Chris Caporale, sports@wolfrivermedia.com
Leader Photo by Chris Caporale Jeff Rogowski, left, and Reese Rogowski, both of Wittenberg, race to take off their life jackets after the swimming portion of the Leopolis Triathlon on Tuesday.
Leader Photo by Chris Caporale Elleana Buday, right, of Mequon, holds the hand of her mother, Jaclyn, during the final stretch of the run to end the Leopolis Triathlon. Elleana placed 49th among youth competitors, while Jaclyn took 74th in the beer belly division.
For the past two years, Shawano’s Ben Carroll has been the top youth performer at the Leopolis Triathlon.
On Tuesday, he backed up his performance with another top finish, his third consecutive victory, in a time of 27 minutes and 45 seconds.
“It’s a fun race, and this is where my dad lived, and just want to keep running it,” Carroll said. “It’s fun.”
Carroll’s time was 1:24 better than the second-place finisher, Matthew Niles, of De Pere.
The youth race includes a 50-yard swim, 5-mile bike ride and 2-mile run. The beer belly division, for ages 17 and older, competes on the same course. The jocks race includes a 50-yard swim, 12-mile bike ride and 5-mile run.
Carroll, who wrestles at Shawano Community High School, said the 5-mile bike ride is his favorite part of the race. The triathlon gives him something besides wrestling to stay fit, he said.
“I like doing triathlons, keeping me in shape,” said Carroll, who will be a sophomore in the fall. “They are a good workout.”
Mike Heidke, of Neenah, won the jocks race for the fifth consecutive time. Heidke posted a time of 1:01.02. Nick Petersen, of Green Bay, took second in 1:02.45.
The top female finisher in the jock class was Melissa Radmer (1:12.59), of Milwaukee.
Thomas Peterson, of Shawano, won the beer belly division in a time of 25:49. He bested Tony Witt, of Appleton, by over two minutes.
Patti Peterson (29:03), of Appleton, finished third overall in the beer belly division and was the top female finisher. She was followed closely by Katie Heidke (29:17), who took fourth.
There were 162 participants at the event, including 23 in the jock division, 56 in the youth and 83 in the beer belly division.
Leopolis Triathlon
July 4
Top-10 finishers
Jock: 1, Mike Heidke, Appleton, 1:01.02; 2, Nick Petersen, Green Bay, 1:02.45; 3, Mike Heling, Appleton, 1:03.13; 4, Matthew Galler, De Pere, 1:11.46; 5, Melissa Radmer, Milwaukee, 1:12.59; 6, Karl Suechting, Shorewood, 1:13.26; 7, Drew Payne, Birnamwood, 1:16.46; 8, Clark McGregor, Green Bay, 1:17.14; 9, Larry Czarnecki, Clintonville, 1:17.44; 10, Casey Drengler, De Pere, 1:18.18.
Beer Belly: 1, Thomas Peterson, Shawano, 25:49; 2, Tony Witt, Appleton, 28:02; 3, Patti Peterson, Appleton, 29:03; 4, Katie Heidke, Appleton, 29:17; 5, John Lacy, West Allis, 29:50; 6, Brian Grieves, Shawano, 29:51; 7, Adam Rycroft, Shawano, 30:09; 8, Simon Levin, Gresham, 30:32; 9, Harry Levenstein, Gresham, 30:33; 10, Pat Hofacker, Appleton, 30:35.
Youth: 1, Ben Carroll, Shawano, 27:45; 2, Matthew Niles, De Pere, 29:09; 3, Sachs, Green Bay, 29:19; 4, Trinity Inman, Seymour, 29:35; 5, Kaleb Lowney, Shawano, 30:48; 6, Claire Guenther, Shawano, 30:52; 7, Arianna Powless, Oneida, 30:58; 8, Elliott Lowney, Shawano, 30:59; 9, Ethan Niles, 31:55; 10, Jaden Stuhr, Marion, 33:11.