April 25, 2008

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Spider freshman cross country standout Julie Rechel came to the University of Richmond as one of the brightest junior elite triathletes in the nation. She notched the biggest victory of her young triathlon career last weekend at the USA Triathlon Tuscaloosa Tri-Palooza in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Rechel, who just missed All-Conference honors during the fall cross-country season by placing 17th, held off Leah Larson - one of the strongest runners in amateur triathlon - to win with a time of 1 hour, 6 minutes, 57 seconds. Larson, who finished second in last Saturday's collegiate national championship race, was 26 seconds back.

"We are as thrilled as Julie," said women's head coach Lori Taylor. "When she decided to join the Spiders last spring we talked about her success in triathlons. She wasn't sure that she could juggle the level of training it would take to compete for our cross-country and track teams, but we believed it would complement her triathlon. She is proving this and seeing the effort she has put towards her training has elevated her triathlon. It's very exciting to see her progress."

The USA Olympic Team Trials and the College National Championships also took place last Saturday and events concluded with Sunday's Twenty-12 Talent ID race, where Rechel and Matthew Wisthoff emerged as the top athletes with wins in the draft-legal sprint distance races.

The race consisted of a 750M (800 yards) swim, followed by a 20K (12.4 miles) bike and a 5K (3.1 Miles) run to finish. The water temperatures were around 64 degrees so the 19-year-old Rechel and the other competitors used wet suites to insulate themselves from the cold water.

"I've never competed in a wet suite before, so I didn't know what to expect," said Rechel. "It wasn't a problem and I got used to it pretty quickly. The water felt really cold for the warm-up but it was great during the race".

"Going into the competition, I was very excited to have such an amazing opportunity. I knew my swimming ability was about the same as last year, and my running had improved, but I was really nervous about the bike portion of the race. I've been biking a lot less volume this year because of academic constraints, but I've also gotten in a lot more quality workouts. I didn't have many expectations for the race. I just wanted to get out there, enjoy the competition and have fun."

She opened the race with a time of 10:48 for the swim portion, coming out of the water in a very strong third-place. After a quick transition from the swim to the bike she was on the road and quickly moved into second. A chase pack of four athletes formed and with drafting legal in this competition she decided to back off slightly to prepare for their attack. It never came as the chase pack separated midway through the 20K bike race. Rechel finished with the second-best bike of the day with a time of 36:08 averaging 1:48 per 1K of the race. Again, she quickly made the move from the bike to her running shoes, exiting the transition area in second place with arguably her strongest event in front of her.

Rechel during the bike portion of the triathlon.

In her first-ever track race, she placed second in the 3,000m for the Spiders at the recent Fred Hardy Invitational with a time of 10:13.68. That performance showed she was ready for a strong 5K to finish the competition and she swept past the leader and powered on to complete the 5K event in 18:39, her fastest finish ever.

"Nearing the end, I felt strong, and as soon as I saw the finish line, I knew I could win," said Rechel. "After the race, I was still in disbelief and overwhelmed with excitement. After 67 of the hardest minutes of my life, I was still really energized by the whole atmosphere of the race, the fans, and winning."

The Twenty-12 Talent ID race was created to introduce up and coming triathletes to the world of draft-legal racing.

"It's about teaching them some tactics and maybe even finding an Olympian down the road," said USAT Sport Performance Director Scott Schnitzspahn. "We're looking for someone who can swim, bike and run with the skills they need to compete at the next level. We're looking for someone who has the drive and determination to make themselves better, and hopefully they got the experience here today that will get them there."

"I want to take this as far as I can go," Rechel said of her triathlon career. "I love the sport, I love the atmosphere, and I love the athletes. I'll keep going as hard as I can."