Athletic Mentors Junior Development Archives

Meet Nick Galanis – Junior Triathlete

May 2nd, 2025 by JoAnn Cranson

By: Nick Galanis

My name is Nick Galanis, and I am 13 years old in 7th grade.

Throughout the year, I actively participate in five different sports: wrestling, swimming, cross country, track, and triathlon. I have a passion for pushing my limits in new competitive settings, and each sport offers exciting opportunities for personal growth while fostering teamwork as we all strive toward a shared goal. Wrestling, in particular, is one of my favorite sports. I thrive on the intensity of competition and deeply value the camaraderie of the team, which motivates me to consistently improve—becoming quicker, stronger, and setting new personal records.

I stumbled upon triathlon by chance when my parents suggested I consider participating in the DeWitt Duathlon last summer. Without hesitation, I agreed, and with my dad’s guidance, I started training the very next day. By race day, I felt both mentally and physically prepared, and while nervous I was ecstatic to secure first place overall. That experience ignited a profound passion for the sport, and since my parents agreed to enroll me in my first official triathlon shortly after, I haven’t looked back. My love for triathlon continues to flourish, and it means the world to see my parents and twin sister supporting me and cheering from the sidelines at every event.

Many athletes inspire me, but Sam Long stands out the most. Watching him compete, I admire his kindness and respect toward his fellow racers. His unwavering positivity and sportsmanship—regardless of the outcome—are qualities I deeply respect and strive to emulate in my own athletic journey.

Looking ahead to the next season, my goal is to place in the top 20 at the US Junior National Triathlon. To achieve this, I am focusing on improving my weakest discipline: cycling. I’ve created a detailed training calendar to track my progress and ensure I meet my daily goals. By staying consistent with my routine—both in and out of season—and dedicating time to all three triathlon disciplines, I aim to achieve new personal records and reach important milestones in pursuit of my top-20 goal.

In five years, I see myself continuing to compete in my favorite sports, driven by the same determination and love for improvement. My ultimate dream is to attend one of the United States Military Academy’s, allowing me to serve my country and continue striving for excellence in both academics and athletics.

A 5th Grader’s Triathlete Story

March 20th, 2025 by JoAnn Cranson

By: Kinley Polnasek

My name is Kinley Polnasek and I am 11 years old and currently in 5th grade at St. Joseph Elementary in Battle Creek. This is my second year participating with Team Athletic Mentors. I love all things sports and currently play basketball and soccer in addition to triathlons. I completed my first kids triathlon when I was 7 years old at the Cereal City Triathlon. No one in my family or extended family has ever participated in the sport so I thought it would be cool if I was the first one! While I was nervous at first, I loved how fast and competitive it was. The final sprint through the finish line is always my favorite part. It gives me the chance to really push myself and see how much more I have to give!

I am really proud of how I’ve finished each race I’ve competed in and how much I’ve improved on my weakest area, the swim. I’ve been working hard with a local swim club to gain more confidence, speed and endurance.

Out of all three disciplines, the run is probably my favorite. At a very young age I watched my parents compete in different run distances and then started joining in on the shorter ones. My dad is a big inspiration when it comes to running. He has completed six 100-mile races including the Western States 100. Since being involved in these ultra marathons, I’ve come across several women who I look up to and am inspired by, such as Courtney Dauwalter, Sally McRae and Des Linden. I’ve read their books and often find myself using their mantras. Courtney’s idea of the pain cave pushes me to my own limits and Des Linden’s mantra ‘Calm, calm, calm, relax, relax, relax’ is one I find myself repeating.

My main goal for this year is to bump up to a Sprint Triathlon for at least one of my races. The last couple of years I’ve done Super Sprints or Kid’s Events and I’m hoping to be able to push my training and get even more experience at the next level. I plan to race a few new triathlons this year including the new South Haven Tri. In between my soccer and basketball training, I plan to keep up with my running, start getting outside for biking and continue strength training with my mom at Athletic Mentors!

In five years I will be in the middle of my high school career. While I’m uncertain of what that might look like, I am certain that I will continue my athletic career. I would love to attend a college like University of Michigan or Notre Dame and compete at the next level. That is the dream!

Learn About Our Newest Jr. Triathlete – Briony Dean

February 24th, 2025 by JoAnn Cranson

By: Briony Dean

Hi, my name is Briony Dean! I am 14 years old and a freshman in high school. I see myself as an athlete and try to be my best. I am currently pursuing track where I hope to run the 800 and the mile.

My favorite athletic activity has got to be swimming. Something that makes me very proud of myself is that this year, I went to the Division 2 state meet as an alternate for Portage Northern. I’ve wanted to be in the water for as long as I can remember. Now, I’ve been a competitive swimmer for almost 7 years! The part about competitive swimming that I love the most is mainly the environment. I love being able to race, drop time, and qualify for different meets.

