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Heather Jackson
Bend, OR - 30
This native of Exeter, New Hampshire played NCAA Division 1 hockey at Princeton
from 2002-2006 then spent two years teaching before deciding to devote herself
to a career in triathlon. In 2010, she placed 2nd and scored the fastest bike splits at
Ironman 70.3 races in Austin and Steelhead and took 3rd places at 70.3s at Boise
and Timberman, and capped off her splashy freshman year with a 5th place at the
Ironman 70.3 World Championship.
In 2012, she scored a breakthrough win at Wildflower, and followed up in 2013 with
an even more decisive victory at the classic Lake San Antonio course. Since 2010,
Jackson has placed 5th, 4th, 3rd and 2nd at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship
contests and looks forward to filling a 5-card straight this year at Mt. Tremblant 70.3
Worlds. Jackson opened 2014 with a 4th place at Ironman 70.3 Panama but reports of
her workouts in Arizona with coach Cliff English have Jackson rounding into perfect
shape to complete a three-peat at Wildflower.
ELITE LONG COURSE RECORDS OVERALL
FEMALE
84
NAME
COUNTRY
TIME
YEAR
OVERALL
Heather Jackson
USA
04:26:29
2012
SWIM
Barb Lindquist
USA
00:22:55
2001
BIKE
Donna Peters
USA
02:30:51
1992
RUN
Heather Jackson
USA
01:21:08
2012
WILDFLOWER TRIATHLONS 2014
RACE
Emily Cocks
Suzzane Huze
Charisa Wernick
Charisa Wernick
Carlsbad, CA - 37
Wernick credits her father with pulling
her into triathlon after years of competing
in gymnastics. They raced the Chicago
Triathlon together in 2001 while she
was attending Southern University at
Chattanooga. After several years competing
as an amateur, Wernick turned pro five years
ago and has her sights set on winning a half
Ironman as well as racing Kona with her
dad.
Wernick has finished 17 Ironmans with a
PR of 9:22 and an Ironman marathon PR
of 3:05. Last year, she won the historic
Superfrog Triathlon, posted 12th place
finishes at Ironman Switzerland, Ironman
Frankfurt and Rev3 Quassy, and was 13th at
the Ironman Asia Pacific Championships in
Melbourne. She says that Wildflower long
course is her favorite race and in 2012, she
finished 5th.
Military Triathlon Championship three times
in a row (2010-2012) and also won the 2013
U.S. National Duathlon Championship.
Just a month ago, Rakel won the 2014
SuperSEAL race in Coronado, California.
Emily Cocks
Napa, CA - 37
Cocks, a 2000 University of Michigan grad
in sociology and law, works as a paralegal
and a triathlon coach. She gained notice
in 2006 when she was the top American
amateur woman at the 2006 ITU long course
worlds, and was 3rd elite amateur woman
at the Chicago Triathlon. In 2010, she took
3rd at Honu 70.3, 7th at Vineman 70.3, 5th
at the Triathlon at Pacific Grove, and 2nd at
Scott Tinley’s Adventures long course. In
2012, Cocks was 7th at Rev3 Portland, 10th
at the City of Los Angeles Triathlon and
9th at Chicago. Last year she took 6th at
Wildflower long course in 4:54:46.
Kathy Rakel
Boulder, CO - 29
Suzanne Huse
Missoula, MO
Winnipeg, Canada - 39
Rakel, a U.S. Air Force Academy grad with
5 years of military service, was the first
Air Force woman to win the U.S. National
Suzanne Huse’s career highlights include a
2nd elite woman at the 2012 Herbalife Los
Angeles Triathlon, a 2nd pro woman at the
2013 Subaru Victoria Half Ironman which
she finished in 4:26:54, and 9th pro at the
2013 Austin 70.3 in a time of 4:25:49.
Jessica Smith
Stanford, CA - 33
Smith turned pro after winning the 2011
overall amateur champion title at the
Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Las
Vegas. In 2012, she finished 7th at Rev3
Wisconsin and Austin 70.3. In 2013, she
placed 9th at Florida 70.3, 6th at Kansas 70.3
and 7th at Buffalo Springs 70.3. For now,
she balances work for Williams-Sonoma Inc.
and hard training with coach Matt Dixon
and his Purple Patch Fitness squad in San
Francisco.
