Eric Lagerstrom of Cascade is gearing up for the USA Triathlon National Championships which will be held Sept. 20 in Forest Grove.
Lagerstrom Wins Another Triathlon, Eyes USA Championships
FOREST GROVE, Ore. -- Cascade sophomore Eric Lagerstrom added another overall victory to his collection of triathlon successes in 2008 by taking the wire-to-wire victory at the Scoggins Valley Triathlon here last weekend. The event was the second Lagerstrom has won at the venue that will play host to the 2008 USA Triathlon National Championship on Sept. 20.
Lagerstrom led off the event by posting a strong swim split to lead everyone out of the waters of Hagg Lake and onto the challenging 20-kilometer bike course. Heading into the bike-to-run transition he led the first chaser by more than two minutes and proceeded to post the best run split of the day to cruise to the victory.
"I felt pretty tight in the first mile of the run, " Eric commented after the race, "but after that first mile everything loosened up and I felt great." He added, "I'm really feeling good about nationals, this is a great course for me."
This is Lagerstrom's third overall victory of the summer and fourth podium finish in four races. Along with victories at the University of Oregon's "Duck Bill Thrill" and July's Hagg Lake he earned a bronze medal at the International Triathlon Union's World Championships in Vancouver, B.C. He will now focus his training toward the USA Triathlon National Championships Sept. 20 where he hopes to improve upon the silver medal he earned in 2007.
Lagerstrom and the entire Thunderbird XC program kick off the 2008 season at the St. Martin's Invitational in Lacey, Wash., this Saturday. The women will race the 6K at 10:30 a.m. while the men race 8K starting at 11:15 a.m.