Koss wins triathlon in Colorado
STERLING, Colo. - Maui resident Ryan Koss won the HITS Sprint Triathlon over the weekend.
A 17-year-old Seabury Hall senior, Koss was the first of 56 finishers to complete the course, which consisted of a 750-meter swim, a 20K bike leg and a 5,000-meter run.
A thunderstorm the night before and light cloud cover during the race provided relief from the heat.
"It was nice to be on such a fast course," Koss said. "It was also fortunate that there was a break in the heat, which has been topping 100 degrees since I've been in Colorado."
Koss was the first out of the water for the swim, and never relinquished the lead. His overall time of 1 hour, 8 minutes, 27 seconds was 2:15 in front of second-place Connor Weaver.
Koss' next race is the USA Triathlon Age Group Nationals in Burlington, Vt., on Aug. 19.
"The weeks ahead will be all about training for that race," said Koss, who lived in Vermont for five years. "It will be fun to be back in the town where I spent part of my childhood, racing on familiar streets and competing in the swim in Lake Champlain."
*****
Larsen advances at U.S. Open of Surfing
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. - Maui's Granger Larsen won his first-round heat in the men's competition at the Association of Surfing Professionals prime U.S. Open of Surfing on Monday.
Larsen posted a two-wave score of 16.80, beating Brazil's Gabriel Medina (14.56), Australia's Conner Coffin (13.76) and the United Kingdom's Aritz Aranburu (8.27) to advance.
Among those eliminated in the round of 96 was Hana's Hank Gaskell.
The first 18 of 24 first-round heats were completed Monday. The competition continues today, with Haiku's Kai Barger among those scheduled to compete.
*****
Larry Libres tourney set for Saturday
KAHULUI - The 25th annual Larry Libres Fishing and Diving Tournament will be held Saturday at Kanaha Beach Park.
Registration starts at 7 a.m. Oama fishing will be from 8 to 9:30 a.m., while tako diving is 8-10:30 a.m. No tako will be accepted on the scale after 10:30 a.m.
Competitor T-shirts and food will be provided while supplies lasts.
The free contest is sponsored by the Maui Boardsailing Association.