To be honest, I don’t know what got me into swimming, I’ve always loved being in the water. However, these past few years, watching the Olympics and legends like Katie Ledecky or Summer McIntosh win gold has inspired me to keep going. My goal this year is to compete more and to make an individual state cut. To reach this, I am going to train hard and push myself like never before.

My newest athletic endeavor is triathlon. I was able to join my friends at a triathlon camp this past summer. I enjoyed the tri camp we did over the summer, and cheering on my friends and future teammates at the Shermanator. I had fun when we did our mile swim and short bike ride around the Gull Lake area. With my experience with running and swimming, I thought that doing triathlons would be a great opportunity and a good way to use my free time over the summer.

In five years, I see myself in college, working hard to succeed in academics and athleticism. I want to stay in the state but would like to get into a top university. I am super excited for the future and what is to come.

Learning New Disciplines

November 1st, 2024 by JoAnn Cranson

By: Miriam Bretzlaff

I made a goal for the 2023-2024 season to expand my training and racing into multiple disciplines; and I am happy to say that I was successful in doing so. This year I began to take part in several Team Athletic Mentors road, gravel, and cyclocross functions which provided me with enjoyable and interesting experiences. I have predominantly raced MTB cross country (XC) for the past eight years since I started MiSCA and Ore to Shore, and my training and riding has reflected this. XC has always been a ton of fun but I’m really glad I started trying new things, too.

Road: Before this season, the only road riding I took part in was a few weekly Lucky 13 group rides. The first major road ride I did was during the TAMJD North Carolina training camp with my teammates and friends, which was a 70 mile, almost 6 hour, challenging route with a whole lot of mechanical problems and stops. It was probably the most painful ride I’ve ever done and it was pretty eye opening. During that same week, I participated in the attack on Mt. Mitchell, going 33 miles up a mountain and 33 miles back down. While this was yet another painful experience, the feeling of freedom hitting 50 miles per hour cruising down a closed road with my friends next to me was also such a great experience and a ton of fun. Later in the season, I raced in the Waterford Hills road race series for the first time. I did not perform very well and was almost immediately dropped and lapped by my group. This was a disappointing result but I stuck with it and kept competing in those races until I achieved third place, just behind first and second, in the last race of the series. I also attended a larger-scale crit in Ada where I was able to exercise my new skills. Overall, road racing and riding has become a lot of fun and very enjoyable for me this year and I am excited to continue that career next season.

Gravel: I’ve done the Barry Roubaix gravel race for a few years now, and I absolutely love it. There are so many gravel roads by my house and I’ve started doing the majority of my training on them. I also enjoy going on longer endurance rides on gravel with my friends because a lot of the roads connect to really cool destinations, shops, and restaurants which enhance the fun of the rides and give me something to look forward to. My peak race this year was the Cowpie Classic 35 mile where I just had a ton of fun while working really hard, and it paid off in my results. Next year I plan on increasing my mileage while training on gravel with the goal of attending gravel nationals. Gravel is one of my favorite disciplines because it’s beautiful, accessible, and enjoyable.

Cyclocross:
This season I continued to attend TAMJD cyclocross practices, which revealed to me how much I love the discipline. I made an effort to attend several CX races this fall but unfortunately I was unable to make it to any due to a busy schedule. Next season I plan to attend multiple of these races and continue training for them.

XC:
While adding these new dynamics to my training and racing, I did not neglect mountain biking. I competed in plenty of XC races this season. At Tree Farm Relay, the first one of the year, I had an unfortunate crash that put me out of commission for a few weeks. However, I got
right back into it and raced Ore to Shore. I did pretty good in my MiSCA season as well, finishing in top ten overall in a stacked field. I am looking forward to racing Iceman this year as well, and get a little redemption from last year. I love the fast-paced technicality of XC and the features I have the opportunity to face.

I am happy to have extended my interests and activities, and I’m excited to continue training and racing in these new disciplines next year.

Why Running

November 10th, 2023 by JoAnn Cranson

By: Kellen Siems

My name is Kellen Siems. I am 14 years old and a freshman at Hackett Catholic Prep. This is my second year racing for Athletic Mentors. I competed in many triathlons and 5K races this past spring and summer.

I started off the triathlon season with the sprint distance at the Grand Rapids Triathlon, moving up from the supersprint distance last year. I then did the Cereal City Triathlon for the first time. I was back doing the Shermanator.

My favorite triathlon was the Michigan Titanium Olympic relay. My sister and brother were on my team. Brie swam, Sean biked, and I ran. I made sure to train hard because I had not run a 10K in a while. We were able to cross the finish line together and ended up winning third place.

When I first heard about the relay we decided I was going to do the running portion. When I got the news that I was running I had to start training. Training consisted of me going out over the summer and running three to six miles. Some days I would head to a track to do short hard interval runs to improve my speed. When I finished every workout I made sure to stretch to help prevent pain and discomfort later. I also made sure to drink lots of water before and after every workout.