By Glen Miller/Staff Writer

Mother Nature may have chased off a few participants on race days with some early-morning fog, but Sunday’s third annual Route 66 Triathlon ended up under clear skies and with a new course record.

Daniel Agnew of Edmond, who is seeking to turn pro, shattered the existing record set by Olympic hopeful Greg Rouault in 2005 by seven minutes and 30 seconds. Agnew eclipsed the two-hour mark on the International distance course, posting a time of 1:58. He was fifth last year with a time of 2:11.48.

“The way he is competing, he will have a chance to be a national champion,” Mustang race organizer Steve Bussjaeger said. “He is really an up-and-coming star.”

Agnew was 10 minutes ahead of the second-place finisher in the men’s overall division, which was Phillip Vanlandingham of Oklahoma City with a time of 2:08.28. Dallas native Stephen Baucom was third at 2:09.18.

Agnew captured the Oklahoma State Championship with a time of 19:27 for the 1.5-kilometer swim. He completed the 40-kilometer bike ride in 1:01.23 and then ran the 10-kilometer road course in 36:15. Agnew will also represent the state in the Best of the U.S. Amateur Triathlete Competition.

The overall female winner was pro Amanda Stevens of Colorado, who completed the course in 2:10.59 — which was five minutes faster than her winning time of a year ago. She posted times of 18:46 for the swim, 1:09.16 for the bike and 40:16 on the run course.

Since Stevens also has Olympic team aspirations, she will not hold the state title or the ticket to the Best of the U.S. event — which are allotted for amateurs. Those go to second-place finisher Shannon Chasteen of Moore, who completed the course in 2:27.01. Chasteen was seven to 10 minutes off Stevens’ pace in both the swim and the run, but was less than two minutes behind on the bike course. The women’s division was fast-paced with 13 of the 18 entrants breaking the three-hour mark.

Canadian County was well-represented in the race, with El Reno’s Michael Cullen placing 31st overall in the men’s division. He posted times of 27:25 for the swim, 1:15.02 over the bike course and 46:15 for the run and an overall time of 2:30.36. That mark was 14 minutes faster than last year and 23 spots better in the standings. Cullen placed fourth in his age group (20-24) behind Agnew, Rob Bell (2:18.10) of Oklahoma City and Edmond’s Kenneth Pitts (2:30.22).

Former El Reno resident Ryan Ellis placed 62nd in his first Route 66 event, posting an overall time of 2:51.09. He completed the swim in 31:12, the bike in 1:23.59 and the run in 53.04.

Yukon’s Scott Dannemiller took 11th (2:17.32), Skip Kreymborg, 51st (2:43.33), Justin Siderits, 55th (2:47.25), Cody Motley, 57th (2:49.49), Tim Zackery, 70th (2;56.21) and Jason Royster, 80th (3:19.22). Mustang’s Al Sanderson was 79th with a time of 3:14.14, a day after running the Route 66 Sprint Triathlon, where he placed 53rd overall with a time of 1:28.44.

The sprint event was new this year and featured a 500-meter swim, 12.4-mile bike race and a 5-kilometer run. Sand Spring’s Bob Clint (1:01.28) won the men’s title and Broken Arrow’s Jocelyn Wood was the top female finisher at 1:08.53.

Bussjaeger was the top county finisher, placing eighth overall in the men’s division with a time of 1:10.26. Yukon’s Laine Diffee (1:15.51) and Siderits (1:16.18) placed 19th and 20th, respectively. Tuttle’s Mark Shatwell was 58th (1:31.28) and Mustang’s Robert Lockwood was 61st (1:34.22).

Vivien Copelin of Mustang was the top county female placer in ninth with a time of 1:24.56.