The Health and Wellness Club along with G.O.A.L Hillsdale Buddies Program held the “Day of Champions” event in Hillsdale last Saturday.
The triathlon was composed of three athletic feats: a 750-meter swim, a 5-kilometer run, and a 20-kilometer bike ride. Men and women were both ranked separately and divided into three heats. Sophomore Hayley Johnson placed first among the women competitors while junior Doug Williams placed first for the men.
For Johnson, the competition was nothing outside of her athletic comfort zone.
“It helps that I’m a swimmer. That puts me at an advantage. For the triathlon we had to swim 750 meters and I’m used to swimming 6,000 yards in practice,” Johnson said.
Johnson swims the 50- and 100-yard freestyle for the Hillsdale swim team.
“The hardest part is getting off the bike and starting to run. My legs get really wobbly. So that’s what I did to practice. But I do a lot of cross training for swimming anyway,” Johnson said. “I didn’t even really know my time last year, I competed just to see how well I could do.”
Student Activities Board President Michael Peters said that the money raised came from participants as well as local businesses.
“All of these donations went right to the Hillsdale Buddies. The triathlon itself was paid for out of the Campus Health and Recreation budget as well as the G.O.A.L budget,” Peters said.
The “Day of Champions” raised over $300 for the Hillsdale Buddies program.