.png)
College kids crush Aukeman to win men’s and women’s titles
- Klas Stolpe
- 11 minutes ago
- 15 min read
UW grad Jeron Griffin top male, Bates’ Pacific Ricke top female
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
One of the strongest fields to date competed in the Aukeman Triathlon on Sunday, with a recent Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears graduate winning the women’s title and a former capital city youngster claiming the men’s championship.
University of Washington graduate Jeron Griffin had the overall fastest time in the Olympic distance race (1,500-meter swim, 25-mile bike and 10-kilometer run), with a top male time of two hours 18 minutes, setting an Aukeman record for the Olympic distance by eight minutes. Pacific Ricke, a 2025 Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears graduate who swims for Bates College, was the top female finisher, and 13th overall, in 2:43:18.
“It feels great,” Griffin said. “I was in the Harborview triathlon club 11 years ago, and I haven’t been back to Juneau since 2017. It has been a while, but it is great to come back and see a lot of people. It felt really good to race.”
Griffin, 22, from Kent, WA, swam a 26:17, biked 1:07:44, and ran 39:20.
“I graduated from UW a year ago,” he said. “This is where I got my triathlon start and I know a lot of people. Actually, my girlfriend and I are staying with the race directors this week. It has been great, and we are helping out with the setup and takedown. Really great race, really happy to be here.”
Ricke, 19, swam 22:18, biked 1:28:58 and ran 46:55.
“I am really happy with it,” Ricke said. “I have done two sprint Aukemans before but never the Olympic. It was really fun to try out a new distance and push myself. I had a little bit of bike problems, but other than that, I am really happy with how the swim and the run went. I have just been doing it for fun in the summer. I swim in college so that takes up most of my time. I would tell people to just go and sign up. I wasn’t even sure I was going to get the time off to do it until a couple days before. So go out there, have fun, give it your best, push as hard as you can at the end.”
Griffin also won the Director’s Board Challenge. Any participant or relay team that beat Team The Board, comprised of 40-year-old race directors Charlie Waters who swam 23:51, Daniel Wiersma who biked a 1:08:52, and Jenna Wiersma who ran 46:44 to total a 2:22:50 (first in relay, second overall) earned a free entry in next year’s race or an equal amount in a gift certificate.
“I passed Jenna on the run,” Griffin said. “She was not surprised. They were thinking I could beat them, but they were sure trying to not get beaten. I am happy. I know a lot of the people racing, and it is really good to be back.”
The Aukeman Board’s relay time also set the Olympic relay record.
“It was really amazing to get to see the race that you work so hard to put on as a participant and ensure that all of us got to experience part of the race today,” J. Wiersma said. “The Beat the Board challenge was also a super fun way for us to get to be competitive with everyone.”
Stanford’s Jaime Yu, from Lexington, MA, was in sight of Griffin throughout, finishing second, third overall, in 2:27:02 (27:45 swim, 1:13:14 bike, 41:47 run).
“Funny enough I didn’t realize I signed up for the race until a few weeks ago,” Yu said. “Friends were telling me about it and I thought I should see what was going on. It turns out six months ago, I knew I was coming up to Juneau to work for the summer. I race for my school and I must have saw there was early bird pricing for this and signed myself up, totally forgot about it. I must say, I don’t think any of my teammates have raced in Alaska. It’s a beautiful course. I am going to tell them all to come up here for next summer.”
Juneau’s Brandon Ivanowicz, 44, placed third, fourth overall, in the Olympic in 2:29:36 (32:08 swim, 1:07:21 bike, 43:56 run) and Juneau’s John Bursell, 62, fourth, fifth overall, in 2:30:24 (27:49 swim, 1:09:41 bike, 47:00 run).
“I knew I was going to be way behind coming out of the swim,” Ivanowicz said. “So I tried to make it all up on the bike and run. I never got into the lead. A young guy named Jeron, on the Washington University team, got first, and another young guy named Jaime, on the Stanford team, got second. This race is just a great time with all your buddies you have been training with, and so many people you know. Just a positive environment.”
Ivanowicz laughed, “How are us old guys supposed to compete with these college guys? Yeah, man, these young guys are fast.”
Anchorage cardiologist Jacob Kelly, 46, a triathlete since 1999, wanted to experience Juneau.
