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Baron top solo finisher in Trans-Tahoe Relay
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More from SwimmingVentura County Masters swimmer Kurtis Baron, 44, swam across Lake Tahoe as a solo entrant in the annual 11.5-mile Trans-Tahoe Relay on Saturday.
The event is the only swim race that crosses two state lines and has become one of the most popular relay open-water swims in the nation.
The race started on Sand Harbor Beach in Nevada and finished on Skylandia Beach at Lake Forest.
No wetsuits were allowed. The water temperature was in the low 60s and the lake is at an altitude of more than 6,200 feet.
There were 155 relays and seven solo entries, and Baron was the top solo finisher in a time of 4 hours, 16 minutes, 4 seconds. Baron had to come from behind and pass the race leader and defending champion in the final 400 meters to win by a mere nine seconds.
On the same day about 2,000 miles to the east, 57-year-old Jim McConica swam in the inaugural United States Masters Swimming 25-kilometer (15.5 mile) Open Water National Championships in Morse Reservoir in Noblesville, Ind.
McConica battled warm and murky water along with hot and humid conditions, but still managed to finish first in his age group (men's 55-59 division) and eighth overall in a time 6:31:17.
Forty-five solo swimmers signed up for the inaugural event, but only 37 completed five laps of the 5K loop course in less than 10 hours. Twenty-six five-person relay teams (five swimmers, each swimming 5K), totaling 130 swimmers, rounded out the mix. Only nine days earlier McConica had successfully completed a Santa Barbara Channel crossing from Anacapa Island to Oxnard.
VCM swimmers train at the Ventura Aquatic Center under the direction of head coach Jason York.
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