Los Angeles Next Up for Triathlon Producer

Jack Caress became a triathlete to prove golfers aren’t total slugs. He played for the UC Irvine team that won the NCAA Division II men’s golf championship in 1975, but one of his friends was less than impressed.

“A guy told me golfers weren’t athletes,” Caress said. “I got so mad that I got into this.”

Caress eventually became fit enough to tackle Ironman distances. He finished the Hawaiian Ironman four times, but he has made his mark as an event promoter rather than as a competitor.

Caress was one of the founders of what is now the longest continually run triathlon in the United States, the Kring & Brown Newport Beach Triathlon. His Anaheim-based company, Pacific Sports, also produces the Rock & Roll Triathlon in Cleveland, the Catalina Marathon and various other events.

Caress’ next project is to produce the inaugural Los Angeles Triathlon on Sept. 10. The process took three years to wind through the bureaucracy of the city, but Caress said it will be worth the effort.

The Olympic-distance event (1.5-kilometer swim, 40K bike and 10K run) will travel near many of the city’s famous landmarks. The swim will be off Venice Beach. The bike ride will take athletes downtown by way of Venice, Wilshire, Hollywood and Sunset among other boulevards to the transition area next to Angels Flight. The run is around Dodger Stadium and through Elysian Park and will finish near the Museum of Contemporary Art.

“If we are going to make this what we want it to be--the premier Olympic distance triathlon--we had to make it kind of grandiose,” Caress said.

The field in the first year will be limited to 3,000. Online registration will be available April 17 at https://www.latriathlon.com. For more information, call (714) 978-1528.

BOWLING CHAMPIONSHIPS

The 48th Orange County Bowling Assn. Championship tournament wrapped up Sunday at Tustin Lanes with Jesse Brooks of Santa Ana winning the singles event and Eddie Gotzon of Stanton and Ron Marcus of Anaheim winning in doubles.

Brooks’ three-game series of 752 and handicap score of 57 gave him the title by nine pins over Westminster’s Steve Hacker (714, 86 handicap).

Gotzon and Marcus scored 1,500 (1335, 165 handicap) to beat McArthur Weathers of Wilmington and Duane Boyle of Long Beach by 12 pins.

The team title was won by Yorba Linda Bowl #1, whose members are Jim Hornung Sr., the owner of Yorba Linda Bowl, Allan Lemelin of Placentia, Kelly White of Brea and Garrett Sakahara of Yorba Linda.

Jim Gilchrist of Costa Mesa had the highest scratch scores during the tournament, averaging 239 in nine games. He and 15 others will compete in the OCBA Masters tournament at noon Saturday at Yorba Linda Bowl.

SURFING RESULTS

Sunny Garcia of Hawaii won the first Assn. of Surfing Professionals World Championship Tour event of 2000, the Billabong Pro in Queensland, Australia, this month.

Garcia, who hadn’t won a WCT event since 1996, beat Australia’s Jake Patterson in the final. In the women’s event, current world champion Layne Beachley of Australia defeated four-time world champion Lisa Andersen of Ormond Beach, Fla., in the final.