Race Coverage

Good 'Ol Fun at the Lake...

Sunday, 08 June 2025 00:10

By Doobie Kurus

On Saturday, May 31, over 200 people had some good 'ol fun in the lake participating in the 6th Annual SWIM-Off to Summer. It's amazing what beautiful weather does for the overall vibe of an event! The air temps were almost 70 with low humidity and no wind, as the first wave went off. The bulk of the registrants (almost 2/3) signed up for the 1.2 mile (half IM) distance, about 1/4 for the .9 (Olympic) distance, and about 1/10 for the .3 (sprint) distance. Although we did have a few last minute changes on distances, people seemed pretty happy with what they chose...which was to have fun!..

There were plenty of spectators on hand to send off each of our 9 waves. After the race, participants, spectators, and volunteers went up to the pavilion for burgers and ice cream, plus fruit and other treats people brought (no one brought any Jello salad or hot dish though!), the gear swap, and the awards.

Speaking of awards, in the Sprint distance, the top 3 women were: Lisa Manders (9:59), Emma Cohen (9:25), and Linda Green (8:17). The top 3 men were: Doug Lodermeier (12:10), Thomas Brunner (10:39), and Gregory Breheim (7:07!). In the Olympic distance, the top 5 men were Damien Rock (30:11), Daniel O'Kane (27:04), Tyler Gerst (26:25), Brian Kirkvold (24:35), and Brett Loavaas (22:54). The top 5 Olympic women were: Suzanne Hay (27:53), Madelyn McGreevy (27:45), Catherine Lee (26:12), Beth Nymeyer (24:56), and Madeline Kirkvold (24:35). In the Half IM distance the top 3 women were: Christina Roberts (28:23), Brynn McNanley (28:21), and Samantha Kraft (28:01). For the men, the top 3 were: Seth Baetzold (29.23), Tyler Schultze (28:15), and Zach McCarty (27:38). 
A couple of items of note: Christina Roberts was finally dethroned, and narrowly missed 2nd place by 2 seconds! She won in '23 and '24 with the same exact time of 28:48, but Samantha Kraft was finally able to take the title this year. In fact, if you noticed a lot of familiar names in the top spots, that because they have been battling each other (metaphorically speaking) in the water the last few years, with varying results, which is great to see. This year's winner for the men, Zach McCarty, was 3rd in 2023, 2nd in 2024, and finally won in 2025. Former Half IM winner, Brian Kirkvold, opted last minute to switch to the Olympic distance this year so he could swim with his daughter, Madeline, who was the top Olympic female. Brian took second for the men, but seeing that he had the same exact finish time as Madeline, we're going to assume...Madeline swam slower so her father could keep up! LOL!

Representatives from Performance Ready Fitness (director Krisie Melsen of the local kids triathlons) and RamJet Events (director Matt Evans of the Buzz Ryan and Brewhouse Triathlons AND the inaugural Great Lake Superior Swim) were on hand not just to promote their events but also to volunteer. We gave away gift cards from Elsmore Swim Shop and Gear West Tri Shop, as well as free entries to Trinona, GraniteMan Big Lake, Buzz Ryan Tri, Chisago Lakes Tri, a MN Masters swim meet, James J. Hill Days swim, Zorbaz' Gull Lake Challenge, YMCA's Breakaway Kids Tri, the sold out YWCA Women's Tri, and of course, the Hopkins Royal Tri and SWIM-Off to Summer.

RESULTS

Wishing you all a safe and fun season of competition!

Doobie 
Race Director
Hopkins Royal Tri (HoRT) and SWIM-Off to Summer (SOS)