Locals among top finishers at triathlon

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Naugatuck native Tim Steiskal finishes the 28th annual Pat Griskus Sprint Triathlon at Quassy Amusement Park in Middlebury July 9. –RA ARCHIVE
Naugatuck native Tim Steiskal finishes the 28th annual Pat Griskus Sprint Triathlon at Quassy Amusement Park in Middlebury July 9. –RA ARCHIVE

MIDDLEBURY — Several triathletes with local ties made their mark at the 28th annual BMW of Watertown Pat Griskus Sprint Triathlon.

The triathlon, which was held at Quassy Amusement Park, consists of a half-mile swim, 10.5-mile bike ride and 3.1-mile run.

Naugatuck native Tim Steiskal crossed the finish line third on the men’s side with a time of 1:02:14.85.

Steiskal, 24, was satisfied with his third-place finish after coming in second in 2011 and third in 2012.

“I was hoping to go in the top three,” Steiskal said. “I was definitely battling it out there. Zach will win this race some day. Chris (Thomas) still has it, but we’re inching closer. I love that challenge. We’ll catch him eventually.”

Steiskal, a former Naugatuck High and Southern Connecticut State University swimmer, now works as a project director at the Patchogue (N.Y.) YMCA, but didn’t compete last summer.

“This has always been my race,” Steiskal said. “These are my roots and I hope to do well here.”

Steiskal finished behind Chris Thomas of Easton (57:35.42) and Zachary Yannes of Oxford (1:01:09.27.)

Karim Mabrouk of Naugatuck (1:03.00:81) finished fifth. Mabrouk was a second-place finisher at last year’s Griskus.

“I could have had a better day,” Mabrouk said. “I just didn’t have enough on the bike.”

In the mixed relay team, Madi Carleton, Cassandra Maximenko (Naugatuck) and Chris Ritchie came in first with a time of 57:19:87.

Complete results can be found online at www.fasttracktiming.com.