Hello Gators, Happy Father’s Day, Gator Dads!! Lots of great race results and other news to report this week. We’ve also partnered with our latest sponsor, the nutrition company Infinit. As part of our partnership, Infinit will be hosting a private one day club sale where our members will receive 40% off of any custom blend formulas. This sale will take place on Friday, June 26 (not Monday, June 22 as previously announced). Watch for more details coming your way via e-mail and Facebook! Also, we're about to roll out a mini-Gator Tots/Jr. Gators program later this summer with a target event in September... Stay tuned for more details! This week's news topics include...Congrats!... Certifiable!! Accomplishments… Up the creek, fly like an Eagle, across the Bay, and conquering the Cape!!Who’s Next?… We’re heading north… Syracuse and Boston!! Mark Your Calendars… Infinit Nutrition club sale and tomorrow's workout! Happy Birthday!: Best wishes to the following club members that are celebrating birthdays this week…Thursday, June 18: Doug Schmidt Friday, June 19 (TODAY): Maribeth Baker Congrats!Maribeth Baker… Congrats to Maribeth for achieving her USAT (USA Triathlon) coaching certification after completing a rigorous weekend certification course and passing the test with a close to perfect score! This is a great personal accomplishment for Maribeth and will make her an even more valuable asset to our team in the future. Mike Connelly… Congrats to Mike, a club member and our lead sponsor on his recent wedding to his beautiful wife Elizabeth Moore! Accomplishments: Four first time Half Ironman finishers as well as the inaugural Steelman French Creek took place last weekend. Additionally we had Gators turning in stellar performances in Delaware and Maryland and we also had a close call (with a positive result) in New Jersey…Ironman Eagleman 70.3 (Cambridge, MD): Four Lady Gators successfully completed their first half Ironman distance event on a hot, sunny, humid, no-wetsuit day. Great perseverance by all and an outstanding accomplishment!! FIRST-TIME HALF IRONMAN FINISHER: Steph Babiec… Way to go, Steph!!FIRST-TIME HALF IRONMAN FINISHER: Ellen Friend… Great job, Ellen!!FIRST-TIME HALF IRONMAN FINISHER: Maddie Matarazzo… Maddie also finished in the top 40% of all female finishers as well as in her age group (competing against women up to age 24) and in the top 50% overall. Excellent race, Maddie!!FIRST-TIME HALF IRONMAN FINISHER: Melissa Moffa… Fantastic performance, Melissa!! Steelman French Creek (Elverson, PA): Eigh Gators and two “friends of the Gators” successfully completed the first ever Steelman French Creek. Great job by Jon Wesler and all of the Gators and YMCA employees who volunteered the day before and day of the race to make it a successful debut!!…Trevor Bellino finished #1 in his age group… PODIUM!!... Trevor was also in the top 30% overall and top 20% on both the bike and run… Great season debut, Trevor!! Rebecca Bonawitz won her division… PODIUM!!... Awesome accomplishment, Rebecca!!Jason Brannen finished in the top half of the field overall as well as on the bike and run… Great job, Jason!! Rob Fletcher finished #5 overall as well as #3 in his age group… PODIUM!!... Rob’s other accomplishments included top 5 finishes on the bike and run as well as a top 25% finish on the swim… Excellent results, Rob!!Gregg Heimer achieved a top 40% finish on the bike and a top 45% finish on the swim… Way to go, Gregg!! Kristin Kozera had a successful second triathlon just a couple of weeks after her debut at Independence… Nice work, Kristin!!Dave Marine finished #9 overall and #1 in his age group… PODIUM!!... Dave’s other accomplishments included #2 overall swim, #12 overall on the bike, and top 50% on the run… Fantastic effort, Dave!! Stephanie Stranick overcame a difficult swim to have a successful bike and run… Way to hang in there, Steph!!Honorable mention: LeeMarren and Keith Houser successfully completed their first triathlon. Both were coached by Brian Kozera… Congrats, Brian, Lee, and Keith!! Princeton Tour de Cure (Plainsboro, NJ): Doug Schmidt had a scary moment about 40 miles into this cycling event. You can read Doug’s account on his Facebook post. We’re glad to report that Doug is okay and recovering nicely. Doug’s advice… Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! We’re really happy that you are okay, Doug!!Great Chesapeake Bay Swim (Stevensville, MD): Nabil Radouane had another amazing swimming achievement in completing this 4.4 mile swim across the Chesapeake Bay. Way to go, Nabil!! Cape Henlopen Duathlon/Triathlon (Lewes, DE): Thanks to another great effort from the Schlichtmanns and the Beauchamps, the Gators are in a solid #3 position in Piranha’s tri club season standings…Sprint Triathlon: Don Schlichtmann won his age group… PODIUM!!... Don’s other accomplishments included #11 overall finish, #2 T1, #8 bike, top 10% run, and top 20% swim and T2. Don is also currently ranked #5 overall and #1 in his age group in the Piranha season standings… Spectacular results, Don!! Sprint Duathlon:Kelly Beauchamp finished #14 overall and was the #3 female finisher and #2 in her age group… PODIUM!!... Kelly’s other accomplishments included top 3 finishes in both transitions, #6 overall bike, top 25% on run 1, and top 30% on run 2. Kelly is currently the #1 female in the overall Piranha season standings… Way to go, Kelly!! Ken Beauchamp finished #4 overall and #1 in his age group… PODIUM!!... Ken’s other accomplishments included #1 overall on the bike and in both transitions plus top 10 finishes in both runs. Ken is also ranked #2 overall and #1 in his age group in the Piranha season standings… Great event, Ken!! Who’s Next?: Just a handful of Gators in action this weekend, but for the third week in a row we have a first time Half Ironman distance participant. Plus our head coach is back in action! Best wishes to all for a safe and successful eventSaturday, June 20: Spartan Boston Super (Barre, MA): Jay ShermanSunday, June 21: Ironman Syracuse 70.3 (Syracuse, NY): Gator participants include…Maribeth Baker making her Half Ironman distance debut!Danny FriendDon Mack Mark Your Calendars:Saturday, June 20: Tri Club bike ride led by Byron… Meet at the Reynolds Dog Park for a 38 mile fairly hilly loop. Two options; join for one or both6:00am: Start of first loop8:30am: Start of second loopFriday, June 26: Infinit Private One Day Club Sale Go Gators! Don M