Lance Wolfsmith, 16, is no stranger to the South County sports
community. Now he is looking to branch out by competing in a
world-class championship triathlon.
By Jeremy Barousse
Special to the Dispatch
Lance Wolfsmith, 16, is no stranger to the South County sports community. Now he is looking to branch out by competing in a world-class championship triathlon.
What makes this race different from those that Wolfsmith has previously dominated in his young career is that he will be representing his country at the PATCO Pan American Junior Championships April 19 in Mazatlan, Mexico.
“It is definitely the most prestigous race I’ve ever been in,” Wolfsmith said. “I’ll be wearing the U.S.A uniform and representing the U.S. against other countries.
“It’s pretty cool.”
The Pan American games is a compound of a 750-meter ocean swim, 20-kilometer bike ride and a five-kilometer run.
Wolfsmith, who is the youngest and only 16-year-old competing with the U.S. triathlon team, will be contending among seven junior triathletes, four of whom are members of the U.S. Junior National Team.
USA Triathlon, the organization that manages the National Team, extended an invitation the jovial athlete to compete in the Pan American games after finishing seventh among U.S. athletes and 13th overall while competing against the National Team at last year’s national championships in Longmont, Colo.
“I was pumped when I got that e-mail,” said Wolfsmith. “Last season, there were so many bumps in the road. I didn’t think I finished that strong at Nationals. The coach must’ve seen something that impressed him.”
According to U.S. Junior National Team coach Andy Schmitz, the main focus for inviting Wolfsmith to compete in the Pan American is to perform well and help the U.S. National team earn and secure spots for the Junior World Championships, which will be held the first weekend of June in Vancouver, British Columbia.
“Lance is not on our Junior National Team, but he is definitely on our radar as the next tier of athletes who we are looking at to be on the national level,” Schmitz said. “He is one of our top eight guys competing in the junior level. We want to use this race and perform well so we can get as many spots as we can at the World Championships.”
Wolfsmith will be the only triathlete from California, which is rare since the state is arguably the most competitive in triathlon racing.
The Junior National team is comprised of eight young men and women aged 16-19 who are selected, developed and funded by USA Triathlon to compete in International triathlons.
Though Wolfsmith has been extended an invitation from the national team to compete in the Pan Americans, he will not receive full funding from USA Triathlon.
In September, he broke the Pacific Grove course record while racing with the Wolfpack, a junior elite team made up of young triathlon athletes from Morgan Hill and Gilroy and coached by Wolfsmith’s father, Dave Wolfsmith.
As his son’s coach, Dave said that Lance’s biggest challenge will be balancing the training for the Pan Pacific and his high school track season.
“One of the biggest challenges is that this race will be right in between some of the biggest track meets in the area,” said Dave. “He will be competing in the K Bell and the Saint Francis and will have to go down to Mexico to compete in this race. But we’re gonna make it all work. The U.S. coaches have been giving us a lot of support and keeping in touch with us.”
The proud father, who inspired Wolfsmith to become a triathlete, said that his son is great about balancing his training with his academics and social life.
“I’m very proud of him,” said Dave. “He’s pulled his grades up. This is a serious group of competitors that he’s with and most of them who are competing at a national level are pulled out of school and are home-schooled so they can concentrate on just triathlons. Lance is doing the opposite, he competes in Sobrato cross-country and track and he’s got a girlfriend.”
Wolfsmith finished ninth at the state finals in cross-country as a sophomore,
and said he is used to handling the pressure of school and athletics.
“I don’t let it get to me,” said Wolfsmith. “I have to say that I never get stressed out. You do what you have to do.”
Dave also said that his son adds an extra hour of training for his triathlons to his track and field and cross-country training, which he trains for about four days a week.
Though his bike and run times are exceptionally well in triathlon competition, Wolfsmith and his coaches admit that his swim mechanics could use some improvement.
“We’re trying to get (swimming) down,” Wolfsmith said. “Last year, I started training too late and that backfired on me. I wasn’t in shape for the racing season.”
Wolfsmith and his father were looking for a good swim coach to help with his swim time. They landed on Tom Clark, a longtime swim coach for the Gilroy Gators, a Gilroy swim team who has a valuable reputation in the South County area for developing strong swimmers.
“He’s a good coach,” said Wolfsmith. “I swam with him when I was younger and he’s awesome. I really like what we’re doing over there.”
While Wolfsmith looks to improve his swim time, academics still stands as a primary focus to him.
A slew of esteemed colleges have been sending him letters of interest, like UCLA, Texas A&M and Iowa State University, but Wolfsmith has his eye on the United States Naval Academy.
“I have opened up some doors for myself,” Wolfsmith said. “I got myself a job now at Concept Cyclery and they’ve been really supportive of me over there.”
In the meantime, Wolfsmith likes to emphasize that he does all of his training in Morgan Hill, with his Wolfpack squad.
“I never train by myslef,” Wolfsmith said. “I always have someone with me. We got a solid group of guys and training in Morgan Hill is great. It doesn’t get any better out here.”
