FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Florida Senior Games’ opening weekend of action came a close on Sunday afternoon as a steady sprinkle of rain christened the Fort Lauderdale area, welcoming a new week of competition starting Monday.
Two Florida Senior Games cyclists riding together in a group, well ahead of the rest of the 40K Road Race field on the streets of Miami Gardens this morning were Christopher Creyts and Carlos Fuentes, who crossed the finish line within once second of each other.
The 50-54 age group duo established themselves ahead of the rest of the cyclists going into the second of eight laps on the 40K Course. Creyts, of Temple Terrace, edged Fuentes, of Hialeah Gardens, by .092 of a second to go one-two.
In the 20K Road Race that started off the morning of racing, Creyts was edged at the finish line by Fuentes, with a time .018 of a second quicker.
The top women’s finishers were Mary Jo Kurchinski, from Palm Harbor, in the 20K and Kimberly Besuden, of Tavares, in the 40K.
Bowling’s second day of competition gave way to a storied tale of Ed Fenstermacher, of Summerfield, as the kegler unknowingly tabbed a hat-trick of championships, winning three Bowling gold medals in three different age groups. In earning the three gold medals, Fenstermacher knocked down 2,016 points in nine games.
On Sunday, Fenstermacher won the Men’s Singles 75-79 age group gold medal with a three-game score of 638, 51 pins ahead of the silver medalist, Albert Bennett, of Ormond Beach. On Saturday, he teamed with Gerald Teel to win the 70-74 Men’s Doubles gold medal and set an age group record, with Fenstermacher’s score of 727. He also teamed with Barb Johnson, of The Villages, to win the 50-54 Mixed Doubles gold medal, contributing a score of 651.
“Since I turned 75 earlier this year, I’ve been bowling really well,” Fenstermacher said. “It’s probably been one of my better years. I got very comfortable this weekend, and my equipment matched up really well. I used the same ball all weekend and stayed on same line the whole time. I also tried not to pay attention to what everyone else was doing.”
His three-game total in Men’s Doubles was the highest of the weekend of all events and in eight of his nine games of the weekend, he topped a score of 200 or more. His top single-game score, of 257, came in the first game of Men’s Doubles competition.
Three Women’s Singles Age Group records were also set on Sunday in the 65-69, 70-74 and 75-79 age groups. Luanne Giragosian’s three game total of 670 topped the previous record by 36 pins. Giragosian also won a mixed doubles gold medal on Saturday, with her husband, Rich, in the 65-69 age group.
Lynn Barta, of The Villages, set a new record in the 70-74 age group, that had been in place since 2000, with her score of 635, 62 pins more than the previous mark. Plant City’s Shirley Bruggeman established a new mark in the 75-79 age group with her score of 554.
Another 17 age group records fell at the Swimming competition at the Coral Springs Aquatic Center, to bring the weekend total to 33 records broken. Three athletes, Michael Aubrey, Michael Smith and Nathan Leech, had two record-setting performances to bring their weekend record total to four each. Aubrey’s records came in the 55-59 age group, Smith in the 60-64 age group and Leech in the 70-74 age group.
Smith, who swam competitively in his youth, got back in the pool in July 2017 after a 42-year absence. Since that time he has won numerous gold medals and broke his own record Sunday in the 50-yard butterfly.
Debbie Cavanaugh, swimming in her first Florida Senior Games, added a third 65-69 age group record and her husband, Cav established a new 80-84 age group record in the 100-yard freestyle, to go along with his 65-69 age group record in the event in 2000.
Day four of the 10-day competition is a single-sport feature as Table Tennis takes the main stage. All events of the 2019 Florida Senior Games are free and the public is encouraged to attend.
Monday, December 9 – Schedule of Events
Table Tennis (50-69 age groups): Broward County Table Tennis Club | 9 a.m.
The 2019 Florida Senior Games is an annual program of the Florida Sports Foundation, presented in conjunction with the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau.
For the latest information on the 2019 Games, visit our website: http://www.FloridaSeniorGames.com. Follow us on social media via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for daily images and reports highlighting the 2019 Games.
About the Florida Senior Games presented by Humana
The Florida Senior Games presented by Humana are presented annually by the Florida Sports Foundation (FSF), the state’s lead sports promotion and development organization, and a division of Enterprise Florida, Inc. The Foundation works in conjunction with a variety of local sports industry partners to present the different competitions. The Florida Senior Games, presented by Humana, an annual amateur sports tradition in Florida, is part of the state’s $57.4 billion sports industry that accounts for 580,000 jobs statewide.