Reich wins her division

For the past four years, while excelling in sports at Estancia High,

Marilyn Reich became a natural fit for triathlons.

Reich, the Estancia Female Athlete of the Year, who graduated from

the school last month, competed in track and field, cross country,

water polo and swimming during her four years with the Eagles. On

Sunday, she used her versatility at Crystal Cove.

Reich won the women’s 17-19 age division by finishing in 1 hour,

22 minutes, 57 seconds in the Pacific Coast Triathlon. Reich, who

plans to try out for crew at Orange Coast College in the fall,

finished ahead of Katherine Gordon, who came in at 1:23.57.

This wasn’t the first time Reich won her division in the Pacific

Coast Triathlon, which is in its seventh year. Two years ago, Reich

won her division by finishing more than five minutes ahead of her

nearest competitor.

This year, she finished 300th overall, in a field that included,

“around 1,100 to 1,200,” participants, race director Bill Leach said.

Reich was one of many locals who competed in the Pacific Coast

Triathlon.

Tracy Kubas, who recently graduated from Corona del Mar, finished

fourth in the women’s 17-19 division. Kubas was part of Corona del

Mar’s CIF Southern Section Division II water polo championship

earlier this year.

In the men’s pro elite division, Brent Lorenzen, an assistant swim

coach at UC Irvine, finished 10th and 15th overall in 1:14.14.

Luke McKenzie won the men’s pro elite division coming in at

1:08.22, while Michelle Jones won the women’s pro elite title in

1:15.25.

The race began with a half-mile swim in El Moro Cove, then on to a

12-mile bike ride on Pacific Coast Highway to Laguna Beach and ended

with a three-mile run that included a half-mile of running on the

beach.

Aside from the competition, the Pacific Coast Triathlon also

included its annual Award of Excellence presentation to Al Irwin, a

former Newport Harbor, Orange Coast College and UCI coach, for his

service in the community.

“I had so many kids who I have helped and so many of them were

there,” said Irwin, 86. “That just blew me away. When I was given the

award, boy, they started hollering all over the place. It was great.”

Next year, Leach, the race director, said the Pacific Coast

Triathlon will be Sept. 11, as opposed to usually occurring in late

July. Leach said that had to do with the schedule changes at Crystal

Cove State Park. It is coincidental that next year’s triathlon will

be on Sept. 11, said Leach, who also mentioned he expects there will

be, “some type of memorial or a moment of silence,” that day.