Garden City, N.Y. – On Sunday Morning, the men's and women's cross country teams volunteered their time and help out at the Junior Triathlon which rounded out the Runners Edge GLIRC Tobay Triathlon and Tri-Relay weekend held in Oyster Bay, N.Y.
There were nearly 30 volunteers in attendance just from Adelphi which was comprised of Head Coach Katie Rees, her coaching staff and current and former Panther runners all helping out in different capacities. After arriving at 7:45 am, the team was split up to aid in various spots on the course which ranged from handing out water at designated stations, directing the young competitors where to go during the swim, bike and run, and helping out in the transition areas. The junior triathletes were comprised of boys and girls between the ages of eight and 13 years old.
"It's always great to be able to give back to the community and especially to kids who are just starting out in a sister sport to the one in which we compete and all love," stated Rees. "Helping to give them a great first experience in competing is what helps to make them life-long competitors and will enrich our sport in the future. At any age, it's impressive to watch all different ages and abilities out there at such a young age, completing a goal that they worked so hard for."
The Junior Triathlon marked the close of the Triathlon weekend. The morning before, the sprint triathlon saw over 950 competitors swim a half mile in Oyster Bay Harbor, bike 15 kilometers through Oyster Bay, Laurel Hollow and the surrounding areas, and finish with a 5 kilometer run through Brookville and ending in Roosevelt Park.
Former Adelphi cross country/track and field and swim standout, Tom Eickelberg, won the event for the fourth consecutive year thanks to a time of 56:17.83. He was first out of the water by over 30 seconds after covering the half mile swim in 11:28. He then posted the fifth fastest time on the bike with an effort of 24:48 and closed with an impressive 18:41 over the 5k run which was second best in the field.
Additionally, Tom's sister, and Adelphi's very own Elizabeth Eickelberg also competed in the triathlon. The cross country senior placed 63rd overall and was the sixth female finisher out of nearly 350 female competitors. Her overall time of 1:11:28 was just three seconds out of 62nd place and included the second fastest run out of all the women.
