Cape Sprint Triathlon won by police officer Adam Webber

Swimmers became bikers then transitioned to runners on a misty June 10 morning at the 18th annual Cape Sprint Triathlon, staged in the parking lot of Cape Henlopen State Park in Lewes.

Run DMC blasted over ground-level speakers: “This speech is my recital, I think it’s very vital. To rock (a rhyme), that’s right (on time), it’s tricky ... It’s tricky, tricky, tricky.”

The too-fit crew danced and popped through the transition zone. The overall field, which included duathletes running and biking, was small – just 67 triathletes in the open division, 20 duathletes and another 10 slugged novice, clydesdales and athena. There was a comfortableness with plenty of space to move and dance about for athletes and their support teams.

“This is the first year the Seashore Striders have managed the event,” said Race Director Tim Bamforth. “We hope to double the number of athletes next year.”

Adam Webber, 37, from Denver, Pa., grilled the field, leading from start to finish with a winning time of 49:42. The current was screaming from north to south, and when Webber passed the marked buoy, he worked the hypotenuse back to the beach while the less-experienced field got pushed south heading west toward the beachhead.

“I swam middle-distance events for Pitt back in my college days,” Webber said. “We were Big East Champions all four years. I’ve probably completed over 100 triathlons.”

Webber works as a police officer in the town of Denver, Pa., and adjusts his schedule to allow for heavy days of training.

Heather Leiggi of Milton was the first woman and second overall in a time of 56:18. Jim Pelech of Flanders, N.J., captured the duathlon title in 13:53, while Jenna Kerr from Villanova was the first woman and second overall in 15:24. Danielle Wagamon of Rehoboth Beach was third in 16:42.

An interesting race in the open category saw Cape cross country runner Kolbe O’Donnell holding off coach Paul Ecker by a minute, 1:02:11 to 1:03:11. “I couldn’t catch him,” Ecker said afterward with a smile.

O’Donnell broke his neck in a surfing accident two years ago, and his recovery has been miraculous. Cape runner Bryan Ciabattoni placed 35th in 1:15:34.

A full list of results can be found at www.seashorestriders.com.