Youngsters shine in TagaKids Triathlon

Over 40 young stars showed they too have the determination to complete a tough challenge, putting their morning cartoons aside to compete in the annual TagaKids Triathlon yesterday morning.

Masanori Hoshino was the star among the future stars, making the course look easy and posting the fastest time overall at 38:10. The only competitor above the 12-year-old age category, Hoshino was placed with the age group and after coming out of the water at 3:51, seized control of the race with a speedy bike.

He raced south from the Pacific Islands Club towards Koblerville, worked his way to the Coral Ocean Point area, and back down to the PIC twice in a sterling 22:21.

Hoshino remained strong and finished off his memorable morning with an 11:58 in the 1.24-kilometer run.

For her part, Fumiko Yamayaki put up the second best time overall and first place for the girls 10-12 age category, storming past the finish line in 47:11.

Yamayaki was two seconds behind the leader after the swim leg, which she completed in 4:05, but turned it on while on her bike to take the lead and hold on for the win. She pedaled her way to a 28:06 performance on the bike, then ran for 15:00.

For his part, Kai Stahl won the boys’ 10-12 category behind a time of 47:48. He kicked off his journey by owning the ocean swim portion, pulling away from everyone with a 3:34. He dropped to second in the bike (27:56), before regaining the lead on the run and securing his title with a time of 16:09.

Following Stahl were Lucas Knecht and Bradley Brostrom, who were neck and neck during the home stretch, with Knecht edging Brostrom by only two seconds at 48:49. Brostrom turned in a time of 48:51.

Meanwhile, Sarah Johnson and Emma McCullough-Sterns were second and third in the girls 10-12 age group. Johnson had the fastest swim (3:49) in the girls corner and finished the entire race in 56:06, while McCullough-Sterns rested after working for 58:04.

For their part, R.J. Knecht and Ashley Northen bagged top honors and bragging rights in the 6-9 age group.

Knecht dominated each of the three legs before finishing in a remarkable 24:05. He was the first to emerge from the water at 2:21, then rode on high gear in the 3.10-km bike for a 16:39 before going all out in the .62-km run, which he finished in 5:05.

Hot on his tail was Clay McCullough-Sterns, who was only four seconds off in the swim, five seconds in the bike, and six seconds back in the run for a time of 24:20.

Andrew Johnson capped the top three with a time of 25:33. He swam for 2:35, biked for 16:44, and ran for 6:06.

Northen, meanwhile, edged sister Opal for the title behind the fastest girls age group times in the swim (2:45) and bike (18:39). By then, she had built a comfortable lead and finished on top with ease after a run of 6:03 for an overall time of 27:27.

Opal was the second girl out of the water (2:52) and also had the second best time in the bike (19:42) before closing her day with a 6:25 run for a time of 28:59, while Gabrielle Race kicked off her birthday celebration by taking home third place with a time of 30:29. She had the best run, clocking in at 5:25.

Each participant received a certificate, TagaKids T-shirt, and an autographed photo of three-time XTERRA Saipan champion and two-time defending Tagaman champion Jamie Whitmore.

Several kids also received free XTERRA gear giveaways.

Several experienced triathletes, including Whitmore, were on hand to assist organizers and other volunteers.