With the Charleston Sprint Triathlon Series Championship on the line, Zach Stroud admitted to being worried about a challenge by Dawson Cherry in the final leg of the final race Sunday.

Stroud, 27, of Charleston, won the first two triathlons on June 17 and July 8 and was in the driver's seat for the points-based championship, which wrapped up Sunday with a double-points championship round.

Cherry, 43, of Mount Pleasant, came in second in the first two events, but won the third on July 29 while Stroud was recovering from competing in Ironman USA the week before.

Sunday's race was a fitting battle in what is largely regarded as the most competitive of the four triathlons in the event, which wound up its 17th season.

"Dawson put up a fight today," said Stroud, who finished with a time of 57 minutes, 13 seconds. "Usually, I get him on the (.3-mile) swim, he catches me (13-mile) bike, but I can run away from him on the (3.1-mile) run. Today, he was with me on the first mile of the run and there was a point when I thought I couldn't hold him off."

Stroud then grinned and said, "He's a smart racer and knows how to mess with people."

Cherry admitted that he gave the run everything he had and that the extra effort caused him to "blow up," resulting in a fourth place in the men's division of open/elite today. His time was 58:45.

In the women's division of open-elite, no female competitor finished the series with the required three of four triathlons, but officials awarded the series championship to 45-year-old Patt Loggins anyway because she had the most points. She finished first on June 17 and Sunday.

Loggins missed completing a third sprint triathlon because she is focusing her training on the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, on Oct. 13. She's spent several weeks this summer training in the mountains of North Carolina.

"Today fit in at a perfect time for my training," said Loggins, who treated the event as a speed workout, finishing it in 1:04:41.

Awards

The fourth and final triathlon in the Charleston Sprint Triathlon Series was held Sunday at James Island County Park. 337 participated. See complete results on www.charlestontriathlonclub.com.

OVERALL: Male — Zach Stroud 57:13, Ashley Ackerman 57:54, David Thomas 58:26, Dawson Cherry 58:45, Radek Parnica 59:05. Female — Patt Loggins 1:04:41, Sara Kraft 1:10:52. MASTERS: Male — Tommy Rogers 1:02:06. Female — Caroline Sinkler 1:12:42. CLYDESDALE (Male over 200 pounds) — Stephen Jones 1:08:10. ATHENA (Female over 150 pounds) — Melanie Stuart 1:09:27. AGE GROUPS (top male and female only): 15-under — Stephen Harvey 1:07:18. Elizabeth Kovarik 1:31:40. 16-19 — Konstantin Vengerows 1:07:55. Sarah Schweppe 1:19:20. 20-24 — Ryan Strickland 1:03:09. Jessica Dettloff 1:13:57. 25-29 — Oliver Sendall 1:02:55. Sarah Howe 1:10:49. 30-34 — Clinton Adams 1:02:34. Victoria Whalen 1:09:11. 35-39 — Michael Owens 1:02:35. Heather Smith 1:07:58. 40-44 — Lance Leopold 1:03:05. Jana Glover 1:14:26. 45-49 — Kevin Strong 1:05:07. Jannette Finch 1:19:03. 50-54 — Rick James 1:02:47. Janet Bell 1:16:37. 55-59 — Kenneth Hanger 1:12:32. Susan Radley 1:25:47. 60-64 — Neil Jacobs 1:18:02. Anne Boone 1:29:12. 65-69 — Richard Weatherford 1:15:51. No female. 70-74 — No participants. 75-79 — William Boulter 1:23:27. No female.

Series Champions

OVERALL: Male — Zach Stroud, Dawson Cherry, David Thomas, Hugh Myrick, Steve Caskie. Female — Patt Loggins. MASTERS: Male — Rick James. Female — Caroline Sinkler. CLYDESDALE — Dave Hunter. ATHENA — Melanie Stuart. AGE GROUPS: 15-under — Stephen Harvey. Elizabeth Kovarik. 16-19 — Konstantin Vengerows. Ashley Jones. 20-24 — Phil Gregory. Jessica Dettloff. 25-29 — Oliver Sendall. Darby Tucker. 30-34 — Clinton Adams. Victoria Whalen. 35-39 — Michael Owens. Heather Smith. 40-44 — Lance Leopold. Aixa Rodriguez-Maria. 45-49 — Kevin Strong. Jannette Finch. 50-54 — David Jones. Janet Bell. 55-59 — Kenneth Hanger. No female. 60-64 — Neil Jacobs. Anne Boone. 65-69 — Richard Weatherford. No female. 75-79 — William Boulter. No female.