Cathleen Knutson
Seattle, WA - 31
Knutson just turned pro after several years
of amateur success which included 1st
female amateur overall at Ironman Coeur
d’Alene in 2013, an Ironman PR of 10:16:02
at Coeur d’Alene in 2011, a half Ironman
PR of 4:48:49 at Austin 70.3 in 2013 and
a half marathon PR of 1:26:05. Knutson
was also a 4-time age group Ironman World
Championship qualifier.
tricalifornia.com
85
RACE
Jennifer Luebke
Jessica Smith
FIVE FASTEST OVER ALL TIMES - FEMALE
RANK
NAME
COUNTRY
TIME
YEAR
1
HEATHER JACKSON
USA
4:26:29
2012
2
JULIE DIBENS
USA
4:27:53
2010
3
LEANDA CAVE
UK
4:27:58
2011
4
MARY BETH ELLIS
USA
4:28:05
2011
5
SAMANTHA MCGLONE
CAN
4:31:08
2006
Trish Deim
Caroline Gregory
Walnut Creek, CA - 36
Jennifer Luebke
Bend, OR -28
Gregory has attracted 10,000 twitter
followers and 3,000 followers to her
blog posts which recount her adventures
balancing a job as an attorney and four
years as a professional triathlete. Her career
highlights include a 4th place at Ironman
Coeur d’Alene with a 2nd-fastest run, 3rd
places in 70.3s at Branson and Austin, and
an 8th place finish at Ironman Texas.
One of a long line of topflight University
of Missouri triathletes, Luebke got a fast
start to her career in 2008 with a win at the
Grizzly Triathlon, followed in 2009 with a
win at the Wildflower Olympic distance and
a 4:54:30 16th place at Boise 70.3. By 2013,
Luebke was focusing on the half Ironman
and Ironman distance, and took 4th at the
Ironman-distance Challenge Penticton,
placed 6th at Lake Stevens 70.3 and 8th at
Timberman 70.3. She loves the Wildflower
long course, and has made a steady climb
from 17th in 2011 to 16th in 2012 with a PR
of 4:59:14 and moved up to 12th place last
year.
Hana Sykorova
New York, NY - 34
Sykorova just turned pro after a promising
2013 season as an amateur in which she
finished 4th in 30-34 at Oceanside 70.3 in
a time of 4:53:47, 2nd in 30-34 at the Rev3
Half, 9th in 30-34 at the Ironman 70.3 World
Championship in 4:57:05 and 18th in 30-34
at the Ironman World Championship in a
time of 10:16:50.
86
WILDFLOWER TRIATHLONS 2014
Trish Deim
Boise, ID - 34
Trish Deim (pronounced “dime,” like
the coin) grew up in Montana where she
embraced the outdoors – hunting and
snowmobiling and especially running.
She attended Boise State in 1999 and
studied sports medicine until starting a
family. She raced in her first triathlon in
2002 – when her son was only 3 months old
and remembers feeding him just minutes
before the start. In 2011, Trish doubled as
an amateur at Wildflower racing the Long
Course one day, losing the overall title by
9 seconds in a time of 5:04:55. She raced
the Olympic distance the next day finishing
3rd in the female 30-34 category and 15th
amateur woman overall in a time of 2:32:27.
In 2012, she was 7th at Ironman Canada, 3rd
at Leadman 250, and 10th at Ironman 70.3
Boulder. Trish raced Wildflower long course
in 2013 as a second year pro and finished
9th in a time of 5:04:17. She also finished
10th at Ironman Coeur d’Alene and 6th at
Challenge Penticton.