“We have a family friend who is a public defender attorney here,” Kelly said. “She brought her whole family up from North Carolina, a clinical trialist named Dr. Chris Ranger, one of my mentors, and so we all just came here. Her partner lives here and works for the Bureau of Land Management, and his mother is doing her first triathlon, so it is a family affair for us. I love this race. I came here for Ironman Alaska in 2022 and I was excited to finally get back.”
Douglas’ Adam Moser, 47, won the sprint distance triathlon, taming the 750-meter (0.47-mile) swim in 11:57, 14.8-mile bike in 43:36, and a 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) run in 23:19 for a total time of 1:25:05.
“Just a solid swim was key,” Moser said. “Good bike ride also, and all the real competition was doing the Olympic distance.”
Moser noted the sprint was special because of the shorter distance.
“I haven’t been running much,” he said. “And the 10K had me a little nervous since I had some injuries recently so that is why I decided to do the sprint. But the sprint is all out, there is really not much strategy, it is just try and get as fast as you can for every section, swim, bike and run. Try to keep the pedal to the metal... If you want to do a triathlon, give it a try. You have nothing to lose. Just don’t be too proud, go out and participate. You have nothing to gain but experience.”
Juneau’s April Rezendes, 41, won the women’s sprint title in a total time of 1:42:26 (15:16 swim, 53:58 bike, 25:56 run).
“I wanted to do the full race (did the relay last year), but I was not trained enough for the Olympic,” Rezendes said. “I was surprised I won, but happy I can still be a bit competitive even if my training is nowhere what it used to be… I did have some very enthusiastic support.”
The top sprint relay team was Team Swim Moms #3 in 1:42:52.
New aquabike and duathlon courses earned first-time champions.
“This is the first year we put on an aquabike and duathlon for both distances,” J. Wiersma said. “And we hope to have even more participants next year, but we're so glad people signed up and wanted to try a new multi-sport event.”
Juneau’s Cody Pinger, 35, won the sprint aquabike (750-meter swim, 14.8-mile bike) in 1:34:02 (24:06 swim, 1:01:54 bike) with Krystal Feri, 31, from San Mateo, CA, the top female in 1:50:48 (12:57 swim, 1:29:45 bike).
“It is pretty exhausting and humbling,” Pinger said. “I injured my calf a couple months ago playing coed rec league volleyball so the run was a deal breaker for me. I couldn’t run this year. But the biking and swimming was so much fun. The secret is lots of sugar. It is such a wonderful, supportive community event though. I love it.”
Juneau’s Thomas Faust, 32, won the sprint duathlon (2.5-kilometer run, 14.8-mile bike, 5K run) in 1:29:38 (14:28 run, 46:36 bike, 25:30 run) and Haines’ Liz Segars, 30, was top female, and fourth overall, in 1:41:29 (13:20 run, 55:32 bike, 29:13 run).
“My first ever duathlon,” Faust said. “I am surprised. Really surprised. I was a terrible runner, spent a lot of time on the bike and, thankfully, I was just able to pass a lot of people on the bike and maintain to the end. I also got a bit of a late start. I went to the swim start and thought I would have time to walk up. By the time I walked up the race had already taken off so I was way behind everybody on the run out.”
Faust said he did the duathlon “because I don’t like the swimming. I did the swimming last year and, yeah, I was really excited there was a duathlon this year... If you want to try it out, just start; it comes pretty easy in a year or two or whatever, and it is amazing how quickly it adds up.”
Segars had done the long-course relay the last two years as a runner.
“But I am not a strong swimmer,” Segars said. “So this was a great chance to be able to get on the bike, too. I think everyone is really welcoming in this sport and supportive. I think it is for everybody.”
Juneau’s Cathy Tide, 52, won the Olympic aquabike (1,500-meter swim, 25-mile bike) in 2:16:47 (28:46 swim, 1:42:12 bike). Top male was Juneau’s Ryan Sauve, 41, in 2:54:24 (44:01 swim, 1:59:43 bike).
Juneau’s Nico Ambrose, 37, won the Olympic duathlon (5K run, 25-mile bike, 10L run) in 2:35:22 (22:09 run, 1:18:36 bike, 52:05 run). Team Bearly Trained placed second in 2:40:48 (22:06 run, 1:25:32 bike, 51:57 run).
“It felt terrible,” Ambrose laughed. “My wife signed me up for it and I didn’t really train much. But it feels good to be done. My wife (Anna Ambrose) is out there, but she swam also, so she has bragging rights.”
