Teenagers Take Top Honors Again In 20th Power Swim
Once again, teenagers led the way in the longest race of the Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park’s annual Beach to Beach Power Swim.
Maryland teen Eddie Soltis won the overall long course unassisted title for the second straight year, while St. Thomas’ Lindsay Barr was the top female finisher in the event during Sunday’s 20th anniversary Power Swim on St. John.
The 16-year-old Soltis, from Millersville, Md., completed the 3.5-mile course — from the start at Maho Beach through Cinnamon and Trunk bays to the finish at Hawksnest Beach — in 1 hour, 25 minutes, 15 seconds.
That was nearly two minutes slower than Soltis’ winning time of 1:13:22.5 in last year’s Power Swim, when he became the second-youngest swimmer to win a long course unassisted title. The record is held by St. Croix’s Natalia Kuipers, now a rising senior on Bryant University’s swim team, who won the 2016 Power Swim long course title at the age of 13 in 1:19:12.
Soltis — a student at Rockbridge Academy, a private school in Annapolis, and a member of the Naval Academy Aquatic Club — beat out the 18-year-old Barr by 40 seconds for overall honors. Barr, who graduated from Virgin Islands Montessori School and International Academy on Saturday, was the top female finisher and second overall in 1:25:55.
Luis Santiago, 56, of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, was third overall and second among the men in the long course unassisted division in 1:26:01, just beating out Nathan Goldstein, 49, of Arlington, Va., by 11 seconds. Goldstein finished the race in 1:26:12.
Erin Mackey, 40, from Swedesboro, N.J., was second among the women in the long course unassisted division in 1:30:59, with St. John’s Barbara Crowder, 65, third in 1:31:47.
Other top finishers in the other divisions during the 20th Beach to Beach Power Swim:
• St. Thomas’ Bradley Flowers, 41, took top honors in the long course assisted division, completing the 3.5-mile course in 1:27:51.
Christine Sheehan, 50, also from St. Thomas, was second overall and the top women’s finisher in 1:29:02, just four seconds ahead of St. Thomas’ Tony Pearsall, 39, who was third overall in 1:29:06.
Jareth Moore, 30, from St. John was third among the men’s swimmers and fourth overall in 1:32:28.
Korena Calder, 35, of St. John was second among the women’s swimmers in 1:32:50, with St. John’s Casey Johannsen, 33, third among the women in 1:33:31.
• St. Croix teen Kalonji Von Schilling-Royer won the overall intermediate course unassisted title. The 14-year-old U.S. Virgin Islands National Team swimmer completing the 2¼-mile course — from Maho Beach through Cinnamon Bay to the finish at Trunk Bay Beach — in 46 minutes, 53 seconds.
Katie Papa, 29, of New York, N.Y., was the top female finisher and second overall, finishing just over four minutes behind Von Schilling-Royer in 51:01.
Jonathan Jordan, 33, of Tampa, Fla., was second among the male swimmers and third overall, finishing in 51:44. Bryan Mason, 48, of St. Thomas, was third among the male swimmers and fourth overall in 52:07.
Ginny Jordan, 30, of Tampa, Fla., was second among the women in 53:31, with Linda Bostic, 59, of Jupiter, Fla., third in 54:36.
• St. John’s Asya Simons, 31, was tops overall in the intermediate course assisted division, completing her swim in 54:27.
Female swimmer took the top three spots, with St. Thomas’ Ella Barr, 21, second overall in 57:03 and Susan Smith, 59, of Jupiter, Fla., third in 57:19.
Among the men’s swimmers, Ryal Flegal, 49, of St. Croix took top honors and fourth overall in 57:21, followed by St. Croix’s Jan Tawakol, 52, in 57:55, and Jay Singh, 58, from Atlanta, Ga., in 1:06:53.
• Max Fermayer, 19, of Weston, Fla., took top honors in the short course unassisted division, finishing the one-mile swim from Maho Beach to Cinnamon Beach in 21:24. John Flowers, 51, of Hingham, Mass., was second in 23:25, while 11-year-old St. Thomas resident Reagan Uszenski was third overall and the top female finisher in 24:06.
David Rainer, 13, of Fairhope, Ala., was third among the men and fourth overall in 24:48.
Among the female swimmers, Anabela Shearer, 19, of Weston, Fla., was second in 25:28, with St. Thomas’ Autumn Bussiere, 24, third in 26:27.
• It was a battle to the finish for the short course assisted division, as Samuael Evans of St. Croix edging out fellow St. Croix resident Kristin Ewen by one second for overall honors. Evans, 31, finished the one-mile race in 27:45, with the 28-year-old Ewen taking second overall and top female honors in 27:46.
Paul O’Meara, 75, of Boston, Mass., was second among the male swimmers and third overall in 29:09, with Christiane Fleurent, 56, of Clarksville, Md., second among the females and fourth overall in 30:09.
St. John’s Eliza Kuchuk, 32, was third among the females and fifth overall in 31:26. Mauricio Fermayer, 19, of Weston, Fla., was third among the males in 32:12.
• The Rainer Girls — Leighton, Virginia and Suzanne Rainer of Fairhope, Ala. — won the long course unassisted relay race in 1:28:09. They beat out Team KNT — Kathie and Robert Laseter — from Ocala, Fla., by just under 22 minutes (1:50:00), with Shark Snacks — Jennifer Linkengauer, Stephanie Perkins-Rackham and Jon Rackham — of Erie, Colo., coming in third in 2:11:00.
