By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Promoters of Lawrence Township’s 5th annual Red, White and Bang children’s triathlon — the signature fundraiser for Lawrence Township’s Fourth of July fireworks show — could not have asked for better weather Monday.
Under warm, sunny skies, about 160 children ran, swam and bicycled their way to raise money for the annual fireworks show. The event is expected to generate about $2,500 to $3,000 for the cause, after expenses, said Steven Groeger, the township’s superintendent of recreation.
Based on their ages, children swam 50, 100 or 200 meters in the Lawrenceville Swim Association’s pool on Craven Lane. They ran three-quarters of a mile to 1.5 miles around the Lawrenceville Elementary School, and all ages rode their bicycles for two miles in Village Park.
The children’s triathlon — and signature fundraising event — grew out of disappointment at the cancellation of the 2010 fireworks show by Lawrence Township. The township had paid for the fireworks show for many years, but budget issues resulted in its cancellation.
And that’s when two Lawrence residents — Dana Meth and Harper Collins — stepped forward to suggest the children’s triathlon to Mr. Groeger. The first "Red, White and Bang" triathlon was held on Labor Day 2010 to raise money for the fireworks show.
And although the 2015 fireworks show is still many months away, fundraising for the event begins nearly as soon the last shell was fired. The goal is to raise enough money for next year’s fireworks show at Rider University. The target amount is $30,000.
At Monday’s Red, White and Bang children’s triathlon, participants were divided by age and sex in the competition — from 6 years old to 16 years old. The 160 children included a contingent of Special Olympics New Jersey athletes.
"As we have for the four previous triathlons, we had a lot of volunteers and a lot of spectators — family, neighbors and friends — supporting the athletes during the event," Mr. Groeger said. There were many more sponsors this year than in the past, he added.
This year, 20 sponsors — mostly local businesses — made financial contributions or donated food and other services, Mr. Groeger said. This compares to the typical 12 to 15 sponsors in past year, he said.
Knapp’s Cyclery stepped up and checked all of the children’s bicycles and their helmets before the children embarked on the two-mile ride through Village Park, he said. Knapp’s also donated a small bag for each participant.
Mr. Groeger also praised all of the volunteers who turned out, saving special praise for Dana Meth, Harper Collins, Dana Lynch and Cathy LeCompte, who "really did yeoman’s work to make it as successful as it was."
"I think one of the lasting memories is of the girl (a Special Olympics athlete) who was the last one to cross the finish line," Mr. Groeger said. "When she came up the hill, there were 40 or 50 people running with her. That was a really special way to close out the event. There was a lot of clapping and cheering."
Overall, the Red White and Bang Triathlon is "another example of how the Lawrence Township community gets together and makes things happen," he said.
"There were a lot of participants who were not from Lawrence Township. I like to think they were pretty impressed with what we as a community can do," Mr. Groeger said.
Meanwhile, the top three winners in the boys and girls under-9 triathlon were Ford Collins, John Paul Okupski and Alphonse Azara, and Eliza Meth, Jessica Everman and Hailey Adamsky. All are Lawrence residents except Alphonse Azara and Jessica Everman, who live in Titusville and Princeton.
In the boys and girls 10- to 12-years old category, the top three winners were Jack Collins, Devon Meth and Alex Everman, and Kelli Collins, Erin McCrea and Kathryn Yonan. All are Lawrence residents, except Alex Everman of Princeton and Erin McCrea of Hillsborough Township.
The top three winners in the boys and girls 13- to 16-year-old category were Robert Okupski, Ryan Hobson and Justin Albano, and Haley Simpson, Madeleine Kemo and Sarah Deczynski. All are Lawrence residents except Robert Okupski of Annandale; Ryan Hobson of Pennington; Justin Albano of Chesterfield Township; and Sarah Deczynski of New Hope, Pa.
And the top three winners in the Special Olympics individual results were Eric Lin of Plainsboro Township; Bailey Millemann of Bordentown; and River Lasinski of Lawrence Township.
The full list of winners is available on the Lawrence Township website at www.lawrencetwp.com. Donations also will be accepted, by mailing a check made payable to the Lawrence Township Recreation Department with a note in the memo line that says "fireworks." The address is 2207 Lawrence Road, Lawrence Township, NJ 08648.
