WINONA LAKE – It was a balmy 58 degrees and the water temperature was “announced” at 72 degrees. Not exactly the most ideal of conditions for the 22nd running of the Warsaw Optimist Triathlon. But a lot of rain and all the excuses went away as waves of competitors took off into the sideways blankets of wind-blown water covering Winona Lake Saturday morning.

Nearly 400 competitors took on the triathlon and maintained its bike route to Pierceton and back and a run around Winona Lake’s trail system to compliment the quarter-mile swim out and back from Winona Lake Park.

The race for the overall championship came down to two men who didn’t race against each other. The first official person to cross the finish line was Zack Willig, who raced into the finish chute at 1:08:30. Willig, a Naperville native and current student at Michigan State University, had a long wait to find out if his time would hold up after running with the first wave of competitors.

“I did this race two years ago and I like it a lot,” said Willig immediately after finishing his second Warsaw Optimist Triathlon. “It’s flat and very scenic. I like the run a lot. There’s a lot of challenging places on this course that would trip people up. I was able to make up some ground on the bike, and passed the guy in front of me. I just kept going from there, hopefully the time holds up.”

As over a half dozen groups were sent into Winona Lake, the third wave would eventually produce the overall champion. Brad McCracken, running in his sixth Optimist, felt optimistic that he had the juice to finish at or near the top. With Willig and several of the faster athletes already changed and mainly dry, the Fort Wayne father of two chugged into home with a time of 1:08:24 while a good portion of the racing was still going on.

Taking home honors for the ladies was a fantastic run by Jennifer Zimmer. Using a 7:58 first leg in the water, Zimmer maintained her speedy pace with a 40:55 bike ride and even 27 minutes on foot to produce an overall time of 1:17:51. The Zionsville native bested runner-up Olivia Vonguten by 56 seconds to claim the women’s title.

The triathlon added a unique twist for competitors this year. Rather than swimming the quarter-mile, the option to kayak the water distance was given, and 10 took the boat route. Winning the kayak-bike-run tri was Eric Cusick of Winona Lake at 1:31:53.

Taking the relay title was the group of O’Brien, Pritchard and Kolton, combining to post a 1:17:14, a full minute ahead of the second of 14 relays to compete.

The kids also had a chance to show their stuff. In the 11-12 age group, Cameron Zimmerman of Crown Point by far had the top time at 22:58 of the five that competed in the group. Two times were recorded in the 13-14 age group, with Warsaw’s Ben Bergen at 30:42 topping Julian Nelson’s 41:57.

Also racing the course was myTEAM Triumph, a not-for-profit organization from Warsaw that provides a ride along opportunity for people with disabilities. Taking Captains Mason Metzger and Jacob Brock for the ride were over a half-dozen Angels, who pulled the two in rafts in the water and pulled them along in carts on the road. The looks on the two Captain’s faces made the dreary morning much better for the hundreds of supporters along the course.

The Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Club puts on the event each year, using entry fees to bounce back into the community to help children’s initiatives. Race coordinator Ron Donkers, in his ninth year hosting the event, announced Saturday this will be his final face as committee leader and will pass the duties on for the 2016 season.

For complete times and standings, visit the End Race site, the official timekeeper for the Warsaw Optimist Triathlon.