Long Course Multisport National Titles Earned at Toughman New York

STONY POINT, N.Y. — For the second year in a row, Toughman New York was the host site for the USA Triathlon Long Course National Championships in Stony, Point, New York. Athletes from across the country gathered on Sunday, Sept. 25 to compete for national titles in three multisport events: long course triathlon, duathlon and aquabike. 

Due to the water conditions in Lake Welch at Harriman State Park, the triathlon transitioned into a run-bike-run duathlon format, with athletes racing on a 2-mile run, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run course. New York’s own Kevin Cronin (Greenfield Center, N.Y.) earned the overall men’s long course triathlon title with a winning time of 4 hours, 2 minutes and 55 seconds, also claiming the men’s 20-24 title.  

“It was tough. I did the race last year so I knew what I was getting myself into, but it’s never easy on this course. The course was hilly, it was cold on the downhills, hot on the uphills, it was tough, but super fun. The guy behind me had me sweating for a while. He had a 3- to 4-minute gap going onto the final run and I closed it down, but then was looking over my shoulder the whole day waiting for him to come back. However, I felt fresh on the bike, I used the first run as a warm up and then got on the bike and it felt like a brick workout until I got onto the second half of the last run and that is when it really felt like I was racing,” Cronin said of the difficulty of the day. 

Joining him on the men’s overall podium was Derek Tietjen (Atlantic Highlands, N.J.) who finished second with a time of 4:19:13 and also claimed the men’s 45-49 age group title and Christian Waterstraat (Naperville, Ill.) in third with a time of 4:23:05. 

In the women’s long course triathlon event, Blair Bartosiewicz (Delray Beach, Fla.) seized the overall national crown with a time of 4:42:35, also earning the women’s 25-29 age group title. 
 
Second place went to Ashley Blake (Hudson, N.H.) posting a time of 4:49:21 to claim the women’s 35-39 title. Rounding out the women’s podium was Kimberly Wikel (Milan, Ohio) who took third with a time of 4:51:16 to also take home the women’s 45-49 age group honor. 

“This race was a great ride, it was very challenging, but it was awesome with the high inclines and the fast descends. The run was awesome too, it was very hilly, but I PR’ed my run so I definitely enjoyed it. This course was definitely more challenging than some of my other courses and it was very competitive. The second overall [Blake] was always in my sights, she was always the person I was hunting down,” Bartosiewicz said of her race.  

The triathlon event scored a total of 22 age-group national champions from 15 states, including Stephan Maas (Barre, Vt.) who claimed the Clydesdale 40-59 age group title. 

In the Long Course Duathlon National Championship, athletes followed the same hilly course as the triathlon. Greg Close (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Karoline Muehlfellner (Dunedin, Fla.) earned the overall men’s and women’s national titles. Close finished with a time of 3:53:13 and also collected the men’s 35-39 age group title. Muehlfellner clocked in at 4:54:22 as the top female as well as the top women’s 35-39 age grouper.  

Athena superstar Leslie Battle earned the Athena 40-54 national title, repeating her national championship title for the second year in a row at Toughman New York. 

The Long Course Aquabike race also had a format change due to the swim cancellation. Athletes completed a 56-mile bike-only event in a time-trial format with two athletes going off in waves every 3 seconds. 

Earning the overall men’s title was Blair Saunders (Newark, Del.) with a winning time of 2:28:30, which also earned him the men’s 55-59 age group title. For the women, Stephanie Van Bebber (Fairfax, Va.) with a time of 2:45:47 seized the overall female title as well as the women’s 45-49 age group. 

Aquabike saw 22 athletes from 11 states earn age-group national honors. 

Sunday’s event served as a qualifier for athletes to represent age group Team USA at World Triathlon events. 
 
For the Long Course Triathlon, top finishers qualified for the 2023 World Triathlon Long-Distance Championship in Ibiza, Spain. In Long-Course Duathlon, athletes qualified for the 2023 World Triathlon Powerman Long Distance Duathlon Championships Zofingen, set to be in Zofingen, Switzerland as well as the 2023 World Triathlon Middle Distance Duathlon Championships.  The Long Course Aquabike top finishers qualified for the 2023 World Triathlon Long Distance Aquabike Championships, also in Ibiza, Spain. For more information about qualifying and competing for Team USA, visit usatriathlon.org/teamusa.   
  
