Up-And-Coming Young Triathletes Shine at 2025 USA Triathlon Cross National Championships in Oregon

HAGG LAKE, Ore. – Off-road athletes raced at the 2025 USA Triathlon Cross National Championships and Youth Cross National Championships on July 12-13 in Hagg Lake, Oregon.  

Hosted by Why Racing Events, Cross Nationals was held at the Hagg Lake Triathlon and Trail Festival and included National Championship events in Cross Triathlon (750-meter swim, 22-kilometer bike, 5k trail run) and Cross Duathlon (5k trail run, 22k gravel bike, 5k trail run). Athletes were also able to compete in other non-championship forms of multisport racing, including paddle triathlon, aquabike, duathlon and more. 

In the Cross Triathlon National Championships, 18-year-old Jacob Hamblin (Draper, Utah) placed first in a time of 1 hour, 33 minutes and 58 seconds, clocking the fastest splits in the swim and the bike. Andrzej Stadnik (Portland, Ore.) placed second in 1:35:40 and Jeremiah Romano (Woodland, Wash.) placed third in 1:41:38. Stadnik and Romano also won their age group titles, M35-39 and M40-44, respectively. 

Nineteen-year-old Shantelle Tupaz (Pleasanton, Calif.) placed first overall in the women’s race in a time of 1:44:01. She was followed by 18-year-old Abigail Wales (Springville, Calif.) in 1:47:51 and 18-year-old Mairin O’Brien (Bainbridge Island, Wash.) in 1:50:24. All three women also placed in the top three of their age group, F15-19. 

In the Athena category, Leslie Battle (Warwick, R.I.) placed first in 4:31:19 and Christina McCarthy (Saco, Maine) placed second in 5:35:49. 

In the Cross Duathlon National Championships, 17-year-old Jack Billowitz (Bend, Ore.) placed first overall in a time of 1:22:02. Sixteen-year-old Rafael Jopson (Roseville, Calif.) placed second in 1:28:14 and Darek Armer-Derner (Denver, Colo.) placed third in 1:28:38, winning the M40-44 age group. 

Tiffany Schwartz (Salt Lake City, Utah) placed first overall in the women’s race in 1:29:54, followed by Tory Sigmond (Issaquah, Wash.) in 1:38:26. Wales, who placed second in the Cross Triathlon the day prior, placed third in 1:40:54. Both Schwartz and Sigmond placed at the top of their age group, F35-39, and Wales placed first in her age group, F15-19. 

Battle, who placed first in the Athena category of the Cross Triathlon, also placed first in the Athena category of the Cross Duathlon in a time of 3:55:22. 

The event also hosted the inaugural Youth Cross National Championships, offering  youth multisport athletes of all abilities the chance to compete in cross triathlon on a national stage. USA Triathlon Youth and Junior Cross National Championships provides an exciting bridge between mountain bike riding and multisport racing, representing a tremendous opportunity to grow and diversify the sport of triathlon. 

Youth and junior athletes competed in three age groups: 7-10, 11-14, and 15-17, with champions for each division. Athletes ages 7-10 completed a 50-meter swim, 2-mile mountain bike, and half-mile run, while 11-14-year-olds completed a 100-meter swim, 3-mile mountain bike, and a half-mile run. Athletes ages 15-17 competed in the Sprint Distance Cross Triathlon Race which consists of a 750-meter swim, 14-mile mountain bike, and 5k run. The Age Group Cross Duathlon National Championship was also open to 15–17-year-olds. 

In the 15-17 division, Jack Billowitz, who placed first in the Cross Duathlon National Championship, placed first and recorded a time of 1:32:52, making him the fastest competitor of the day and qualifying him for the Junior Cross Triathlon World Championships in Pontevedra in 2026. Following Billowitz was Giulio Margutti (Henderson, Nev.) in 1:48:10 and Dorman Moehnke (Banks, Ore.) in 2:23:55. 

Avery Brooks (Beaverton, Ore.) placed first in the girl’s division in a time of 2:55:02. 

In the 11-14 division, Jax Waterstreet (Forest Grove, Ore.) placed first in a time of 35:26. Lucas Loeffler (Beaverton, Ore.) placed second in 39:15 and Cam Cox (North Plains, Ore.) placed third in 44:08. 

Ashlynn Peterson (Banks, Ore.) placed first overall in the girl's division in 46:52 and Cora Loeffler (Beaverton, Ore.) placed second in 49:47. 

In the 7-10 division, Graham Brooks (Beaverton, Ore.) placed first overall in 13:15. Brooks was followed by Ty Peterson in 17:16 and Ryan Steigerwald (Forest Grove, Ore.) in 17:44. 

For more information on 2025 USA Triathlon Cross Nationals, visit the event’s website here. 

For more information on 2025 USA Triathlon National Championships, click here.