Thirty paddlers in 14 canoes and one tandem kayak participated in the sixth annual Pecan Paddle Canoe Race held the second Saturday in May. The race, sponsored by the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority, began in Starcke Park East and wound down river for 10 miles ending just past the FM 1117 Bridge providing paddlers with an opportunity to experience both lake and river canoeing and to fine tune their portaging techniques.
According to race coordinator, Dwight Peschel, the annual event is made possible through combined community support and gives both locals and out-of-town visitors an opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the Guadalupe River here in Seguin.
"Allen Ognoskie of GBRA worked with us in sponsoring the event," said Peschel. "Brian Buesing of Beaver Construction in Gonzales again donated native wood for the team plaques, this year box elder."
Peschel went on to recognize others for their efforts including Steve Koehler and Harry Hull of the Koehler Company for the use of their mill for making the plaques; Rick Robbins of the Seguin Outdoor Learning Center for providing canoes and equipment; and Sherry Nefford of the Seguin Area Chamber of Commerce for donating pecans for the paddlers.
"The City of Seguin Parks and Recreation Department Director Robin Campbell-Kunkel assisted by making sure the launch area was mowed and prepared for easy access to the river," continued Peschel, "and Dale and Susan Dyess again allowed us to use and prepared their gravel bar for the race finish."
In addition to the team plaques, each paddler received a t-shirt with the race logo. Race results by class and times (hours:minutes:seconds) were as follows:
Unlimited C-2 Class
1st Lillie Cochran of Martindale and Jerry Cochran of San Marcos ñ
1:37:13
18 Foot Standard Class
1st Sherry and Vardy Vincent of Seguin - 1:51:02
K-2 Kayak Class
1st Kara and Allen Watts of Kingsbury - 2:19:58
ABS White Water Class
1st Robin Dwyer of Seguin and John Treanor of Austin - 1:59:37
2nd Brian Buesing of Gonzales and Clay Marek of Devine - 2:05:30
3rd Stephen Finch and Gary "Butch" Warncke of Seguin - 2:15:03
4th Steve Brown and Taylor Brown of Seguin - 2:25:32
5th Cecil Ricketts and Brian Ricketts of Kingsbury - 2:27:50
6th Jerry Brietzke and Caleb Brietzke of La Vernia - 2:37:50
7th Dale Kane and Landon Kane of Seguin - 2:48:10
Co-Ed Unlimited Class
1st Paula Miller of Fentress and Russ Bessette of Austin - 2:20:48
2nd Elizabeth Jandt of Seguin and Wayne Simer of Austin - 2:25:00
3rd Kalaya and Matthew Riccio of Kingsbury - 2:40:58
4th Kamala and Tim Lewis of Luling - 2:47:23
ABS White Water Class (17 years and under)
1st William Dwyer and Travis Nefford of Seguin - 3:21:48
"Both the veterans of the Pecan Paddle and the new faces we saw this year enjoyed the race, and we are all looking forward to and invite additional participation in next yearís event," said Peschel.