Hundreds of competitors descended upon East Beach last weekend for two action-packed days of competition for Semana Nautica, Santa Barbara’s summer sports festival.
Locals competed in 13 different events throughout Saturday and Sunday, highlighting the impressive aquatics talent based in the 805. The events were organized by Tony Sholl and the Santa Barbara Lifeguarding Association.
The 2-Mile Ocean Swim was the most popular event, drawing 95 total swimmers. Melina Seider led the pack, finishing with a time of 43:08 to claim first-place overall, along with being the top female finisher and the top female 18-29 racer.
She was followed by Kyle Brill and Kyle Visin in second and third place, respectively. Brill was the top male finisher and the male 18-29 winner at 43:10, while Visin’s time of 43:15 was good for first place in the Male 40s division.
The rest of the 2-mile swim age division winners were Grace Nackers (Female 17U), Joy C. (Male 60s), Daniel Wiegand (Male 30s), Chip Blankenhorn (Male 50s), Matt Vaughan (Male 70s), Sawyer Siciliano (Male 12U), Rebecca Benas (Female 40s), Kate Lefford (Female 50s), Kristen Walker (Female 30s), Karen K. Daniels (Female 60s) and Elizabeth Boscacci (Female 70s).
The 3-Mile Ocean Swim also pulled in a heavy crowd, as 54 swimmers vied for the crown. Myles Peck came out on top, crossing the finish line first with a time of 59:15.
The top three was rounded out by Seider at 1:05.08 in second place and Brill in third place at 1:05.27. Seider was once again the first female to finish and Brill claimed the top spot in the Male 18-29 division.
The age division winners also featured Keira McAvoy (Female 17U), Nicole O’Keeffe (Female 30s), Wiegand (Male 30s), Blankenhorn (Male 50s), Benas (Female 40s), Rob Graham (Male 60s), Emily Jarvis (Female 60s), Sia McAvoy (Female 14U), Laure Weber (Female 70s) and Patti Lownes (Female 60s).
The ocean swims were rounded out by a 500-Meter race, which was claimed by Sawyer Siciliano with a strong time of 8:06. Allison Bernal followed in second place at 8:27, earning the top spot for the Female 25+ division. Brittney Gamble secured third place at 8:37, good for first in the Female 18-24 division.
The rest of the division winners were Payton Schroeder (Female JG A-Group), Reagan Schroeder (Female JG B-Group), Sloan Visin (Female JG C-Group), Bennet Bernal (Male JG D-Group) and Ella McClanahan (Female JG D-Group).
The biathlon featured a run along East Beach and a 1-mile ocean swim, and Jason Smith pulled out the victory with a time of 38:40. He finished just two seconds before second-place Kyle Visin. Whitney Bruice placed third overall and was the top female finisher with her time of 48:55.
Leslie Roth (Female 40s), Scott Higgins (Male 60s) and Sergio Angulo (Male 30s) rounded out those who came in first in their division.
Smith continued his strong weekend with a first-place finish in the Stud Ironman, which featured five 200-meter swims and four runs that total about 2 miles. Smith claimed the top spot with a time of 28:40, followed by Kyle Visin at 29:28 and Siciliano, the top Male 12U racer, at 30:17.
Tessa Hope was the first female to cross the finish line with a time of 30:23, and the other division winners were Grady Mackers (Male 13U), Aya Cohen (Female 10U), Mia Torchia (Female 11U), Freya Vickers (Female 9U) and Lachlan Gardner (Male 10U).
There were two Ironguard events, a relay and an individual competition, in which competitors took on an 800-meter course with two beach sprints, one swimming leg and one paddleboard leg.
The trio of Dino Ise, Hazel Heckes and Johnny Bish took first in the Ironguard relay with a time of 5:12. Utah Roth and Allison Bernal were the Open Mixed Winners at 5:25, and Natana, Maggie and Hannah Bernal claimed first in the Female 12U division.
In the individual competition, Kyle Visin’s time of 5:25 was good for first place overall in the Open division. Smith came in second at 5:47, and Gamble was the first female finisher at 6:18.
In the JG Groups competition, Hope (Female A-Group), Siciliano (Male B-Group), Aya Smith (Female C-Group) and Natana Vapnik (Female B-Group) took first in their groupings.
The weekend also featured a pair of surf team events, beginning with the 1,000-meter race. Joe Sarquillia, Ethan Hall and Payton Lorssahn were the top 3-Person Male team, Alison Bernal, Hannah Bernal and Susanna Vaprek were the first-place 3-Person Female Team, and Dawn Screder and Whitney Bruice claimed the 2-Person Female win.
In the 1-Mile surf teams event, the trio of Ethan Hall, Joe Sarquilla and Payton Lorssahn won the 3-Person Male competition, the duo of Phillip Scofield and Eric Bleul captured the 2-Person Male race title and Jim Cherry was the individual race winner.
The East Beach 5K run was the lone event to remain on dry land, with Marie Claire Lamb earning first place with a time of 16:17. The top four was rounded out by Heckes (16:50, 2nd), Scout Siciliano (18:22, 3rd) and Jonathan Stein (18:30, 4th).
The weekend events were capped off by three paddleboard competitions: the 1-Mile Paddle, the 3-Mile Paddle and the Paddle Sprints.
It was an all-female top three in the 1-Mile Paddle, with Gamble coming in first at 16:07, Katie Swenson taking second at 17:00 and Cassidy Beard earning third at 17:15. Sawyer Siciliano was the Male JG B-Group winner, while Jim West secured the Male Masters victory.
Meanwhile, Blankenhorn won the 14-foot board division of the 3-Mile Paddle with his time of 34:45. Daniel Switzer claimed the 12-foot board top spot at 37:33, and Ise was the 10-foot-6 board winner with a mark of 38:15.
Ise continued his winning ways by coming in first place in the Open Division of the paddle sprints with a time of 2:10, being named the Male Lifeguard Winner. Gamble also kept up her success as the first female to finish, taking second overall at 2:14. Charlie Black capped off the top three at 2:19.
The other division winners were Kyle Visin (Male Open Non-Lifeguard), Beard (Female JG A-Group), Sawyer Siciliano (Male JG B-Group), Hannah Bernal (Female JG B-Group) and Sloan Visin (Female JG C-Group)
While the bulk of the events have come and gone, Semana Nautica has one more week before coming to an end for the summer. Visit https://semananautica.com/events-1 for the full schedule.
