The skies were hazy from the residual smoke from Canadian wildfires Saturday morning. But it didn’t stop about 200 athletes from competing in the 2025 Graniteman Triathon at Lakeside Park in Big Lake.
The event featured two different categories. The Sprint Division began with a 0.33-mile swim followed by a 14.45-mile bike ride and a 3.1-mile run.
The Olympic Division was a 0.9-mile swim, 24.83-mile bike ride and a 6.2-mile run.
At 8 a.m. the Olympic Division athletes plunged into the lake on the first leg of their two-plus hour journey.
Diego Morles, 16, of Minneapolis was the first competitor to exit the water in 23:40 and head for the his bike, with Steven Voss, 40, of Osseo just 20 seconds behind.
Then the race got even tighter, and Voss had taken the lead by the time the bike race was over.
But in the end, the running portion of the triathlon made the difference as Big Lake distance standout Kade Layton, 20, passed his opponents and won the triathlon in 2:21:29.
Layton was in eighth place after the swim, more than three minutes behind Voss. He had the ninth quickest time in the bike race in 1:18:51 and was still more than six minutes behind Voss when the 6.2-mile run began.
But Layton’s run time of 32:28 was the fastest of any competitor and enough to overtake Voss, who ran 40:18 and finished about a minute behind in 2:22:27.
Kyle Sweeney, 27, of Maple Grove was the third athlete in the men’s division in 2:24:16. Peter Goldberg, 36, from Minneapolis took fourth in 2:34:43 and Corey McCusick also of Minneapolis, 49, finished fifth.
Becky Youngberg, 50, of Shakopee was the top female finisher in 2:31:57. She was fourth overall.
Amy Preusser, 27, from Melrose was second in 2:37:58. Cristin Tandberg, 46, of Minneapolis placed third in 2:41:51. Marilea Osterlund, 50 of Rochester took fourth in 2:43.00 and Dawn Labiosa, 60, from St. Paul finished fifth in 2:59.35.
Anthony Hirschman, 45, from Minneapolis won the Sprint Division in 1:08:25. He was also the top finisher last year in 1:07:36.
Brenner Hohenstein, 28, of Minneapolis finished second in 1:11:39. Josh Sell, 46, from Waconia took third in 1:12:53. Ben Myers, 38, from Maple Grove was a step behind in fourth in 1:12:58 and Jeron Hall, 19, of Elk River rounded out the top five in 1:13:19.
Andrea Myers, 49, of Minneapolis was the top female finisher in 1:14:47. She finished second in the Olympic Division last year.
Jennifer Martone, 53, of Minneapolis took second in 1:17:42. Raychel Tong, 17, of Minneapolis placed third in 1:19:25. Sarah Thompson, 44, from Rogers was fourth in 1:25:31 and Mary Deeg, 63, of Annandale finished fifth in 1:25:51.
The Big Lake Triathlon is the final segment of a three-part competition. Triathlons at Sturgis Lake in Buffalo and Warner Lake in Clearwater were held earlier in the season.
Complete results for all three triathlons and past year’s triathlons can be found at mtecresults.com.
