Breaking

ST. CROIX — The Susana Ocacio Santana Park at the Altona Lagoon in Gallow’s Bay was packed on Sunday with many happy sounds, dozens of bikes and excited kids with wacky socks, as the Virgin Islands Triathlon Federation kicked off its Junior Tri VI season.

The games, which extend from October to May, 2017, includes a fun dualthon event for junior athletes dubbed the Silly Sockathlon, and other activities.

Students from thirteen schools, ages 5 to 15, were in attendance, according to a press release the federation issued to this publication on Tuesday. The run/bike/run event began with the 5-6 year old athletes on the line for their .25 mile run, .5 mile bike and another .25 mile run.

Stephen Gomez, Jr., from the Word of Life Preschool, was the first to finish all three legs of the race. At age 5, it was his first duathlon, according to the release. Beckett Archambault of Good Hope Country Day School (GHCDS) was second and Andrew Latchman was third. Diella Maynard, who competed in all 6 races last year, was the first female to finish. Rattan Montessori student Emma D’Amour, in her first race ever, was second and Amyra Henry of Lew Muckle Elementary School was third.

The 7-8 age group was next to toe the line. Their course included a .25 mile run, a 1-mile bike and another .25 mile run, according to the release. Connor Bass, no stranger to the podium, was the first to cross the line in 10:03. Mr. Connor was the first to hop off the bike, and he kept his lead in front of GHCDS classmate Joseph Freeman. Mr. Freeman finished in second place and fellow classmate Ajhi Briscoe, was third. Nnenaya Bedminster was the top female finisher; Cadence Romero, a third grader at Lew Muckle, was second.

The largest group of the morning was made up of the 9-11 year old duathletes. First place finisher, Mason Lambert, covered the .5 mile run/1-mile bike/.5 mile run in 12:42. GHCDS classmate Kaeden Gleason caught up and finished the bike leg just 4 seconds ahead of Mason. On the course for the second run, Mr. Lambert overtook Kaeden, who finished in second place in 13:07. Jackson Archambault was a solid third place finisher. Kirra Lambert challenged GHCS Cross Country teammate Candace Felix right from the start in the girls’ race. Ms. Felix posted solid times in all three legs and crossed the line in second place. Reese Freeman was the bronze medal winner.

The smallest and oldest group, 12-15-year-olds, was the final race of the event. Dominic Pugliese covered the first .5 mile run in 3:26, followed by Mikey Dizon-Bumann in 3:33. Dizon-Bumann took the lead on the bike for several laps of the 3-mile bike leg. As Dizon-Bumann grew tired, Pugliese snatched back the first place position and finished the second run about 1.5 minutes ahead of Dizon-Bumann. Colton Fauquher, who is a strong Dolphins’ swimmer, finished third.

The second event in the race series is a Splash ‘N Dash (swim/run) set for Sunday, Nov 20 at 8:00 a.m. at Chenay Bay. Get full results here.