Kostich wins St. Croix Coral Reef Swim Fifth Year in a Row

ST. CROIX, UNITED STATES VIRGIN ISLANDS (October 26, 2003) – On Sunday, October 26, 2003, Alex Kostich, age 33, from Los Angeles, California, claimed his fifth victory in a row in the St. Croix Coral Reef Swim. Kostich was the overall solo finisher, with a time of 1 hour, 45 minutes, and 33 seconds. Kostich holds the course record, set in 2002, at time of 1 hour, 36 minutes, and 12 seconds.

The 8th Annual St. Croix Coral Reef Swim took place from Buck Island Reef National Monument to The Buccaneer resort’s Mermaid Beach with 124 swimmers participating, including 92 Solo swimmers, 17 Fin swimmers, and 15 Relay swimmers.

Second overall solo swimmer was James Barber, age 43, from Zionsville, Indiana, with a time of 1 hour, 48 minutes, and 16 seconds. Third overall solo was Joseph Sheehan, age 32, from Melrose, Massachusetts with a time of 1 hour, 55 minutes, and 31 seconds. Evan Welting, age 29, from Decatur, Georgia, placed 4th with a time of 1 hour, 56 minutes, and 33 seconds. Brian Furlong, age 26, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, rounds out the top 5, with a time of 1 hour, 58 minutes, and 16 seconds.

The top woman finishing the race was Betty Mills, age 39, of Atlanta, Georgia, who placed 6th overall with a time of 1 hour, 58 minutes, and 48 seconds. The second woman was Rebecca Kalibat, age 40, from Princeton, New Jersey, with a time of 1 hour, 59 minutes, and 12 seconds. Third woman solo finisher was Niki Adams, age 32, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with a time of 2 hours, 7 minutes, and 8 seconds.

The top finishers in the Junior Male Solo category are all from St. Croix. Branden Whitehurst, age 13, finished first in the category with a time of 2 hours, 44 seconds. Whitehurst placed 10th in overall results and was the top finisher from the Virgin Islands. Ryan Nelthropp, age 14, finished second with a time of 2 hours, 1 minute, and 13 seconds. Kamal Russell, age 17, placed third with a time of 2 hours, 41 minutes, and 23 seconds.

The top Junior Female Solo was local swimmer Nicole Hutchins, age 15, of St. Croix, with a time of 2 hours, 2 minutes, and 5 seconds. Hutchins was 12th in the overall results. She was followed by Keri Whitehurst, age 17, also of St. Croix, finishing with a time of 2 hours, 2 minutes, and 30 seconds. Gabriela Fiebel, age 15, from West Windsor, New Jersey, placed third with a time of 2 hours, 3 minutes, and 7 seconds.

The youngest solo swimmer in the race was Annie Myrvang, age 12, of St. Croix, who finished 74th overall, with a time of 3 hours, 17 minutes, and 50 seconds. The oldest swimmer was Leo Oros of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, age 75, who placed 85th, completing the course 4 hours, 9 minutes, and 54 seconds.

Swimmers representing 22 of the United States competed again this year, and 36 competed from the United States Virgin Islands. The unique event began this year at 7:30 a.m. with the blowing of a conch shell, signaling the participants to begin swimming the 5-mile open water course from Buck Island.

In addition to the swimmers, 10 boat captains, more than 60 kayakers, 8 emergency medical technicians, 3 safety SCUBA divers, and dozens of other volunteers donated their time and services for a safe operation again this year. St. Croix race organizers are Elizabeth A. Armstrong, General Manager of host hotel The Buccaneer; official race timer Wallace Williams, kayak organizer Peter Brown with assistance from Dick and Debbie Merritt; and boat captain organizer Ed Staats.

Sponsors of the event are American Airlines, The Victor Swimwear, The Buccaneer, Aqua Moon Adventures, Caribbean Bracelet Company, Mile Mark Watersports, Joel Tutein and the National Park Service, Endurance Sports, Hovensa, Bellows International, Cruzan Rum, St. Croix Yacht Club, Green Cay Marina, V.I. Family Sports and Fitness Center, Anchor Dive Center, and Virgin Kayak and Canoe Outfitters.

Next year’s swim is scheduled for Sunday, October 24, 2004. For more information on this and other races organized by Randy Nutt, log on to www.randynutt.com.