Kellen Demorest pushes his bike to the mounting area.
Russell Huffman | El Defensor Chieftain photos

Socorro athletes dominated the Socorro Riders and Striders 2023 Chile Harvest Youth Triathlon, with locals nabbing first-place finishes in three of the four age divisions.

David Hargather, Dru Cadol, and Soren Carlson didn’t just win; they dominated their divisions, with Hargather’s 11:19 taking first in the 7-8-year-old division, Cadol topping the 9-10 division with a time of 14:50 and Soren Carlson winning the 13-14 event.

Caelyn Pettyjohn strides across the finish line.

“I would see so many of these people, especially if they’re in orange shirts, that they came out to support you, and you asked me, this is what makes the Socorro event really special. There were over 60 volunteers on the course,” race director Beth Cadol said.

Volunteers outnumbered the 44 athletes taking part.

Socorro, nine-year-old Owen County, had a third-place finish, and he couldn’t wait to get to school Monday to share the news with his friends. Swimming was his favorite part of the event, and despite not training, the youngster came away with a top finish.

“I’m going to tell all my friends about this because I had a lot of fun,” County said.

The youth triathlon is part of the bigger and harder Chiles Harvest Triathlon and is designed to introduce younger athletes to take on the challenge, and it’s scaled down to an achievable size.

County’s younger sister Quinn was also taking part, and a little sibling rivalry was going on.

A young triathlete transitions to her bike.

“I got a third place,” Quinn said with a beaming smile before adding. “This is my first race – my brother didn’t finish his first one.”

To be fair, the weather caused the cancelation of last year’s triathlon in mid-event, so Owen’s potential time will remain the stuff of legend.

Eliana Carlson took part as a 10-year-old and had some likes and dislikes about the event.

“I liked swimming, but I didn’t like running. I kept getting a cramp in my side when I was running. I will tell all my friends they should be doing this,” Carlson said.

Chile Harvest Youth Triathlon Results.

7-8 (swim 50 yards, bike 1 mile, run ½ mile)

  1. David Hargather, 11:19; 5. Quinn County, 13:29.

9-10 (swim 100 yards, bike 3 miles, run ½ mile)

  1. Dru Cadol, 14:50; 2. Malia Kang, 16:20; 3. Owen County, 16:57; 4. Garrett Torres, 18:50; 5. Tracer Montoya, 19:19; 6. Eliana Carlson, 19:58; 10. Sourina Esmaeilpour, 26:41; 11. Drew Crespin, 27:12.

11-12 (swim 150 yards, bike 2 miles, run one mile)

  1. Williams Torres, 24:16; 5. Kellen DeMorest, 24:57; 6. Easton Montoya, 25:03; 7. Ryan Crespin, 29:47; 12. Ares Martinez, 39:25; 13. Katalina Lopez, 39:27.

13-14 (swim 200 yards, bike 3 miles, run one mile).

  1. Soren Carlson, 19:22; 2. Abby Cadol, 20:59; 3. Avery Timmons, 22:10; 4. Annika Carlson, 22:29; 6. Caelyn Pettyjohn, 24:46; 7. Kathleen Johnson, 25:27; Riley Sewell, 26:04
Russell Huffman | Assistant Editor