Photography by David O. Baldwin | Special to Hawaii 24/7

Karin Stanton | Hawaii 24/7 Editor

With last year’s winners sitting out this year, Lavaman Waikoloa triathlon welcomed new champions Sunday under an overcast sky.

Chris Lieto, a pro triathlete who lives part-time in Kona, won the men’s race in a time of 1 hour, 53 minutes and 55 seconds.

Lieto, 41, scored his second straight Lavaman title, having also won the Lavaman Keauhou race in November.

The men’s podium was rounded out by two Honolulu-based pros – Benjamin Williams and Tim Marr.

Other Hawaii pros included Tommy Vonach (4th), Sam Corace (5th) and Penn Henderson (8th).

Age grouper Rebecca Sherlock, 40, Vancouver, B.C. is the new women’s championship, with a time of 2:16:07.

Second was age grouper Mariane Uehara and third place went to Jeni Winegarner.

The first pro woman to finish was Amber Stull, 35, of Anchorage, in fifth place.

Last year’s champions, Chris McCormack and Bree Wee, were not entered this year.

In a new arena for mixed martial arts fighters, Hawaii’s Sunny Garcia and BJ Penn squared off.

Garcia won bragging rights by nearly 5 minutes. Garcia has a time 2:55:29, good enough for 359th overall, while Penn finished in 3:00:24 and 415th overall.

One man who was back was Mayor Billy Kenoi, in his second Lavaman Waikoloa.

Kenoi bettered his 2011 time by almost 2 minutes. His time this year was 3:37:47. He was 813th overall.

— For the full list of finishers, visit:
http://www.theracershub.com/results_view.php?id=1983&result_type=file