The Junior Tri VI Grand Finale Triathlon marks the end of the 2013-2014 race series. A small group assembled on Sunday, May 18, at Cramer’s Park on St. Croix’s east end for a swim, bike and run.
The youngest group, the 5-6 year-old category, was led by Kaeden Gleason right from the start. Kaeden improved his time from last year by nearly one minute. Maria Wilson was on his heels and was the second over-all finisher. Ryan Moorehead, a student at St. Mary’s, and Connor Bass, of St. Croix Montessori, finished neck-and-neck, and were the second and third place male finishers, respectively. Annabelle Croney put in a good 25-meter swim time and finished as the second place female. Sabine Guerra, of GHCDS, was third.
Three students from GHCDS closely battled the 50-meter swim, .5-mile bike and .25-mile run in the 7-8 year-old division. Mason Lambert caught up to Odin Andrews and Joey Croney on the bike portion and held his first place to the finish line. Odin and Joey both had solid second and third place finishes, respectively. Kirra Lambert held her own in the field with mostly all boys for a fifth over-all finish. London Palmer, visiting from Idaho, was the second female finisher.
Boys ages 9 to 11 must have heard that the girls were out in "full force" this morning and decided to stay home. The small 9-11 category was made up of four very fit girls. Charlotte Halk, the strongest cyclist of the group, pulled ahead of swim leader Erin Andrews to take first place. Erin was second, while Lydia Wilson finished in third place.
Colby Moran, of AZ Academy, didn’t let the fact that he was the only competitor in the 9-11 year-old category stand in his way. He completed the 200-meter swim, 3-mile bike and 1-mile run with full determination and clobbered last year’s winner’s time by nearly four minutes. Attached are the full results.
After the awards presentation of top-three medals in each category and finishers’ ribbons to all, a handful of kids were recognized for their dedication to the Junior Tri VI program. The Perfect Attendance Awards were given to the kids who have participated in all six events this year: Cole Sommer, Kaeden Gleason, Odin Andrews, Kirra Lambert, Joey Croney and Erin Andrews. Congratulations to them (and to their parents)!
So many volunteers and sponsors have helped to make the season a success. The Virgin Islands Triathlon Federation couldn’t have put on this race series without their help. Thank you to GHCDS Interact Club and Lea Wilson, Tom Peil, Jackie and Joel Holt, Kat and Frank Pugliese, Steve Richards, Sugar Mill Media, Gallow’s Bay Hardware, Marshall & Sterling, Rotary Mid-Isle, Denali, TV2…and to the many hands who have passed out water, helped a kid in the water, baked brownies, set out race cones and all of the other things needed to put on a great race.
Race Results of the Junior Tri VI Grand Finale Triathlon, May 18, 2014
5-6 year-olds: TOTAL (25-meter swim/.25-mile bike/ .25-mile run)
1 Kaeden Gleason 0:06:53…… 0:01:07/0:03:18/0:02:28
2 Maria Wilson 0:07:17…… 0:01:15/0:04:00/0:02:02
3 Ryan Moorehead 0:07:20…… 0:01:47/0:03:23/0:02:10
4 Connor Bass 0:07:21…… 0:01:31/0:03:42/0:02:08
5 Cole Sommer 0:08:54…… 0:01:37/0:04:43/0:02:34
6 Ajhi Briscoe 0:08:55 0:01:54/0:03:51/0:03:10
7 Annabelle Croney 0:09:07…… 0:01:30/0:04:25/0:03:12
8 Rex Andrews 0:11:44…… 0:01:59/0:06:28/0:03:17
9 Sabine Guerra 0:14:14…… 0:01:50/0:08:34/0:03:50
Allegra Ferreras DNF…… 0:02:16
7-8 year-olds: TOTAL (50-meter-swim/.5-mile bike/ .25-mile run)
1 Mason Lambert 0:08:00…… 0:01:32/0:04:25/0:02:03
2 Odin Andrews 0:08:34…… 0:01:22/0:04:46/0:02:26
3 Joey Croney 0:08:57…… 0:01:24/0:04:490:02:44
4 Che Guerra 0:09:41…… 0:01:39/0:05:42/0:02:20
5 Kirra Lambert 0:09:58…… 0:01:59/0:05:52/0:02:07
6 Logan DeFranzo 0:10:09…… 0:01:55/0:05:53/0:02:21
7 Rodney Moorehead 0:11:14…… 0:02:32/0:05:58/0:02:44
8 London Palmer 0:11:45…… 0:02:40/0:06:09/0:02:56
9 Aidan Bass 0:12:13…… 0:02:48/0:06:09/0:03:16
10 Aidan Ferreras 0:14:37…… 0:02:09/0:09:41/0:02:47
9-11 year-olds: TOTAL (100-meter swim/1-mile bike/ .5-mile run)
1 Charlotte Halk 0:14:50…….0:01:58/0:08:12/0:04:40
2 Erin Andrews 0:16:18.….. 0:01:38/0:09:42/0:04:58
3 Lydia Wilson 0:16:58…… 0:02:33/0:09:57/0:04:28
4 Cehara Briscoe 0:17:48…… 0:02:18/0:09:49/0:05:41
12-15 year-olds: TOTAL (200-meter swim/3-mile bike/ 1-mile run)
1 Colby Moran 0:26:57……. 0:04:09/0:15:21/0:07:27