Support came in many varieties during the day.
Gillian Mcdonald, 32, from Plymouth, Minnesota, had a crowd carrying banners proclaiming her as Pookie as she finished the sprint triathlon in 1:50:05 (16:40 swim, 54:04 bike, 31:35 run) for 11th overall. She is also Ambrose’s sister-in-law.
“This is my sister (Gina) and my niece (Lolo) and my nephew (Bode), I don’t know why they call me Pookie,” Mcdonald said. “It is kind of a nickname that started just between us and now it has gone a little bit broader. My sister was visiting me last year in Minnesota and saw me do a sprint tri and decided she wanted to do it as well. So we got the whole family out basically. The weather here is way better, but getting used to the cold water and it is a little hillier than Minnesota.”
Galesburg, Illinois’ Kylie Larson, 32, carried her 18-month-old son Stone across the sprint tri finish.
“This is a much different course than I am used to,” she said. “Illinois is very flat, we don’t have very many hills. I didn’t realize when I grabbed him how much was left in the run portion so I was looking, ‘Oh man, where can I set him down?’ But it is so exciting to hear all the different people cheer you on and the family and friends that traveled here to watch me, it means a lot.”
In high school, Larson, at age 16, had a basketball injury and was told she would never walk again.
“And here I am,” she said. “I want to do a race in all 50 states. That is my goal, to show anything is possible. But I also have a cousin who grew up with me in Guilford, Illinois and she owns a fishing charter company here so I came up to race and then go fishing with her.”
Juneau’s Megan Hendrickson, 36, was not concerned about her place in the final standings. The finish was the most important thing.
“I feel so proud about it,” Hendrickson said. “I am training for a 70.3 Ironman in Wisconsin in September and this came at the end of my hardest training week with my first ever triathlon at the end of it so it gives me a lot of hope that I can do it.”
When Hendrickson placed 46th in 3:40:10 (37:41 swim, 1:45:43 bike, 1:07:15 run), it was her young son Conrad, age 9, who placed the finisher’s medal around her neck.
“It was really, really, really special,” an emotional Hendrickson said. “A lot of the reason I started in the first place was to try and inspire him… And there is a group of us from Juneau all training together and are traveling to Wisconsin together and he gets so happy I am doing this.”
Hendrickson was “doomed” to be a triathlete.
“One of my very best friends is Jenna Wiersma,” she said. “And she is just a very inspiring and motivating person in general. And she got me into running a couple years ago, after years of trying to convince me, and then it was just a slippery slope from there. I got into running, and now, here I am training for a Ironman triathlon. Her positivity wears off on you.”
Former Glacier Swim Club coach Scott Griffith, 53, who retired from coaching last August, last swam a triathlon in 2008.
“That was in Newfoundland,” Griffith said. “Eighteen years later and I am back for more. I am not worried about the swim, it is the bike and the run that will be more challenging. The swim, no problem.”
Griffith placed 20th on Sunday in the Olympic triathlon with 2:58:59 (22:23 swim, 1:29:17 bike, 57:23 run).
JDHS incoming senior Aurora Madsen, 17, placed third for females and sixth overall in the sprint duathlon in 1:56:13 (12:33 run, 1:09:56 bike, 30:26 run).
“I just decided it was a nice day on Friday and so why not sign up, right?” Madsen said. “I think that you should do as much as you can, if you have the time and the ability you might as well. I am definitely not perfectly fine, definitely tired. The whole thing is kind of hard. You just keep going and, yeah, it was fun. It was really fun.”
The epitome of fun and partnerships in triathlon was best described when race director Jenna Wiersma handed out age group honors. Many were honored, but Wiersma noted she could not call out one particular partner without the other.
Juneau’s Jamie Bursell, 63, was top Olympic female and husband John Bursell, 62, top Olympic male in the 60-64 age group.
“We each have our own race on race day, but we are always cheering for the other person,” Jamie Bursell said. “Crossing the finish line is special, but celebrating each other’s accomplishments is even better. Triathlon has given us a healthy lifestyle, shared adventures and friendships that we never would have experienced otherwise.”
