pulling away on the run with a 15:56 5K to secure the overall win.

“It was super cool (racing draft-legal). I could see myself doing more of these,” said Mattox who took the advice of his coach to enthusiastically work together with the other lead men in the bike. “I was talking nonstop, giving encouragement, shouting ‘let’s go, let’s go.’ It worked. We put a nice gap on the chase pack and it was super fun talking to the other guys who are all so fast.”

Aquathlon National Championships

Athletes also raced for national titles in the Aquathlon National Championships, a swim-run race that is gaining popularity among multisport athletes. In the afternoon slate of racing, nearly 350 swim-run athletes participated in the Aquathlon National Championships.

Mattox earned his second overall national title of the day, completing the 1,000m swim and 5k run in 31:05. Jacob Young, 26, (Madison, Wis.) placed second with a time of 31:14 and Johnathan Dolan, 20 (Atascadero, Calif.), rounded out the overall podium with a time of 31:37 to claim the men’s 20-24 age group national title.

Kristen Doster, 32, (Green Bay, Wis.) closed strong in the final 2K of the run to win the women’s overall national title in a time of 35:42. She ran a 19:19 5K — second fastest in the women’s field — to hold off Schwein who placed second overall in 36:01 and Kennedy Rainwater, 16, (Brookfield, Wis.) who took third and won the 15-19 age group national title.

“It was a great race. I’m happy with how I did. There were some fast girls, too, that I caught up with and they were really pushing me,” Doster said. Friday’s race was her first aquathlon. “I thought it was a really good distance. The aquathlon caters to people who don’t like the bike portion of the triathlon as much, which is me. I do triathlons, but I ran in high school and played soccer and so I have that running background and I like to swim. It’s a really good combination.”

Colorado Aquathlon National Age-Group Champions include Alexandra Schwein (Broomfield, Colo.), winning the F25-29 age group in 36:01; Kirk Framke (Denver, Colo.), winning the M45-49 age group in 33:31; Philip Friedman (Erie, Colo.), winning the M65-69 age group in 39:22; and Susan Griffin-Kaklikian (Colorado Springs, Colo.), winning the F65-69 age group in 44:14.

**Draft Legal Sprint Triathlon National Championships **750m swim, 20k bike, 5k run

**Aquathlon National Championships **1,000m swim, 5k run