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Triathlon draws athletes from 13 states

| 31 Jul 2012 | 05:31
    First finisher, Jason Wood of Sparta at the Lake Mohawk Country Club Triathalon, in Sparta, July 28, 2012. Photo by Warren Westura
    First finisher, Jason Wood of Sparta at the Lake Mohawk Country Club Triathalon, in Sparta, July 28, 2012. Photo by Warren Westura
    First female finisher Lauren Huffman of Culver Lake, Branchville, enjoys a cup of water after the triathalon.
    First female finisher Lauren Huffman of Culver Lake, Branchville, enjoys a cup of water after the triathalon.
    From left, Taryn Rogalsky of Sparta and Meg Dmuchowski of Sparta at the Lake Mohawk Country Club Triathalon. Photos by Warren Westura
    From left, Taryn Rogalsky of Sparta and Meg Dmuchowski of Sparta at the Lake Mohawk Country Club Triathalon. Photos by Warren Westura
    From left, Dan Hutchinson of Sparta gets his number applied by Ginny Pinko of Sparta
    From left, Dan Hutchinson of Sparta gets his number applied by Ginny Pinko of Sparta
    From left, Ken Choldnicki of Sparta and Mark Patalive of Sparta watch an early wave of swimmers. Photos by Warren Westura
    From left, Ken Choldnicki of Sparta and Mark Patalive of Sparta watch an early wave of swimmers. Photos by Warren Westura
    Jim Holovacs of Sparta cools off with a water cup.
    Jim Holovacs of Sparta cools off with a water cup.
    Tom Tybur of Sparta
    Tom Tybur of Sparta
    the first wave enters the lake.
    the first wave enters the lake.

LAKE MOHAWK — Mother Nature held off the thunder clouds and rain on Saturday for the third annual Pass It Along Lake Mohawk Country Club Triathlon. The popular, if still new, annual event had drawn a full complement of 350 registrants — the maximum the event could take. But the threat of severe thunderstorms may have kept some away. Only 287 total entrants competed in this test of swimming, running and cycling.

Sparta residents Jason Wood, 34, and Tracey Swenson, 49, took first place for overall male and female finishes with times of 1:03:27 and 1:08:10 respectively at the Pass It Along Lake Mohawk Country Club Triathlon on Saturday, July 28.

First place relay team Newton Bravez, comprised of Alex Castellanos, 18, of Newton, Michael Galonski, 20, and Kristopher Trautz, 17, both of Sparta, finished with a time of 1:01:51.

Now in its third year, the sprint distance triathlon, half-mile swim, 10.8-mile bike and 3.1-mile run, attracted triathletes from 13 states. Newton Medical Center was the event sponsor. Registration, limited to 350 participants, opened in early February and closed out in just three months, with 316 individual and 34 relay team entries, but on Saturday not all showed up. The discrepancy in registrants versus actual turnout has been tied to the prediction of a high chance of severe thunderstorms on the event day.

But that didn't happen and the event proceeded as planned.

An early start At 5 a.m. the Sparta Police Department began setting up barricades and road cones and the quintessential lake community was transformed into an athletic arena. The national anthem kicked off the event at 7 a.m., with 10 waves of swimmers going off every three minutes to safely space out the athletes. Athletes wear timing chips on their ankles and must cross over mats as they race to record times for swim, bike and run segments as well as the time it takes them to transition into the different segments of the race.

Awards were presented shortly after 10 a.m. to overall first and second place individual male and female finishers, relay teams and age group categories for a total of 50 medals. After the awards ceremony, The Dr. Smith Band and Friends performed outside at the Krogh's Restaurant and Brew Pub, where many of the triathletes and guests celebrated their accomplishments and the end to another great event.

Additional top level sponsors for this event were: The Orthopedic Institute of New Jersey (Gold); Dykstra Associates, Stop&Shop, Lakeland Bank (Silver); and Eastern Propane, Sussex Bike and Sport Shop, and Pine Cone Chiropractic (Course Sponsor). All proceeds from the event go to support Pass It Along's programs.

For a complete listing of participants, race results and more go to www.passitalong.org.

For more photos of this event, go to www.spartaindependent.com