Hilton Head teens win Beaufort River Swim. Record $20,000 raised for YMCA Learn to Swim
Two teenagers from Hilton Head took the men’s and women’s titles in the 3.2-mile Beaufort River Swim, which raised a record amount for water safety.
In the women’s race, Skylar Bruner, 16, of Hilton Head, recorded a time of 49 minutes, 11 seconds, which was good enough for first place and 2 minutes ahead of the second-place finisher.
In the men’s race, 15-year-old Blaise Minckler, also of Hilton Head, was first with a time of 47:17.
Bruner is a member of a swimming family that includes her brother, Cohen, 18, who will swim for the U.S. Naval Academy, and her father, Carlton, 49, of Cat Island, a world-class distance swimmer in the 1990s who competed in the 1996 Olympics.
Cohen and Carlton also competed in the 3.2-mile race, the 15th annual.
Cohen finished third overall with a time of 48:32. Skylar finished fourth place overall, right behind her brother.
Carlton, who finished in 50 minutes, was 9th.
The race starts at The Sands beach in Port Royal and finishes at the marina in Beaufort. This year, 90 swimmers competed.
The Beaufort-Jasper YMCA of the Lowcountry sponsors the event. Proceeds benefit the YMCA Learn To Swim Program.
This year, $20,000 was raised, $6,000 more than last year and the largest amount ever, said Denice Fanning of the YMCA and event director.
The annual swim was expanded this year to include running races and additional swim challenges for competitors. Overall, 200 people participated.
Jack Ussery of Bluffton won the 3.2-mile swim/5K run combo. His time was 2 hours, 10 minutes.
Claire Cuca of Beaufort won the 3.2 swim/5K run combo. Her time was 2:28.
Yorlliry Morena of Hardeeville won the men’s run-swim-run challenge, which was the 3.2-mile swim sandwiched between runs Friday night and Saturday.
Heidi Gross of Ohio was the top female in the run-swim-run challenge.