OLYMPIC TRIATHLON
1. Jeron Griffin (M20-24) 2:18:00; 2. Team The Board relay 2:22:50; 3. Jaime Yu (M20-24) 2:27:02; 4. Brandon Ivanowicz (M45-49) 2:29:36; 5. John Bursell (M60-64) 2:30:24; 6. Jacob Kelly (M45-49) 2:30:51; 7. Team Tri Forst relay 2:32:35; 8. Juan Orozco (M45-49) 2:33:16; 9. Team WeRFamily relay 2:37:06; 10. Andrew Ferris (M25-29) 2:41:36; 11. David Blommer (M40-44) 2:42:23; 12. Tommy Vrabec (M30-34) 2:43:05; 13. Pacific Ricke (F15-19) 2:43:18; 14. Team Bliksem Bois relay 2:43:41; 15. Steve Ricci (M45-490 2:46:17; 16. Elizabeth Mackle (F20-24) 2:52:48; 17. Katherine Kelly (F40-44) 2:53:39; 18. Alisha Falberg (F40-44) 2:54:36; 19. Talia Schlosser (F15-19) 2:56:15; 20. Scott Griffith (M50-54) 2:58:59; 21. Kenneth Platt (M60-64) 2:59:34; 22. Mason Emery (M30-34) 3:04:27; 23. Daniel Kohuth (M45-49) 3:04:39; 24. John Kirk (M45-49) 3:05:03; 25. Marc Wheeler (M50-54) 3:06:45; 26. Anna Ambrose (F35-39) 3:08:09; 27. Jamie Bursell (F60-64) 3:09:23; 28. Team Swim Moms #2 relay 3:10:03; 29. Team Swim Moms #1 relay 3:10:24; 30. Hiram Henry (M50-54) 3:15:45; 31. Ingrid White (F30-34) 3:16:40; 32. Duncan Warden (M70-74) 3:16:47; 33. Quinn Sawyer (M30-34) 3:16:57; 34. Eliza Granger (F25-29) 3:17:53; 35. Sara Cleaver (F35-39) 3:17:53; 36. Ryan Kassak (M40-44) 3:18:08; 37. Sabrina Slack (F25-29) 3:19:24; 38. Caroline Lawrence (F30-34) 3:19:50; 39. Michele Shirakura (F60-64) 3:22:19; 40. The Bartlett Blobs relay 3:24:57; 41. Breanna Kelley (F40-44) 3:26:46; 42. Cole Trottier (M20-24) 3:30:54; 43. Mark Neidhold (M60-64) 3:32:36; 44. Jeannette Lacey (F50-54) 3:34:50; 45. Samantha Blommer (F35-39) 3:35:35; 46. Megan Hendrickson (F35-39) 3:40:10; 47. Melanie L White (F70-74) 3:42:50; 48. Stephanie Sauve (F35-39) 3:42:57; 49. James Bryars (M30-34) 3:43:37; 50. Jeff Sauer (M70-74) 3:44:41; 51. Jamie Diep (F25-29) 3:52:19; 52. Maude Oetking (F65-69) 3:56:14; 53. Kendall Pawlowski (M30-34) 3:59:17; 54. Bradi Granger (F60-64) 4:12:17; DNF Kristina Gockel (F30-34), DNF Corinne Bullick (F45-49).
