“I’m going to be in a triathlon!” cheered nine-year-old Caitlynd Born before the start of the Second Annual Rotary Sunrise Kids Triathlon.
One hundred and thirty five children swam, cycled, and ran marked courses around Magens Bay early Saturday morning as parents and volunteers jumped in excitement and yelled words of encouragement. Children were split into three age groups of 5-8, 9-11 and 12-15 year olds, and this year they were also divided by gender. They also participated in relays or as individuals.
“It’s a great focused activity that’s healthy,” said father Gil Anspacher, who had two children in the triathlon. “And parents like it because they get to hang out and go to the beach.”
Joe Morgan, father and boat captain, also praised the triathlon for keeping kids busy. He wondered what else children were doing when they didn’t have goals to practice for and work towards.
Like last year, the oldest age group had the least amount of participants, but race director Jude Woodcock didn’t mind. She noted that she felt close to the group and interested to see the outcome of their hard work.
“It’s the older age group I feel most fond of because these are possibly our future Olympians,” she said.
During the races, younger children laughed, screamed, and flailed their arms as they splashed through the water. Grins spread across kids’ faces and they pushed themselves even harder while parents yelled their names as they cycled and ran past.
The oldest group carried out the race with purpose and determination as the crowd snapped pictures and asked them to smile. However, smiling was not on athletes’ minds as they tested their endurance.
Fifteen year-old Lukata Samuel was stoic during the event, but let the enthusiasm flow after he took 1st place. He noted that his next move was to participate in the Ironman next year.
“I keep striving harder and go for the top,” Samuel said.
Peyton Morgan, a 10-year-old Antilles School student who practices running with her dad, noted that she was exhausted from the race, but happy that she could be a part of it.
Morgan’s relay partner, Erin Hughes, who also attends Antilles School, agreed. “It was literally suffocating at one point, but I’m glad I did it. I feel so good!” said 9-year-old Hughes. The girls’ relay team, the Destroyers, took 2nd place.
Coming in 3rd place in his age group, 7-year-old Antilles student Tristan Feddersen agreed that the race was taxing.
“It’s so hard because people were on top of you. It was challenging for me,” he said.
Taber Helton, an 8-year-old student from Montessori School and International Academy, said that he was excited to win 1st place out of all the boys in his age group.
Khadihj McClean, Desteny Sweeney, and Aisha Aaron participated in a relay team and were set on beating all of the boys in their age division. The girls’ moms said that they recently represented the Virgin Islands in a similar event in Anguilla.
“The kids are spectacular. I couldn’t do any of this,” noted volunteer Shawn Seabrookes, a student at the University of the Virgin Islands.
Sean George of the Rotary Club said volunteers arrived at 6 a.m. to set up the parking lot with flags, banners, and course cones, and also to sweep debris out of the roads. Woodcock said that the volunteer turnout of around 70 people was incredible.
“It’s great! There have been a few glitches on the course because it’s complicated for [kids], but volunteers helped make improvements today. We changed things for the last group. Hopefully we’ll learn more as we get more experience,” she said.
Montessori School and International Academy was also among winners as they brought the largest group of 55 students for the triathlon.
Deja-Marie Simon and Peyton Baptista won special recognition for their effort. Simon fell off her bicycle scrapping her knee, but finished the run. Baptista had never ridden a bicycle before the event.
Tristan Feddersen’s mom, Gina, found that the triathlon inspires kids as she stood on the sidelines and rooted for every child that passed.
“It was a blast to cheer people on. The energy was unbelievable,” she said.
Woodcock noted the importance of parent involvement in the triathlon, but laughed saying the kids are sometimes better at following directions than their parents.
“I take my hat off to the parents,” she said. “I mean, they have to get up on a Saturday and bring their kids here.”
The signature sponsor for the Second Annual Rotary Sunrise Kids Triathlon was Scotiabank. Other sponsors included Virgin Islands Orthopedics, Merchants Bank, and the V.I. Source who sponsored last year, and new sponsors Glacial Energy and Marriott Frenchman’s Reef.
Organizer Shaun Pennington said, “And we could not do this without a lot of help from our friends at Fruit Bowl, Magens Bay, and Billy D’s Special Tees."
In closing, organizer Susan MacFarland Helton gave the kids something to look forward to as she announced over the excited crowd, “Thank you everyone for coming out. We’ll see you next year!”
WINNERS:
Age 5-8, Individual Male
• 1st Place Taber Helton (7:44) V.I. Montessori School and International Academy
• 2nd Place Teagan Kappel (8:22) V.I. Montessori School and International Academy
• 3rd Place Tristan Feddersen (8:44) Antilles School
Age 5-8, Individual Female
• 1st Place Kaia Anspacher (8:29) V.I. Montessori School and International Academy
• 2nd Place Sydney Gurlia (9:06) V.I. Montessori School and International Academy
• 3rd Place Judah Dimondback (9:15)Yvonne Bowsky Elementary School
Age 9-11, Individual Male
• 1st Place Axel Bartsch (13:44) V.I. Montessori School and International Academy
• 2nd Place Malachi Matthews (14:27) V.I. Montessori School and International Academy
• 3rd Place Skylar Anspacher (15:31) V.I. Montessori School and International Academy
Age 9-11, Individual Female
• 1st Place Karen Gauriloff (14:58) V.I. Montessori School and International Academy
• 2nd Place Ella Barr (16:41) V.I. Montessori School and International Academy
• 3rd Place Rose Whittier (17:32) Antilles School
Age 12-15, Individual Male
• 1st Place Lukata Samuel (21:14) Charlotte Amalie High School
• 2nd Place Jonathan Qualls (24:15) Antilles School
• 3rd Place Seiden Nemeth (25:36) V.I. Montessori School and International Academy
Age 12-15, Individual Female
• 1st Place Kayla Clendinen (30:55) V.I. Montessori School and International Academy
Relay Teams
Age 5-8
• 1st Place, Mini Zippers (Maia Aqui, Ava Jayne Parfitt) (9:46) V.I. Montessori School and International Academy
• 2nd Place, The Girls (Iyana Fratt, Anissa Wallen, Tishara Watley) (9:50) All Saints Cathedral School
• 3rd Place, Blue Torpedos (Rohan Nagi, Thomas Brunt, Paschal Bryan) (9:55) V.I. Montessori School and International Academy
Age 9-11
• 1st Place, Valiant (Sean Godfrey, Quinn Farrell, Thomas Gonzalez) (13:39) V.I. Montessori School and International Academy
• 2nd Place, Destroyers (Peyton Morgan, Sean Hughes, Erin Hughes) (13:43) Antilles School
• 3rd Place, Champions (Madison Wyatt, Haley Jenning, Carter Maltby) (14:03) V.I. Montessori School and International Academy/Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic School
Age 12-15
• 1st Place, Triple Threat (Kendall Hebert, Brianna Olive, Tristen Slimming) (21:58) V.I. Montessori School and International Academy
• 2nd Place, Tootsie Roll (Megan Godfrey, Christina Brett, Alison Bartsch) (24:20) V.I. Montessori School and International Academy
• 3rd Place, Blazers (Silas Wisehart, Grant Farrell, Max Gonzalez) (24:52) V.I. Montessori School and International Academy