Two cadets from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point will be at the 2010 Junior Triathlon Festival on August 14th at the Marine Corps Recruiting Depot in San Diego, California. A record total of more than 500 youth and junior triathletes will be in action in San Diego on Aug. 14-15 at USA Triathlon’s Junior Triathlon Festival at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD). Thirteen races, including youth elite and junior elite national championships, will be held over the course of the weekend.
The Youth National Championship will feature four racing age and competition divisions for athletes from 7 to 15 years of age. There are no qualification standards for the Youth National Championship. Athletes between the ages of 13 and 15 must choose between the “Youth 13-15” championship race and the “Youth Elite 13-15” championship race.
The Junior Elite race is a draft-legal race for athletes ages 16-19. Athletes must qualify for this race. New York triathletes can be proud that one of our own will be racing. Brian Trainor from Clifton Park, NY currently in school at West Point will race at 9:10 am. His teammate Sarah Haight from Fairfax, Virginia will hit the water at 7:30 am.
Brian and Sarah will have tough competition. Unlike many of the other athletes who have had the summer to train West Point cadets have rigorous summer training camps to attend. The female junior elite event woman to watch is Berard, who holds the top spot in the 2010 USAT Junior Elite National Rankings after finishing sixth overall on July 31 at USAT’s Elite Development Race in Colorado Springs. In addition to Berard, Bryn Morales, who is third in the junior elite rankings and took 11th last weekend in Colorado Springs, is scheduled to race in San Diego. On the male junior elite side, 18-year-old Ben Kanute took third a year ago and is the top returning finisher. William Huffman owns the top spot in the 2010 USAT Junior Elite Male National Rankings, and Tony Smoragiewicz finished fourth in the USAT Elite Development Race in Colorado Springs.
The race schedule is as follows on Saturday, Aug. 14
7:30 a.m. Junior elite female swim start
9:10 a.m. Junior elite male swim start
10:35 a.m. Youth elite girls’ swim start
11:35 a.m. Youth elite boys’ swim start
11:30 a.m. Race day packet pick-up
1:20 p.m. Boys’ 11-12, girls’ 11-12 swim start*
1:25 p.m. Boys’ 13-15, girls’ 13-15 swim start*
2:15 p.m. Boys’ 9-10, girls’ 9-10 swim start*
2:20 p.m. Boys’ 7-8, girls’ 7-8 swim start*
3:30 p.m. Awards ceremony
*Time trial start with approximately three seconds between each swimmer.
The 2010 Collegiate National Championships were held on April 17, 2010 in Lubbock TX. Both Brian and Sarah also raced there and did well. Brian was 24th overall and 20th among men. Sarah was 234 overall – 16th out of 273 women. The West Point women won the 2010 National Collegiate Championship and the men were National Runner-Ups. According to the West Point website, “In the greatest day in the 20-year history of the West Point Triathlon Program, Army Tri upset the field of 110 collegiate triathlon teams to win its third National Championship and sweep a heavily favored Navy squad. The race was highlighted by unusually adverse weather conditions. Temperatures hovered in the high 40s, the water temperature was a frigid 54 degrees, and steady weekend rain led to extremely slick road conditions. While most teams voiced concern and frustration, West Point Tri saw it as an opportunity. Focused, where other mentally floundered, the cadets drew off their West Point experience to have their best day on the biggest stage. It was not predicted to go that way. The day before the race, triathlon legendary reporter Tim Carlson published his collegiate triathlon predictions in an article on www.Slowtwitch.com. He projected that West Point would not crack the top three in either the men or women’s team competition. He projected that the strong Navy team would sweep the Army men and women’s sides and UC-Boulder would win the overall. He insinuated that West Point was in a rebuilding year.” Guess not! We wish Brian and Sarah the best of luck.
Brian’s parents Eileen and Jim, also West Point grads, will be racing at the West Point Triathlon on Sunday August 15, 2010. It is a family affair!
