35 brave Tagakids Tryathlon

A total of 35 youngsters put their skills, endurance, and toughness to the test yesterday morning as they challenged and conquered the annual TagaKids Triathlon.

The event featured two courses for four age groups, with the 6-7 and 8-9 age groups taking on a 100-meter swim, 2.5-kilometer bike, and 1-km run. The 10-11 and 12-13 age groupers took on a 200-m swim, 5-km bike, and 2-km run.

It was a battle to the finish in the male 12-13 category as Bradley Brostrom overcame a deficit from the swim by muscling his way for the best bike time to take first place in 49:49.78.

Lucas Knecht placed second in 51:37.45, while Kai Staal took third place in 51:37.16. Fourth place went to Andy Nutting as he finished in 1:09:21.20.

Sarah Johnson won the girls’ 12-13 competition via dominating fashion as she recorded the best swim and run times before claiming top honors. Despite swimming 2 kilometers the day before as part of a team in the 17th Annual Tagaman Triathlon, Johnson still had a full tank as she powered her way to a 6:26.56 swim, 31:10.4 bike, and 15:46.3 run for an overall time of 53:23.27.

Emma McCullough-Streans took second in 58:02.70, while Zoe Jewell and Madison Schultz followed in times of 59:10.88 and 1:05:14.05. Fifth place went to Shane Jones, who finished in 1:09:20.19.

For his part, R.J. Knecht won the boys’ 10-11 category in 51:57.23, while Clay McCullough-Stearns and Rafael Jones took home second and third place honors in 59:52.26 and 1:01:48.98. Crosby Schultz was next in 1:05:43.48, while Nathan Nutting competed in the bike leg for a time of 1:09:12.71.

Ashley Northern won the girls’ 10-11 group as she broke the one-hour mark to finish in 56:19.86. Amber Roberts and Tatiana Calvo placed second and third in 1:01:14.69 and 1:08:20.38.

Meanwhile, Andrew Johnson won the boys’ 8-9 category as he crossed the finish line in 24:14:16, while Angelo Jones and Michah Griffin followed in 27:56.53 and 30:35.58. Misaki Cramer (31:39.67), Jack Sharer (32:27.19), and Lucas Nutting (35:07.99) also punched in solid efforts.

Juna Hirai and Opal Northern were the top two finishers in the girls’ 8-9 category with times of 24:57.53 and 25:13.16.

Max Braig led the youngest of the bunch as he topped the boys’ 6-7 category in 28:19.25. Jordan Butcher did the run only and crossed the finish line when the clock was at the 31:57.78 mark, while Kenyon Schultz and Bryce Daly took second and third place in 32:03.28 and 34:13.48.

Sabrina Bilston-John won the girls’ 6-7 age group in 35:40.36, while Taylor Knecht and Nehgar Rastiguy won second and third place in 38:02.99 and 44:09.25. Mariana Taitano (45:48.19), Emily Jones (51:29.69), and Elizabeth Atalig (58:15.29) also performed well.

Many visiting and local athletes that took part in the XTERRA Saipan Championships and the Tagaman Triathlon, and well as a bunch of supporters, were on hand to witness the event.

Among them were 2004 XTERRA world champion Jamie Whitmore and husband Courtney Cardenas, who gave out various prizes to the participants.