OLYMPIC AGE GROUP WINNERS
15-19: Female - Pacific Ricke 2:43:18; Male - NA
20-24: F - Elizabeth Mackle 2:52:48; M - Jeron Griffin 2:18:00
25-29: F - Eliza Granger 3:17:47; M - Andrew Ferris 2:41:36
30-34: F - Ingrid White 3:16:40; M - Tommy Vrabec 2:43:05
35-39: F - Anna Ambrose 3:08:09; M - N/A
40-44: F - Katherine Kelly 2:53:39; M - David Blommer 2:42:23
45-49: F - N/A; M - Brandon Ivanowicz 2:29:36
50-54: F - Jeannette Lacey 3:34:50; M - Scott Griffith 2:58:59
60-64: F - Jamie Bursell; M - John Bursell
65-69: F - Maude Oetking 3:56:14; M - N/A
70-74: F - Melanie L White 3:42:50; M - Duncan Warden 3:16:47
Relay: Team The Board 2:22:50
SPRINT TRIATHLON
1. Adam Moser (M45-49) 1:25:05; 2. Avery Grossardt (M35-39) 1:32:40; 3. Daniel Leder (M35-39) 1:38:33; 4. April Rezendes (F40-40) 1:42:26; 5. Team Swim Moms No. 3 relay 1:42:52; 6. Travis Clark Morris (M35-39) 1:43:20; 7. Jasmin Holst (F20-24) 1:44:49; 8. Hannah Bailey (F30-34) 1:45:56; 9. Richard Olson (M50-54) 1:47:26; 10. TInSpiteOfOurselves relay 1:48:54; 11. Gillian Mcdonald (F30-34) 1:50:05; 12. Garret Schooley (M35-39) 1:51:05; 13. Kyle Schwessing (M40-44) 1:52:30; 14. Julian Spina (M30-34) 1:52:41; 15. Kylie Larson (F30-34) 1:52:53; 16. Jenevieve Clauss (F30-34) 1:53:08; 17. Aspen Olson (F20-24) 1:55:37; 18. Team Meegan relay 1:56:11; 19. Allen Dwyer (M40-44) 1:56:59; 20. Kristofer Anderson (M50-54) 1:57:30; 21. Jayden Mitchell (M20-24) 1:57:30; 22. Greg Lockwood (M50-54) 1:57:38; 23. Nick Murray (M35-39) 1:58:08; 24. Christopher Granger (M65-69) 1:59:59; 25. Emma Johnson (F30-34) 2:05:57; 26. Erik Stimpfle (M55-59) 2:06:02; 27. Matthew Tweedy (M25-29) 2:06:59; 28. Kelsey Eggert (F35-39) 2:07:46; 29. Lynette Hart (F55-59) 2:11:51; 30. Lisa Eaganlagerquist (F50-54) 2:16:22; 31. Kathryn Portelli (F30-34) 2:16:56; 32. Zoe Caple (F20-24) 2:17:11; 33. Ray Romberg (F45-49) 2:18:34; 34. Gwenna Corvez (F45-49) 2:18:40; 35. Jennifer Christner (F40-44) 2:18:49; 36. Hunter Olson (M20-24) 2:19:55; 37. Ami Lockwood (F15-19) 2:21:59; 38. Gwen Lockwood (F20-24) 2:25:40; 39. Emily Alvarado (F30-34) 2:29:10; 40. Abigail Bronczyk (F30-34) 2:46:39; 41. Crystal Miller (F45-49) 2:58:55; 42. Robert Anderson (M45-49) 3:22:46
SPRINT AGE GROUP WINNERS
15-19: Female - Ami Lockwood 2:21:59; Male - N/A.
20-24: F - Jasmin Holst 1:44:49; M - Jayden Mitchell 1:57:30
25-29: F - N/A: M - Matthew Tweedy 2:06:59
30-34: F - Hannah Bailey 1:45:56; M - Julian Spina 1:52:41
35-39: F - Kelsey Eggert 2:07:46; M - Avery Grossardt 1:32:40
40-44: F - April Rezendes 1:42:26; M - Kyle Schweissing 1:52:30
45-49: F - Ray Romberg 2:18:34; M - Adam Moser 1:25:05
50-54: F - Lisa Eagan Lagerquist 2:16:22; M - Richard Olson 1:47:26
55-59: F - Lynette Hart 2:11:51; M - Erik Stimple 2:06:22
60-64: F - N/A; M - N/A
65-69: F - N/A; M - Christopher Granger 1:59:59
Relay: Team Swim Moms #3 1:42:52
SPRINT AQUABIKE
1. Cody Pinger (M35-39) 1:34:02; 2. Krystal Feri (F30-34) 1:50:48; 3. Theresa Svancara (F70-74) 2:01:57
SPRINT DUATHLON
1. Thomas Faust (M30-34) 1:29:38; 2. Anderson Murry (M15-19) 1:32:24; 3. Jonathan Rasch (M25-29) 1:39:56; 4. Liz Segars (F30-34) 1:41:29; 5. Brian Maller (M35-39) 1:46:28; 6. Aurora Madsen (F15-19) 1:56:13; 7. Thomas Granger (M30-34) 2:14:18.
OLYMPIC AQUABIKE
1. Cathy Tide (F50-54) 2:16:47; 2. Ryan Sauve (M40-44) 2:54:24
OLYMPIC DUATHLON
1. Nico Ambrose (M35-39) 2:35:22; 2. Team Bearly Trained relay 2:40:48; 3. Justin Duke (M40-44) 3:03:59
• Contact Klas Stolpe at sports@juneauindependent.com
