Youth Athletes Race at 2024 USA Triathlon Youth & Junior Nationals in West Des Moines

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Youth triathletes raced this weekend, July 13-14 in West Des Moines, Iowa, at the 2024 USA Triathlon Youth & Junior Nationals, hosted by Elita Events and RipRoar Events.

The two longstanding event production companies hosted Youth & Junior Nationals as part of the longstanding RipRoar Des Moines and Flatlands Cup youth events, providing safe, fun and high-energy environments for youth and junior athletes to thrive.

Athletes raced at Youth & Junior Nationals within Raccoon River Park in West Des Moines, which has a rich triathlon history dating back to 2008 when the Hy-Vee Triathlon served as the final U.S. Olympic qualifying race for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Since then, Blue Heron Lake has seen some of the largest and fastest triathlons in the sport's history, including the first-ever Mixed Team Relay World Championships in 2009.

The nation’s up-and-coming draft-legal triathlon stars (ages 16-19 and 13-15) raced for Draft-Legal Youth and Junior National Championship titles at the Flatlands Cup on Saturday, July 13. The draft-legal format is the same style of racing contested at the Olympic Games and other elite World Triathlon competitions. 

Several past and present members of the U.S. Elite Triathlon National Team began their triathlon careers on the draft-legal youth and junior racing circuits, including Seth Rider and Taylor Knibb who will race at this month’s Olympic Games Paris 2024 on July 30 and July 31. Both won the USA Triathlon Junior national championship in 2015.

Jimena Renata De La Pena won Saturday’s 2024 Junior Draft-Legal national championships (ages 16-19), completing the sprint-distance triathlon course (750m swim, 20k bike, 5k run) in a time of 1 hour, 3 minutes, 42 seconds to top all female competitors. She recorded the day’s fastest 5k in 18:03 to run to her first junior title.

Mia Wentzy finished second in 1:03:55 and Ellison Wolfe rounded out the overall podium, finishing in 1:04:03.

In the men’s Junior Draft-Legal national championship, Project Podium’s Reese Vannerson ran to his second national title in 56:05 to cap his junior career. Blake Bullard finished second in 56:35 and Braxton Legg took third overall in 57:29.

Youth draft-legal athletes (ages 13-15) competed in a super-sprint triathlon (375m swim, 10k bike, 2.5k run). Luise Delgado won the youth female national title, completing the course in 34:45, while Graham Hummel won the youth male national championship in 31:15.

Youth age group athletes and paratriathletes raced over the weekend in non-drafting events at the USA Triathlon Youth and Junior Nationals at RipRoar West Des Moines. The event included dedicated categories for paratriathletes and athletes with intellectual impairments, a part of USA Triathlon’s continued efforts to increase opportunities and access for current and prospective youth athletes and encouraging a culture of equality in the sport. Three athletes with intellectual impairments raced at Youth & Junior Nationals as part of the USA Triathlon Foundation's Team Thrive.

USA Triathlon's Youth & Junior Nationals aligns with the American Development Model (ADM), a concerted effort between the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee and its sport National Governing Bodies to apply long-term athlete development principles in a way that resonates with the culture of sport in the United States. The ADM aims to create early positive experiences for youth athletes across all sports by promoting sustained sport participation.

Youth age group races for the younger athletes - ages 7-12 - emphasize participation, fun and personal goal setting over competition. The winners of each age group are listed below. Congratulations to all the athletes who participated!

The team qualification-based, Youth & Junior Mixed Relay capped the weekend of racing on Sunday. In the Mixed Relay, teams are made up of four competitors (two boys, two girls), with each team member completing a 250m swim, draft-legal 5k bike and 1.2k run before tagging off to the next athlete. The Mixed Relay event made its Olympic debut at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, with the U.S. team winning silver.

Team Stars & Stripes Racing won the Mixed Relay national title, completing the course in a time of 1:14:41.

2024 USA Triathlon Youth & Junior Nationals

Complete results

Draft-Legal Junior Female

1. Jimena Renata De La Pena, 1:03:42

2. Mia Wentzy, 1:03:55

3. Ellison Wolfe, 1:04:03

Draft-Legal Junior Male

1. Reese Vannerson, 56:05

2. Blake Bullard, 56:35

3. Braxton Legg, 57:29

Draft-Legal Youth Female

1. Louise Delgado, 34:45

2. Autumn Gilhooly, 35:16

3. Kyliee Zylstra, 35:24

Draft-Legal Youth Male

1. Graham Hummel, 31:15

2. Nathanael Hamilton, 31:25

3. Brayden Barrett, 32:07

Mixed Relay

1. Team Stars & Stripes Racing, 1:14:41

2. Team Blakney Vandasso, 1:14:43

3. Team Z3 Gold, 1:15:41

Non-Drafting Age Group Results

Complete results

Female 13-18

1. Emma Curran, 38:59

2. Gisele Putka, 39:54

3. Austin Harlow, 40:38

Male 13-18

1. Noah Billings, 33:48

2. Noah Roby, 34:55

3. Tommy Runkle, 36:03

Age Group 7-10

Age 7

Female winner: Shayfer Lonergan, 25:29

Male winner: Fletcher Hefner, 25:09

Age 8

Female winner: Camryn Howie, 25:23

Male winner: Gavin Mahrous, 20:13

Age 9

Female winner: Taelyn DeYoung, 22:05

Male winner: John Victor Coimbra, 20:35

Age 10

Female winner: Drew Tollakson, 21:33

Male winner: Eli Davidson, 19:30

Age Group 11-12

Age 11

Female winner: Melanie Mago, 40:05

Male winner: Theo Tollakson, 35:28

Age 12

Female winner: Lila Knutson, 34:33

Male winner: Luke Hergenreter, 33:15

ATD 1

1. Owen Horsley, 39:00

2. Chase Miller, 53:55

3. Kade Lubner, 55:16

ATD 2

1. Joshua Spittler, 43:26

2. Christian Nicolas Reyes Cobo, 57:25

3. Hanna Homer, 1:31:42

About USA Triathlon

USA Triathlon is proud to serve as the National Governing Body for triathlon, as well as duathlon, aquathlon, aquabike, winter triathlon, off-road triathlon, paratriathlon, and indoor and virtual multisport events in the United States. Founded in 1982, USA Triathlon sanctions more than 3,500 events and races and connects with and supports more than 300,000 unique active members each year, making it the largest multisport organization in the world. In addition to its work at the grassroots level with athletes, coaches, and race directors — as well as the USA Triathlon Foundation — USA Triathlon provides leadership and support to elite athletes competing at international events, including World Triathlon World Championships, Pan American Games and the Olympic and Paralympic Games.