ORANGE COUNTY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER TRIATHLON : Brad Kearns Defends His Title on the Run

Brad Kearns knew there was a window, but he wasn’t sure if he could squeeze through.

Kearns, of Cool, Calif., figures he is about 1 minute 40 seconds faster than Laguna Beach’s Brett Rose in the 10-kilometer run portion of a triathlon. And Rose had pedaled into the transition area at Lake Mission Viejo exactly 1:38 ahead of him Sunday morning after two-thirds of the Orange County Performing Arts Center Triathlon.

“I was worried,” Kearns said. “I had that window and I had outrun him by exactly 1:40 two weeks ago, but it was too close.”

Kearns, who had set a course record of 1 hour 49 minutes 33 seconds in winning the event last year, caught Rose at the five-mile mark and went on to the victory in 1:49:39. Rose was second in 1:49:45. World champion Greg Welch, of Encinitas, was third in 1:52:01.

Karen Smyers, of Medford, Mass., upset Colleen Cannon, a four-time winner at Mission Viejo from Nederland, Colo., to win the pro women’s division in 2:02:38. Bill Leach, a 45-year-old history teacher at Corona del Mar High School, was the fastest in the men’s elite masters division in 1:59:09. Long Beach’s Diane Ito was the women’s masters division winner in 2:16:51.

Rose, formerly a swimmer at Arizona State, was the second competitor out of the water after the 1,500-meter swim, behind Mission Viejo’s Kerry Classen. And Rose had a lead of more than 1 1/2 minutes after the 40K cycle ride.

“That was my homecourt advantage,” Rose said. “I knew where to attack and where to relax on the hills.”

Then Rose tossed his bike on the rack, slipped into his running shoes and hoped to hold on. But he knew what he was up against.

“Brad and I race every weekend,” Rose said. “I’m not the best runner out here, but I thought I had enough this time. But he caught me at the five-mile spot and cruised by me like I was standing still.

“Still, I’m really happy with my performance today.”

He couldn’t have been any happier than Smyers, though. She had finished second to Cannon last year, but won a savage battle on the hilly running course to win in 2:02.38, four seconds ahead of Cannon.

Eight women rolled into the transition area at the same time, and Cannon took an early lead in the footrace. After that, Cannon and Smyers exchanged the lead several times.

“Starting about mile two, we battled back and forth,” Smyers said. “I passed her going up the hills and she retook the lead on the downhills. But right after the turnaround, I got enough on one of the hills that she couldn’t catch me on the downhills.”

Cannon, who had won this race every time she entered it before Sunday, said winning wasn’t really all that important.

“I have no excuses, I just finished second to a great athlete,” she said. “I’m pleased. I gave it my all. Everyone is so into winning, but it’s really all in the process of getting here.”

Leach, a former All-American water polo player at UC Irvine and Olympic kayaker, knows all about that process. He also likes the winning part, however.

“This was very gratifying,” he said. “This was about as good of an all-around race as I’ve ever run. I broke away on the swim and then had a real good bike and good run. And this is as hard of a course as I can think of.”

The morning marine layer that had kept the sun in hiding until noon the past few days was nowhere in sight as dawn broke over the lake Sunday morning. By the time the first competitors hit the running course, it was already hot.

“It was brutal,” Kearns said. “But it was great.”

Results

Pro Men

1. Brad Kearns (Cool, Calif.), 1:49:39; 2. Brett Rose (Laguna Beach), 1:49:45; 3. Greg Welch (Encinitas), 1:52:01, 4. Frank Clarke (Vancouver, Canada), 1:52:15; 5. Andrew Carlson (Capistrano Beach), 1:52:31; 6. Paul Huddle (Boulder, Colo.), 1:53:05.

Pro Women

1. Karen Smyers (Medford, Mass.), 2:02:38; 2. Colleen Cannon (Nederland, Colo.), 2:03:12; 3. Sue Latshaw (Oakland), 2:03:48; 4. Joy Hansen (Newton Square, Pa.), 2:04:42; 5. Nancy Vallance (Santa Rosa) 2:04:47; 6. Melissa Mantak (Denver) 2:05:10.

Pro Master Men

1. Bill Leach (Irvine) 1:59:09; 2. Bob Cuyler (Newport Beach), 2:05:38; 3. Ron Smith (Del Mar) 2:06:04.

Pro Master Women

1. Diane Ito (Long Beach), 2:16:51; 2. Jane Snyder (Houston), 2:18:30; 3. Nancy Baird (Irvine), 2:28:50.