Sydney South East – Comets fly at Kurnell and Round 6 preview

In glorious conditions at Kurnell #2, the Sydney South East Interclub Series returned with its first installment for 2019 and it was a fine start to the New Year for the Coogee Comets as they claimed their first victory of the series to edge closer to the overall series leaders, the Sydney Tri Giants.

A win for Matt Larkin, with podiums for Carmine Esposito and Kylie-Anne Richards got the points rolling for the Comets. Russel Newmarch secured a fine 4^th with Nicole Cox and Sophie both finishing 5^th. Andrew Gibietis, Oliver Ashworth and Mark Garcia also added performance points to the Comets total.

Coogee are now just 5.5 points behind the Sydney Tri Giants and will hope to close the gap even further this coming weekend at the Nowra Triathlon.

The Giants were runners up at Kurnell #2 and will be pleased to concede just 1.5 points to the impressive Comets.

Cathy Verry was the star as she claimed her second victory of the season, adding to her success at the Nepean Triathlon in Round 2. Katherine Lukey, Daniel X James and Tom Bills all podiumed for the Giants, with Andrew Dewez, Dima Postnikov and Michael Barnfield also adding performance points to the Giant total.

Brighton move off the foot of the ladder thanks to their best performance of the seasons so far. The Polar Bears had a superb outing to finish 3^rd on the day. Otto Jaeger-Lund produced a strong all round showing to walk away victorious in his AG, with David Sullivan 5^th and Richard Morris a fine 9^th.  Brighton will be hoping that Kurnell success can kick-start their season.

The T4 North Bondi Tritans also enjoyed their most successful event to date as they finished 4^th with 10 points. Tony Golden and Zoe Pedashenko were again in the points as they finished 3^rd in their age groups, with Paula Luke a fine 5^th.

The Australian Chinese Dragons remain third overall after they finished 5^th this past weekend. Both Joy Zheng and Jessica Sonido finished in the top 10 to secure some well-deserved performance points. The Dragons find themselves 13 points behind the Comets now and 18.5 behind the Giants.

The Bondi Brats were 6^th the on the day and remain fourth overall. John Hill added yet another Kurnell title to his name, with Karen Moy and Mark Arbib 2^nd and 3^rd respectively. Stephen Brown and Tony Merritt also collecting performance points with their top ten finishes.

Sally Taggart ensured the Eastern Suburb Swans didn’t leave Kurnell empty handed as she produced an excellent all-round performance to win her age group. The Swans remain 5^th overall.

As attentions turn to Nowra, it appears that there are two battles emerging from the South East Interclub Series.

A battle between the Giants and Comets to be crowned the first ever South East Interclub Champion and a battle between the remaining five clubs to secure that final step on the podium. The Dragons hold it for now, but the Brats, Swans, Polar Bears and Tritans are snapping at their heels.

Top 3 questions heading into the Nowra Triathlon?

1. Can the Comets make it two victories in a row to reel in the Giants?
2. Can the Dragons MAX OUT to drag themselves back into title contention?
3. Can the Tritans maintain their improved form and get off the bottom of the leaderboard?

For more information about the Nowra Triathlon, or to enter, click here

New Year and a new leader in the Sydney South East MVP race.

Cathy Verry jumps to the top with her second victory of the season, closely followed by Giants teammate, Daniel X James.