Once again, Wilmington's Matt Whistoff placed first overall in the event with a time of 1 hour and 2 minutes. The top female finisher was Kari Mayhew of Morrisville, N.C., with a time of 1 hour and 19 minutes. Top finishers in the open and age group divisions were presented with handmade trophies by Kids Making It that were made of boards from the old icehouse in downtown Wilmington, painted teal and adorned with sea shells collected from the shores of Wrightsville Beach by Mary Toffolon of Set Up Events. 

A total of 1,070 participants registered for the event, ranging from ages 11 to 82. Echoing the sentiment shared among the most other participants in Saturday's event, Wendy Price of Greenville, N.C., said the event went very smoothly and that the YMCA Triathlon is always a community-first atmosphere with everyone cheering for each other. 

"The great thing about this race is that nobody is intimidating and there are all kinds of skill levels out here," Price said. "It was really well organized and the volunteers did a fantastic job."