With the threat of a rainy weekend, Sunday morning, May 1, turned out to be a great morning for a multi-sport race. On that day, the Junior Tri VI Committee, a subgroup of the Virgin Islands Triathlon Federation, held the Spring Fling Splash ‘n Dash at the Chenay Bay Beach Resort. Children of all abilities, ages 5 to 15, were invited to participate.
A splash ‘n dash, also known as an aquathlon, is an event which consists of a swim followed by a run. Several kids on St. Croix took part in this race format for the very first time.
Tuf Donohoo, who lives part time St. Thomas and part time on St. Croix, led the 5-6 age group through the point-to-point 25-meter swim, followed by Kinsley Hawkins just a few seconds behind. Donohoo kept his lead on the 1/4-mile run and finished in first place overall in a time of 4:05. Over a minute behind Donohoo was the sole female of the race, Hawkins, as the second overall finisher. Michael Klein made up a lot of time of the run and was the second male finisher. Marin Ellis was the third.
Next up was the largest group, the 7–8-year-olds, who took on a 50-meter swim and a 1/2-mile run. Toby Hinkel was the fastest to exit the water, less than 10 seconds ahead of Good Hope Country Day School classmate Lucia Cherubin. Carter Dahlberg overtook both boys on the run and finished first in 6:51. Hinkel was second and Riley IIubelt was third. Caitlin Kuczynski had a solid race and finished first in the girls’ division. Kaili Hawkins was second.
The 9-11 category was a tight race. With only four in the group, the racers were fairly close together for the 100-meter swim. Drew Sommer finished the swim first in 3:20, but he was overtaken by Jack Dahlberg on the 1/2-mile run. Hudson Mirocha made up a lot of time on the run, but he couldn’t catch second-place Sommer. Mirocha was third. While Nora Kammerzelt was about 30 seconds behind Mirocha, she crossed the line as the first female.
The final race combined the 12-15-year-old athletes with the special parents’ category, who were determined to show their kids that swimming and running are lifetime sports. The five driven parents lined up alongside the oldest kids to swim 200 meters and to run 1 mile.
Parent Chris Dahlberg led the group through the smooth water in a time of 3:30. Cole Sommer was the first junior athlete, with running teammate Mason Lambert on his heels. Sommer and Lambert ran stride for stride on the first loop of the 1/2-mile course, passing Dahlberg along the way. Lambert picked up the pace heading towards the finish and crossed first in 11:01. Sommer was second in 11:09.
The first parent and third finisher overall was Good Hope Country Day School running coach Bridget Klein. Eric Sommer rounded out the podium in third place for the junior boys. Kirra Lambert, who openly states that she doesn’t like to swim, had a solid swim and a fast run. It was all smiles for her on Sunday as she (and her twin brother Mason) participated in their final Junior Tri VI event. They will be 16 years-old in the fall and too old to participate in future events. Dahlberg was the second parent to finish, with Esther Ellis just 5 seconds behind him.
For the feature of yesterday’s race, the times of the parents and those of their kids were combined to determine the fastest parent/child team in each category. Prizes were awarded to Michael and Bridget Klein in the 5-6 category; Carter and Chris Dahlberg in the 7-8 category; Drew and Dave Sommer in the 9-11 category; and Mason and Megan Lambert in the 12-15 category. Prizes included movie tickets, breakfast at Island View restaurant, lunch at Island View and lunch at Maria’s Mexican Restaurant.
The Junior Tri VI Committee thanks the Chenay Bay Beach Resort for the use of their grounds and all of the student and adult volunteers and photographers who helped make this race safe and successful. The next Junior Tri VI event, a run/bike/run, will be held in the fall.
For more information on multi-sport events, call 513-2707 or follow Virgin Islands Triathlon on Facebook.
