Hurricane Irene has forced the Fireman Tri event organizers to cancel the bike leg due to the high predicted winds. Points for this event will be awarded as normal.

Go to the standings page for the updated points after Stage 8, the Age Group National Championships in Burlington, VT

Erin Begg of Newtown, CT took the stage win at the Cayuga Sprint and put the pressure on the other top contenders for the final 2 stages. She just missed scoring bonus points for an overall podium finish by just 7 seconds! Her win puts her in first place with 275 points. Emily Doherty now in second with 255 points, Sydney Michalak is in third with 235 points, Hannah Goodrick is in 4th with 210 and 2 time defending champion Ashley Thrower is in 5th with 205.

Michalak will be racing the last 2 stages. Begg, Doherty and Goodrick are racing the series finale. It should be a great finish.

On the U19 men’s side Liam Chaussi took the win Alexander Porter in second and Hunter Miller in third. These are the first points for each athlete this season.

Next up is the USAT Age Group Sprint Championships in Burlington, Vermont where bonus points will be available. Standings will be posted shortly!

Sydney Michalak placed 3rd overall to take Stage 6 in the Crabman Sprint. In addition she scored 10 bonus points for being on the overall podium. Erin Begg and Emily Doherty rounded out the U19 women’s top 3. Trevor Heller took 2nd overall and grabbed an extra 15 bonus points. Taylor Peterson and Greg Palken rounded out the top of the U19 men’s field.

Today’s results set up another great finish to the 2011 Series! On the Women’s side- Emily Doherty regained the top of the standings, followed by Sydney Michalak, Hannah Goodrick and Erin Begg. Less than 100 points separate 1st from 5th which makes it anyone’s game. All four are racing at the series finale. On the men’s side, Taylor Peterson has a strong hold on first. Trevor Heller is racing both Age Group Nationals and the Finale so he is still within striking distance. Callman, Jardin and Palken are fighting it out just behind.

Next up is Stage 7- the Cayuga Lake Sprint.

What a great day for racing at the Cohasset Triathlon! A cloudy morning turned sunny and hot by the time the athletes hit the run course. On the men’s side, Trevor Heller got into the series standings this season with a bang by ending up on the overall podium in 2nd place earning 15 bonus points on top of the 125 points for the age group win (Cohasset is a bonus point race). He was edged at the finish for the top spot by just 3 seconds! Greg Palken took second and 2011 points leader Taylor Peterson took 3rd.

The women, not to be outdone had an even closer finish if you can believe it! Sydney Michalak made her Talent ID Series debut one for the books by out dueling 2011 points leader Emily Doherty by just 1 SECOND! They were together the whole way and let it all go when it counted. Hannah Goodrick rounded out the podium for the U19 women in third.

If this is an indicator of how the rest of the series is going to be, it will be another photo finish at the finale!