Villacrusis, Muldoon are first again

Strong forces in the 2026 triathlon season—Christian Villacrusis and Lily Muldoon picked up where they left off as this time, they swam, biked, and ran their way to the top of their respective Sprint Distances in the TRAC National Triathlon and 5K event on a clear Saturday (Mar. 14) morning at Pau Pau Beach.

A large crowd of seasoned athletes and up-and-coming athletes, along with children of all ages welcomed the return of triathlon on island for the first time this year and competed in the Sprint (750m swim, 20K bike, 5K run), a Super Sprint (250m swim, 5K bike, 2K run), 5K run only, and Kids 9U and 6U Triathlon.

The event was organized by the Triathlon Association of the CNMI and was a qualifier for eligible residents to qualify for the 2026 World Triathlon Age-Group Championships in Pontevedra, Spain.

Kathy Ruszala, TRAC secretary, said that this event had a big turnout of adults compared to children for the first time. She said the goal of the sport and these events is to grow the sport. “Everyone’s caught the “tri-bug” again and we’re so happy for that, but at the same time, we would like to see our athletes compete internationally. There’s a qualifier for Tahiti, there’s Oceania, and hopefully Marianas Cup will pick up triathlon, but it’s not an easy sport to bring people everywhere with logistics and stuff, but we’re so happy it’s back in the CNMI again.”

The final scheduled event of the season for now is set for April 12, featuring the Olympic distance course—1.5km swim, 40K bike, and 10K run.

In the Sprint Distance Male division, Christian Villacrusis, winner of last month’s Duathlon (run/bike), claimed first place with a time of 1:12:46, followed by Michael Denevan in second at 1:14:53, and Jody O’Sullivan rounding out the top three with 1:17:32.

In the Sprint Distance Female division, Muldoon, who was also first in last month’s Duathlon, took the top spot with a time of 1:15:19. Shawna Brennfleck finished second in 1:19:59, while Robyn Spaeth secured third place with a time of 1:30:46.

The Super Sprint Distance Male race saw Philip James Seman finish first with a time of 27:42:00. Declan Spaeth followed in second at 29:20:00, and Brayden Brennfleck placed third with 30:51:00. For 13-year-old Seman, the race was all about the experience. “The course was really nice, the weather was really nice. I think I did pretty alright,” he said. He added that he joined for fun and that his main sport is swimming. The run proved to be the toughest part, as his asthma began to trigger midway, but he pushed through to finish strong and claim first place. “It’s really fun. It’s a good chance to work out,” he said of triathlon.

In the Super Sprint Distance Female division, LoVel Spaeth took first place with a time of 27:57:00, while Claire Fehrenbacker finished second in 34:20:00 and Yu Xi Zhang placed third with 44:24:00.

For the 5K Run Male category, Kensuke Okuma crossed the finish line first with 26:40:00. Andrew Estepa finished second in 29:26:00, and Ronaldo Quindoza claimed third with 30:12:00. As for the Female division, Kathleen Tolentino took first place with a time of 29:46:00, followed by Shiela Isla in second with 36:38:00.

In the Kids Triathlon 9U Boys category, Huck Bauer finished in first place, with Jace Brennfleck coming in second. For the Kids Triathlon 9U Girls, Mika McKagan claimed first place while Nico O’Sullivan finished second.

In the Kids Triathlon 6U Boys race, Zeke Bauer took first place, followed by Jasper Davis in second and Niko Thorne in third. And, in the Kids Triathlon 6U Girls division, Victoria Santos secured first place.