For complete results, photos, schedule and event information on the weekend, visit toughmantri.com. 

2022 USA Triathlon Long Course Triathlon National Championships – Complete Results 
2-mile run, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run (changed to duathlon) 

Overall Male: Kevin Cronin (Greenfield Center, N.Y.), 4:02:55 
Overall Female: Blair Bartosiewicz (Delray Beach, Fla.), 4:42:35 
F14-16: Delia Bousquet (Griswold, Conn.), 6:09:30 
F17-19: Emma McGovern (West Point, N.Y.), 5:11:49 
M20-24: Kevin Cronin (Greenfield Center, N.Y.), 4:02:55 
M25-29: Joshua Reece (West Point, N.Y.), 4:36:42 
F25-29: Blair Bartosiewicz (Delray Beach, Fla.), 4:42:35 
M30-34: Robert Langer (Valparaiso, Ind.), 4:29:15 
F30-34: Bernardita Subiabre (New York, N.Y.), 6:04:28 
M35-39: Brett Zimmerman (Bismarck, N.D.), 4:27:36 
F35-39: Ashley Blake (Hudson, N.H.), 4:49:21 
M40-44: Tom Lennon (Paramus, N.J.), 4:27:19 
F40-44: Amy Maxwell (Stony Point, N.Y.), 5:59:07 
M45-49: Derek Tietjen (Atlantic Highlands, N.J.), 4:19:13 
F45-49: Kimberly Wikel (Milan, Ohio), 4:51:16 
M50-54: Stephen Rowe (Harpswell, Maine), 4:52:41 
F50-54: Noeline Cuker (New York, N.Y.), 5:51:15 
M55-59: Scott Green (Florence, Mass.), 4:51:07 
F55-59: Erica Russell (Northfield, N.H.), 5:42:10 
M60-64: Barry Lewis (Philadelphia, Penn.), 4:39:24 
F60-64: Sarah Crewe (Glenview, Ill.), 5:32:30 
M65-69: Mark Drangsholt (Seattle, Wash.), 5:15:20 
M70-74: Robert Rossbach (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich.), 6:32:44 
Clydesdale 40-59: Stephen Maas (Barre, Vt.), 5:10:32 

2022 USA Triathlon Long Course Duathlon National Championship – Complete Results
2-mile run, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run

Overall Male: Greg Close (Brooklyn, N.Y.), 3:53:13
Overall Female: Karoline Muehlfellner (Dunedin, Fla.), 4:54:22
F25-29: Lauren Wernette (Jackson, Mich.), 6:09:37
M30-34: Nate Watson (Greenville, S.C.), 5:27:53
M35-39: Greg Close (Brooklyn, N.Y.), 3:53:13
F35-39: Karoline Muehlfellner (Dunedin, Fla.), 4:54:22
M40-44: Scott Schultes (Northbrook, Ill.), 4:21:48
F40-44: Jaime Torchiana (Downingtown, Pa.), 5:03:33
M45-49: Chris Harnish (Richmond, Va.), 4:12:24
F45-49: Roxanne Stepnowski (South Glastonbury, Conn.), 5:20:33
M50-54: Steven Worth (Lake Forest, Ill.), 4:30:18
F50-54: Heather Melzer (Sewickley, Pa.), 5:07:20
M55-59: Eric Sutherland (New York, N.Y.), 4:40:55
F55-59: Jacqueline Miller (Holly Springs, N.C.), 5:24:01
M60-64: Paul Greenberg (Westport Conn.), 4:45:16
M65-69: Mike Lies (Sanibel, Fla.), 6:01:14
M70-74: Ron Wightman (Wellsville, N.Y.), 5:49:38
F70-74: Susan Felicissimo (Thorton, Colo.), 7:50:36
M75-79: David Lowe (West Chester, Pa.), 6:03:13
Athena 40-54: Leslie Battle (Warwick, R.I.), 6:37:44