The winners and runners-up of the 11th annual Boys and Girls Club of Seymour triathlon Saturday at Seymour High School were front row, from left Bane Schepman, Tyler Williams, Dillon Robinson, CeCe Earley, Bailey Swallows, Garrett Steffey and second row Carissa Bottorff and Tanner Swallows.
Chey Smith | The Tribune
Tanner Swallows swimming during the first phase of the 11th annual Boys and Girls Club of Seymour triathlon Saturday at Seymour High School.
Chey Smith | The Tribune
Kyrra Smith swimming during the first phase of the 11th annual Boys and Girls Club of Seymour triathlon Saturday at Seymour High School.
Chey Smith | The Tribune
Kendra Zumhingst encouraging the participants during the swimming portion of the 11th annual Boys and Girls Club of Seymour triathlon Saturday at Seymour High School.
Chey Smith | The Tribune
Alec Quillen swimming during the first phase of the 11th annual Boys and Girls Club of Seymour triathlon Saturday at Seymour High School.
Chey Smith | The Tribune
Ages 6-10 participants watching the ages 11-14 swimmers as they wait for their turn for the 11th annual Boys and Girls Club of Seymour triathlon Saturday at Seymour High School.
Chey Smith | The Tribune
Julia Jablonski at her station, transitioning from the swimming portion to the biking portion for the 11th annual Boys and Girls Club of Seymour triathlon Saturday at Seymour High School.
Chey Smith | The Tribune
Marshall Sunbury biking toward the finish line for the second phase of the 11th annual Boys and Girls Club of Seymour triathlon Saturday at Seymour High School.
Chey Smith | The Tribune
CeCe Earley approaching the finish line of the biking portion of the 11th annual Boys and Girls Club of Seymour triathlon Saturday at Seymour High School.
Chey Smith | The Tribune
Bauer Ferret getting ready to dismount his bike after completing the biking portion of the 11th annual Boys and Girls Club of Seymour triathlon Saturday at Seymour High School.
Chey Smith | The Tribune
Dillon Robinson approaching the finish line of the biking portion of the 11th annual Boys and Girls Club of Seymour triathlon Saturday at Seymour High School.
Chey Smith | The Tribune
Julia Jablonski running with only one shoe on for the final portion of the 11th annual Boys and Girls Club of Seymour triathlon Saturday at Seymour High School.
Chey Smith | The Tribune
Julia Jablonski racing toward the finish line with just one shoe on for the final portion of the 11th annual Boys and Girls Club of Seymour triathlon Saturday at Seymour High School.
Chey Smith | The Tribune
Tanner Swallows running during the last portion of the 11th annual Boys and Girls Club of Seymour triathlon Saturday at Seymour High School.
Chey Smith | The Tribune
Carissa Bottorff, left, receiving her medal from Ryon Wheeler, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Seymour, as she finished the 11th annual Boys and Girls Club triathlon Saturday at Seymour High School.
Chey Smith | The Tribune
Samuel Steffey running during the final portion of the 11th annual Boys and Girls Club of Seymour triathlon Saturday at Seymour High School.
Chey Smith | The Tribune
Kennedy Sunbury racing toward the finish line for the 11th annual Boys and Girls Club of Seymour triathlon Saturday at Seymour High School.
Chey Smith | The Tribune
Isaac Jablonski, left, and Opal Earley racing toward the end of the 11th annual Boys and Girls Club of Seymour triathlon Saturday at Seymour High School.
Chey Smith | The Tribune
Ryon Wheeler, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club, and Kyrra Smith share a high five as she finishes the 11th annual Boys and Girls Club of Seymour triathlon Saturday at Seymour High School.
Chey Smith | The Tribune
Kendra Zumhingst, left, handing Tyler Williams his plaque for winning his both age and gender categories for the 11th annual Boys and Girls Club of Seymour triathlon Saturday at Seymour High School.
Chey Smith | The Tribune
The Boys and Girls Club of Seymour put on its 11th youth triathlon Saturday at Seymour High School.
The triathlon consists of swimming, biking and running, which are conducted at the high school pool and surrounding streets of the school.
The triathlon is open to all youth between the ages of six and 14, who are then split into two categories for judging. For ages six to 10, the kids traverse 100 yards for swimming, two miles for biking and half-mile for running while ages 11 to 14 swim 200 yards, bike four miles and run for a mile.
The crowd cheered on the kids as they pushed forward. When they finished the swimming portion, one by one they trickled out of the school, followed by members of the crowd, to run outside to their stations in the parking lot. There, kids dried off and strapped on their helmets to start the biking portion of the triathlon.
After the biking, kids came back to their stations to park their bikes and take their paths for running. During this transitional period, Julia Jablonski was having some difficulty with her shoes. She started the race with two shoes on but ended it with only one.
Toward the beginning of the race, Jablonski’s shoe was not fitting right. Instead of stopping to fix it, she took it off and essentially ran the entire race without it. When she turned the corner and approached the finish line, she threw her shoe to the side and continued to run.
After this triathlon, Jablonski said she wants to come back and despite of how she ran the race, she said this year’s triathlon “felt normal” compared to the other couple of years she has been participating.
Tyler Williams also said he wants to return next year, this year marking his third Boys and Girls Club triathlon. With his experience on the swim team, his favorite part of the race was the swimming portion.
Zumhingst said that a great part about the triathlon is that, without being an athlete, kids can participate and have fun with such a supportive group of people backing them.
“Some of these kids aren’t baseball kids,” she said.
The Jablonskis, who had their daughter Julia and son Isaac in this year’s triathlon, have had many of their children participate in the races throughout the years, making the family a “generational” part of the triathlon, as Zumhingst described them.
She also spoke about the Swallows family, which travels from Arizona every year to participate in the triathlon. For one of their kids in the race, Tanner Swallows, it is his final year with the triathlon, currently at the end of the age bracket. And, in his final race, he ranked in his age and gender category.
For ages six to 10, Tyler Williams was the boy’s winner with a time of 16:53 with Bane Schepman finishing right behind him with 16:57 on the clock. In the same age category, CeCe Earley won as the girl’s champion at 19:19, followed by Dillion Robinson with 19:25.
For ages 11 to 14, Bailey Swallows made it to first place for the girls at 34:50 and Carissa Bottorff in second place at 36:03. Garrett Steffey came on top for the boys at 29:46 and Tanner Swallows finished next at 30:19.
As each kid passed the finish line signified by orange traffic cones, Ryon Wheeler, who is executive director of the Boys and Girls Club, handed out medals and exchanged high-fives with them.
Water, granola bars and bananas were provided past the finish line for the tired participants. The champions and runner ups received plaques celebrating their success.
To put on this year’s triathlon, Zumhingst thanked The Point’s Team World Vision and 30 to 40 volunteers that contributed. In particular, she appreciated Annie Ferret, who took over the volunteer work.
Next year, the 12th annual Boys and Girls Club of Seymour triathlon is scheduled for June 28 — the last Saturday of the month.