Allison Grubb (Kalispell, Mont.), about to enter her senior year with the Seattle University swim team, won the 20-24 division of the Seattle edition of the Danskin Triathlon, held Sunday at Genesee Park and along Lake Washington.
Grubb completed the three-part competition, comprised of an 800-yard swim, a 12-mile bike ride, and a five-kilometer run, in one hour, 17 minutes, and 56 seconds, almost a full minute ahead of the second-place finisher in the 20-24 division. She posted the fourth-fastest split during the swim leg at 12:01, followed by splits of 38:14 on the bike and 23:10 during the run.
"I could not believe how much I enjoyed every leg of the event," Grubb said. "I felt strong on every part of the race. This definitely has gotten my confidence up heading into my final year of college swimming, and I now know that I want to do many more triathlons in the future."
Grubb, an interdisciplinary arts major with an emphasis in music, combined her experience as a distance runner in high school with her recent work in the pool as well as her participation in spinning classes as part of the training within the Seattle U swim program to push through the triathlon. She started training specifically for Sunday's event in June after completing final exams.
Once she completes her senior season at Seattle U, Grubb plans to start training for Olympic-distance triathlon events with the possibility of becoming a professional triathlete. After seeing the results of Sunday's event, she now would like the chance to compete in the famous Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii.
The Seattle University women's swim team is now a member of the Western Athletic Conference. The WAC Women's Swimming and Diving Championships will take place at the Palo Alto Natatorium in San Antonio, Texas, Feb. 27 through March 2, 2013.