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Fithian, Colting lead after Day 2 of Ultraman

American Lauren Fithian and Sweden's Jonas Colting are in the lead going into the third and final day of the Ultraman Triathlon on the Big Island.

Fithian took over the lead in the women's race after first-day leader Marise Nunes withdrew during yesterday's 171-mile bike ride. Fithian finished in a time of 10 hours, 26 minutes and 51 seconds and now has a lead of more than an hour over the rest of the field. Fellow American Leslie Holton is second in the women's division, 18th overall, while Puerto Rico's Suzanna Degazon is in third.

After setting a record for the first day of competition in a time of 6:53:35, Colting went through the bike course in a time of 7:33:36, bringing his two-day total to 14:27:11. Canada's Seth Bitting and Tony O'Keeffe are in second and third place, respectively.

The competition comes to an end today with a double marathon (52.4 miles) that runs from Hawi to Kailua-Kona. Colting needs to run the course in a time of 7:14 to match Holger Spiegel's triathlon record set in 1998.

Vulcans rally to stay perfect

Skip Esene scored a game-high 30 points to help the UH-Hilo basketball team to improve to 3-0 with a 73-69 win over Hillsdale College at the Hilo Shootout yesterday in Hilo.

In addition to his offensive output, Esene pulled down three rebounds and added three assists against Hillsdale (2-3).

With two starters on the bench because they showed up late to a team meeting, the Vulcans trailed for most of the game until West Hawthorne hit a 3-pointer at the 11:13 mark in the second half to put Hilo up 51-49. Joe Marsh gave the Vulcans the lead for good on a putback with 7:32 left in the game. Marsh finished with a near double-double, grabbing nine rebounds to go along with 10 points.

On Friday, Brian Graham scored 25 and Alex Cabagnot added in 22 to lead the Vulcans past Seattle Pacific 84-70.

Silverswords win, too: Chaminade junior Chris Reaves scored 20 points to lead the Silverswords to an 82-79 victory over Carleton College yesterday at McCabe Gymnasium.

Senior Scott Metcalf added 10 points and eight rebounds as the Silverswords improved to 2-3 this season. The Knights fell to 0-2. Guard Zach Whiting added nine assists and 14 points.

Chaminade hosts Coastal Carolina today at 2 p.m.

Souza, Kennessey to speak at QB Club

Hawaii diving coach Mike Brown, Kamehameha football coach Kanani Souza and Campbell football coach Tumoana Kennessey will be the guest speakers at tomorrow's meeting of the Honolulu Quarterback Club.

The program starts at noon at the Pagoda Ballroom following a luncheon at 11:30 a.m. The public is invited.

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