The pool, trails and roadways at The Ponds bustled with excitement Aug. 15 as hundreds of competitors put their endurance to the test.
Summerville Family YMCA officials are calling their organization’s first Youth Triathlon a success after it drew an impressive group of participants and spectators alike to the quaint neighborhood off Highway 17-A.
“We had over 200 participants, which is a lot more than we originally anticipated,” Y CEO Gary Lukridge said.
“That just shows there is a need for something like this. With all the families and friends who came out to cheer people on there were probably close to 500 people here. It is very family oriented and that is what the YMCA is all about – strong kids, strong families and strong communities.”
The strongest kid of the day was Anson Girone, who won the Male Age 11-14 division with a 31-minute, 28-second time. The Rollings Middle School of the Arts student runs in the Reindeer Run each year, but Saturday marked the first time he has won a race.
He trained this summer by swimming, biking and running in his neighborhood.
“I did like a mini-triathlon at home, but the course today was tougher than I expected,” he said. “I was tired when I got off the bike, but I kept telling myself that the run was only a mile. There were a couple of girls near me and that helped motivate me. I was exhausted by the end.”
Athletes in the triathlon’s age 11-14 division swam four laps in the pool at The Ponds Farmhouse, biked five miles and then ran a mile to the finish line.
For athletes in the age 7-10 division, distances for all three legs where cut in half.
Girone, 12, had a 3:31 time for the swim leg. His time for the bike leg, including his time in the transition area, was 16:31. He finished the run leg in 11:27.
Summerville’s Sean Kamperman, 14, crossed the finish line only two seconds behind Girone to claim runner-up honors in the division.
The strongest family for the triathlon was the Golbus family from Irmo.
Twins Alexa and Ashley Golbus, who crossed the finish line holding hands, placed first and second in the Female Age 11-14 division.
Ashley held a 15 second advantage after the swim leg, but Alexa made up ground on the next two legs to finished with a 32:33 overall time. Ashley, who finished in 32:46, said she was happy for her sister.
“Our goal wasn’t to beat each other,” she said. “We set out to do this together.”
Megan Golbus won the Female Age 7-10 division with a 16:27 time. She is 9 and the twins are 11. Summerville’s AnnaGrace Crosby, 10, claimed runner-up honors in the Female Age 7-10 division with a 19:13 time.
Summerville’s Goodman Bare III, 10, won the Male Age 7-10 division with a 19:33 time. North Charleston’s Joshua Premak, 10, finished two seconds behind for runner-up honors in the division.
Participants’ times were kept through computer chips strapped around their legs. Race Management Systems provided the technology and compiled the results.
Full results will be published in the Aug. 21 issue of The Summerville Journal Scene.
For pictures from the Youth Triathlon, visit Paul Zoeller’s photoblog Beyond the Lens: Iron Kids at http://www.journalscene.com/photoblog/triathlon and the Journal Scene’s Seen It gallery at http://spotted.journalscene.com/pages/gallery.php?gallery=297189.

Contact Roger Lee @ 873-9424 ext. 213 or rlee@journalscene.com.