John Dewey knew West Virginia’s reputation as the Mountain State.

Still, he was a little stunned Friday evening when he saw the hilly course for the inaugural Charlie Williamson Memorial Triathlon at The Resort at Glade Springs.

“My father-in-law was nice enough to drive me around the course,” the Greensboro, N.C., resident said. “My eyes got really big.”

In the end, those uphill stretches worked to the 35-year-old Dewey’s favor Saturday as he won the race a full minute and a half ahead of his nearest rival.

Dewey reached the finish line with a time of 1:01:57 while his friend David Williams from Durham, N.C., followed at 1:03:27.

The difference came in the first stage, the mountain bike ride. When the road was flat, Williams would surge ahead. But on the last hill, Dewey was able to take a lead he wouldn’t surrender.

“I knew Dave would get away from me if we had a lot of long stretches,” he said. “But we had plenty of hills and lots of turns, and that worked to my advantage.”

Dewey admitted he normally does better in the swimming and running stages.

“Any other day Dave would have torn me up,” he said. “The hills were good for me.”

Williams wasn’t too displeased with his runner-up finish.

“John and I are very good friends and we’ve raced for years,” he said. “It was a nice, cool morning — perfect weather — but the course wasn’t easy. The hills were a killer.”

John Shilt from Winston-Salem, N.C., took third place with a time of 1:09.14, followed by Charleston’s Jon Boggs at 1:10.38 and Charles Williams of Westfield, N.J., at 1:15.45.

Beckley native Monette Williams, David’s wife, came in sixth at 1:16.30.

“It was a great race. A very challenging race,” she said. “There were good hills on the bike, nice clean water and the roads were impeccable.”

The former Monette Jereza once competed for the Woodrow Wilson swim and tennis teams. She graduated in 1994 and then swam for Fairmont State College, where she met her husband.

“Swimming is my stronger point,” she said. “The bike was a little challenging because of the hills, but I had a great run.”

Dewey and the Williamses do a lot of running. In fact, Dewey is a physical therapist and owns a running store.

The Williamses are certified coaches for triathlons and own a coaching company, Triangle Multi-Sport, one of the Williamson Memorial Triathlon’s sponsors.

They plan to enter two more triathlons this year, including the nationals in Portland, Ore.

“We travel a lot,” Monette said. “That’s why we race. It takes us fun places.”

The Williamses were among nearly 100 people who took part in the event. The turnout was surprising considering another triathlon, Captain Thurmond’s Challenge, was taking place later in the afternoon in Fayetteville.

“It was wonderful. We didn’t expect this much success,” said Dr. E.J. Salon, one of the event organizers. “We were shooting for 50 people.

“It went smoothly, and everybody had compliments on how beautiful the lake was. People said they’d come back next year.”

Mullens’ Butch McNeely, who won the male 55-59 age group, was definitely impressed.

“You’ve got breath-taking views here, and it was one of the most perfectly organized triathlons I’ve been to,” he said.

“It was their first time, and they pulled it off.”

— E-mail:

dstillwell@register-herald.com



Williamson Memorial

Saturday

At The Resort at Glade Springs

Top Males — 1. John Dewey, Greensboro, N.C., 1:01:57; 2. David Williams, Durham, N.C., 1:03.27; 3. John Shilt, Winston-Salem, N.C., 1:09.14

Top Master Males — 1. Jon Boggs, Charleston, 1:10.35; 2. Charles Williamson, Westfield, N.J., 1:15.45; 3. James Paine, Daniels, 1:17.26

Males 15-under — 1. Frank Graff IV, Ghent, 1:56.14

Males 16-19 — 1. Marlin Boggs, Charlesotn, 1:25.25

Males 20-24 — Morgan Bridi, Morgantown, 1:51.10

Males 25-29 — 1. Drew Cochran, Morgantown, 1:23.17; 2. Justin Kingery, Louisville, Ky., 1:28.34; 3. Brandon Lilly, Shady Spring, 1:29.43

Males 30-34 — 1. William York, Beaver, 1:23.28; 2. John Messer, Lewisburg, 1:37.10; 3. Travis Wills, (NA), 1:48.57

Males 35-39 — 1. Les Blake, Dublin, Ohio, 1:23.37; 2. Tim Hair, Panama City Beach, Fla., 1:23.58; 3. Bruce Dick, Properity,l 1:27.14

Males 40-44 — 1. Billy Fox, Oceana, 1:19.22; 2. Michael Conelly, Mount Hope, 1:20.43; 3. Scott Killmer, Daniels, 1:22.41

Males 45-49 — 1. John Marotta, Charlotte, N.C., 1:20.32; 2. Gary Cook, Concord, N.C., 1:46.18; 3. Kenny Wheeler, Beckley, 1:50.44

Males 50-54 — Thomas Hamilton, Beckley, 1:32.48; 2. Milton Webb, Beckley, 1:44.28; 3. Bill Majakey (NA)

Males 55-59 — 1. Arlon “Butch” McNeely, Mullens, 2:04.00; 2. Oscar Gramling, Beckley, 2:05.52

Males 60-64 — 1. Jim Ebert, Manteo, N.C., 1:44.50; 2. Trenton Stover, Point Pleasant, 1:48.35; 3. Roger Persinger, Pence Springs, 2:17.38.



Top Females — 1. Monette Williams, Durham, N.C., 1:16.30; 2. Lisa Patarini, Pittsburgh, Pa., 1:27.26; 3. Diana Morris, Charleston, 1:32.05

Top Master Females — 1. Carol Taylor, Panama City Beach, Fla., 1:36.42; 2. Susan Hamner, Arlington, Va., 1:36.48; 3. Janice Centa, Lewisburg, 1:41.00.

Females 20-24 — Lea Bridi, Morgantown, 1:34.25

Females 25-29 — April Chapman, Beckley, 1:33.27; 2. Helen May-Simera, Bethesda, Md., 1:47.23; 3. Margaret Kurdziolek, Christianburg, Va., 1:50.59

Females 30-34 — 1. Melinda Compton, Beckley, 1:51.14; 2. Brandy Robertson, South Charleston, 1:56.48; 3. Jennifer Dickey, North Bethesda, Md., 1:59.29

Females 35-39 — 1. Sheri Peacock, Greensboro, N.C., 1:35.40; 2. Katie Jereza, Annapolis, Md., 1:42.44; 3. Pamela Delgra, Charleston, 2:02.54

Females 45-49 — 1. Sally Jarrett, Cornelius, N.C., 1:42.35; 2. Judith Williams, Fredericksburg, Va., 1:49.36; 3. Sheri McGraw, Daniels, 2:00.59



Mixed Relays — 1. PJ, 1:19.50; 2. H2K, 1:21.03; 3. Perkins, Webb, Callow, 1:24.00

Beckley Motor Speedway

Friday results

Late Models

Feature: Henry Hornsby Jr., Tony Mullens, Robert McMillion, Chris Meadows, Mike Duncan, Eslie Bills. DNS: Greg Buckland, Frankie Johnston.