Tresnak, Spalding continue title runs

"I almost pulled out (on Saturday) because the conditions were so bad," says women's canoe champion Lauren Spalding. "But I'm glad I did it. It feels so good to get out there and surf." Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Forget all the talk about parity in the popular sport of solo canoe paddling.

Karel Tresnak Jr.

Lauren Spalding

They once again proved their worth with victories in the Kona Brewing Co. Moloka'i World Championships yesterday. The 32-mile race from Kaluako'i Beach, Moloka'i, to Koko Marina, O'ahu, is considered the ultimate race in long-distance solo canoe paddling.

Tresnak won the men's division in 4 hours, 11 minutes, 15 seconds. He has won the men's canoe division a record five times, including two in a row.

Spalding won the women's canoe division for a record third consecutive year.

"Fifty percent is working hard, and 50 percent is luck in this race," said Tresnak, who is 23 and resides in Kailua. "Things turned in my favor and I took what came to me."

Tresnak has won five of the past six Moloka'i races. The only year he did not win was 2002, when he was enrolled in college at Colorado.

"It's a difficult era to be racing in right now," said Mike Judd, who finished second.

Tresnak led the canoe race from start to finish, and said he benefitted from following the faster surf-ski paddlers ahead of him.

"When the escort boats come up, they create massive turbulence in the water and I love that stuff," he said. "I kept catching the escort boat wake."

Amazingly, only five surfski paddlers finished ahead of Tresnak. Surfskis are generally considered faster crafts than canoes.

Tresnak was technically the first Hawai'i finisher overall, beating all the Hawai'i surfski paddlers.

Tresnak said he did not expect to fare well yesterday because of the unfavorable conditions — poor wind direction and choppy surf.

"I was expecting the guys to come and catch me the whole way," he said.

Judd was the only one who came close. He finished second with a time of 4:13:32. It was his third runner-up finish in the past four years.

"I started to march on him at the end, but I knew he had a good gap," said Judd, a member of the Lanikai Canoe Club. "I never let go. We had him in sight the whole time."

Judd, however, was not pleased with the starting process of the race. He said he and many other paddlers were not even near the starting line when the starting gun went off.

"Not to take anything away from Karel; he won today, hands down," Judd said. "But it blew me away what happened at the start. I've never seen anything like that."

Fueled by that frustration, Judd stayed on Tresnak's tail the entire way before eventually hitting the reef.

"As I was coming in at the end, I took a chance on the inside and lost my boat on the reef," he said. "I had to get up and run after it. At that point, I just wanted to get second place."

Danny Ching of California placed third at 4:22:23, followed by Thibert Lussiaa of the Big Island at 4:27:49, and then O'ahu's Tapa Worthington in 4:28:01.

Spalding's latest victory in the women's division may have been her most impressive when considering she hardly trained for it.

She has spent the past year training with the United States flat-water kayak sprint team. Three weeks ago, she qualified to represent the United States at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

"It was a brain-damage Moloka'i," said Spalding, who is 24 and from Kula, Maui. "That wasn't fun. I was definitely thinking that next year, I'm going to train for this instead of just show up and do it."

Her winning time of 5:00:39 was enough to beat Australia's Lisa Curry-Kenny, who came in second at 5:02:56. Arlene Holzman was third in 5:30:00.

Spalding said she maintained her lead by enjoying the aspects of canoe paddling that she missed while training on a flat-water kayak.

"I almost pulled out (on Saturday) because the conditions were so bad," she said. "But I'm glad I did it. It feels so good to get out there and surf."

She will return to the Olympic Training Center in San Diego next week.

"I probably won't mention this to my coach," she said with a grin.

The tandem of Linda Kaiser and Wendy Minor finished the course in 6:50:57, becoming the first all-female team to complete the race on a two-person canoe.

Men

Overall: 1, Karel Tresnak Jr., 4:11:15. 2, Mike Judd, 4:13:32. 3, Danny Ching, 4:22:23. 4, Thibert Lussiaa, 4:27:49. 5, Tapa Worthington, 4:28:01. 6, Leigh Wilson, 4:28:53. 7, Manny Kulukulualani, 4:29:44. 8, Kea Pa'iaina, 4:30:37. 9, Gregory Long, 4:30:45. 10, Steve Blyth, 4:32:36. 11, George Leslie, 4:32:47. 12, Matt Carter, 4:33:19. 13, Nate Hendricks, 4:33:48. 14, Kekoa Bruhn, 4:34:20. 15, Mike Silva, 4:38:23. 16, Steve Cole, 4:39:37. 17, Shane McGrath, 4:39:39. 18, Michael Giblin, 4:39:55. 19, James Austin III, 4:40:07. 20, Michael Hangai, 4:40:49. 21, Luke Erslin, 4:41:13. 22, Mark Rigg, 4:41:42. 23, Timothy Twigg-Smith, 4:41:55. 24, David Daniels, 4:43:26. 25, Justin Udovich, 4:43:27. 26, Robert Creps, 4:44:24. 27, Nick Agorastos, 4:45:58. 28, Sam Alama, 4:48:01. 29, David Napoleon, 4:48:20. 30, Patrick Dolan, 4:49:05. 31, Ikaika Hauanio, 4:50:49. 32, Taku Araki, 4:51:56. 33, Kevin Thompson, 4:55:36. 34, Pat Erwin, 4:56:07. 35, Grant Shapcott, 4:57:05. 36, Kafoa Latu, 4:59:44. 37, Milton Laughlin, 5:01:11. 38, Ikaika Kincaid, 5:02:45. 39, Mark Miller, 5:03:07. 40, Ron Barron, 5:03:24. 41, James Hewitt, 5:05:39. 42, Greg Edwards, 5:09:09. 43, Robert Olsen, 5:13:33. 44, Fred Delos Santos, 5:18:12. 45, Steve Sinkus, 5:22:58. 46, Stephen McCormack, 5:23:20. 47, Joseph Nappy Napoleon, 5:33:32. 48, Jacques Blais, 5:43:14. 49, Francois Maurin, 5:48:25.

Masters 40-49: 1, Steve Blyth, 4:32:36. 2, Steve Cole, 4:39:37. 3, Mark Rigg, 4:41:42. 4, Timothy Twigg-Smith, 4:41:55. 5, Sam Alama, 4:48:01. 6, Kevin Thompson, 4:55:36. 7, Pat Erwin, 4:56:07. 8, Mark Miller, 5:03:07. 9, Ron Barron, 5:03:24. 10, James Hewitt, 5:05:39. 11, Fred Delos Santos, 5:18:12.

Masters 50-59: 1, Greg Poole, 5:13:34. 2, Jacques Blais, 5:43:14. 3, Francois Maurin, 5:48:25.

Masters 60-older: 1, Joseph Nappy Napoleon, 5:33:32.

Women

Overall: 1, Lauren Spalding, 5:00:39. 2, Lisa Curry-Kenny, 5:02:56. 3, Arlene Holzman, 5:30:00. 4, Cherisse Kelii, 5:33:42. 5, Margie Kawaiaea, 5:37:29.

Masters 40-49: 1, Lisa Curry-Kenny, 5:02:56. 2, Margie Kawaiaea, 5:37:29.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8101.