Over 160 Teens Compete in 12th Annual Hamptons Youth Triathlon

I-tri coach Ragan Ingram watched in excitement as her daughter, Willow, crossed the finish line as a member of i-tri at the 12th annual Hamptons Youth Triathlon at Long Beach in Sag Harbor on Saturday morning.

“I was able to watch her grow and experience the program that I love so much,” Ragan said. “Seeing her cross the finish line was extra special.”

Willow Ingram was one of over 160 kids ages 10 to17 who participated in the 300-yard swim, 6-mile bike ride and mile-and-a-half run. Edmar Gonzales-Nateras, 15, who finished in the top five of last year’s race, was the first to cross the finish line at 35:17.89. Gonzales-Nateras is a rising junior at Pierson High School where he is a multi-sport athlete, participating on both the Pierson boys soccer team and running the 200- and 400-meter dashes for the East Hampton/Pierson/Bridgehampton boys track and field team.

“It feels great,” Gonzales-Nateras said after the race. “The pain you get is definitely worth it in the end.”

Artur Ferreira, 14, from Englewood, New Jersey, placed second overall in 36:03.23 while Esteban Quintero, 12, from Port Jefferson Station placed third in 36:23.97. The next three finishers were all girls, with Myla Kelly, 12, from Port Jefferson, leading that pack, crossing the finish line in 37:19.47. Vanessa Rizzo, 13, from Sagaponack placed fifth overall in 37:36.95 and Sadie Ashlock, 14, from Pelham, New York, finished right behind her in 37:49.99.

The first i-tri girl to cross the finish line was Sophia Perri, 12, of Sag Harbor. Perri crossed the finish line at 43:08.72 and placed 12th overall.

“It feels great,” Perri said. “I’m really proud of myself.”

Full results can be found at elitefeats.com.

I-tri is a nonprofit organization that encourages young girls to believe in themselves and that they are capable of anything that they put their mind to. Theresa Roden, the founder of i-tri, said that there was some concern with the weather leading up to the triathlon, but was extremely happy that it ended up being a perfect day.

The i-tri girls met at least two times per week with that number increasing as the race grew near. Sophia Perri said that her favorite part of training was being able to do everything with her friends by her side.

“I liked being with my friends,” Perri said. “I want to do it again next year.”

What makes i-tri so special is that some of the girls don’t know how to swim or how to ride a bike when they first join i-tri, but they all learn the perseverance it takes to cross that finish line and that is when all of their hard work pays off. Weekend swim practices began all the way back in March at the YMCA in East Hampton and the Suffolk County Community College pool in Northampton, depending on location, which was led by Athletic Director Sharon McCobb. Biking practices began in June at Coopers Beach in Southampton for three weeks and later moved to Long Beach, where all three events were put together.

The organization makes sure that each girl shows up to meetings and training. It does so by busing girls to and from their meetings, and this year it even hosted one school entirely in Spanish thanks to their bilingual program leaders.

While there were many race day highlights this year, the most potent was seeing the support from the family members who were there cheering on each girl as they crossed the finish line. Coach Ingram said that at the end of the race, you could tell that each girl felt stronger and more confident in themselves than when they started.

“Theresa has created something really special,” she said. “It’s a joy to be a small part of an organization that does so much to support children at this critical time in their lives.”