I have been competing in triathlons since I was six years old. I started with the Ironkids bread series and traveled around the nation with my family competing. I have 3 brothers 2 sisters and at one point we all competed. After many of my brothers and sisters had found new passions I stuck with triathlons and trained solo. At age 13-14 I focused on swimming more then the other 2 disciplines. A year later I entered in some mountain bike races fell in love with the sport and then ran into the Xterra MTB Triathlon Series when I was 15. All of my triathlon training consisted of participating in numerous teams. I swam for the STAS year round swim team, ran cross-country and track, and rode independently. When I was 16, I joined a junior cycling team, which brought my cycling ability to the next level. I love Triathlons for the individuality of the sport. Strongest man wins is my way of racing. I hate holding back; I just go from the start. So this last year I joined a triathlon club team, Lombardi Sports, which led to finding my coach, Torsten Abel. So we got together and I laid my season out for him and he put my training plan in effect. What postponed my results earlier this year was an infection caused from poison oak in my ankle that took me off the bike for about 3-4 weeks. With some problems in the pre-season, I was able to build back up to my form during the season. I came around to Nationals with a perfect month of training prior to the race. Which led to a victory by 18 minutes. Next on the list was World Championships and I was ready to get back into training, shortly after Nationals. After finishing up three consecutive hard days of training. I didn’t recover well, and shortly after had gotten sick. It lingered with me for two weeks. With all the stress of not being able to train, as well as keeping up with a healthy diet, I just couldn’t get better. So I gave it all I had on race day and had to settle for 5th place. It was an awesome experience and motivated me for next year. I just love to race and to push myself harder then anyone else, in training and racing. Racing is like a rush and it’s so addicting. Once I finish, I just want more. This next year I want to focus more on MTB Racing and the Xterra Series as my main goals. I’ll also compete in road cycling and some road triathlons.