BATTLE CREEK – Road construction can affect every day life.
Turns out, a certain road closure also might have affected who finished first and who finished second at the 2025 Cereal City Triathlon & Duathlon.
With Watkins Road closed due to construction most of this summer, officials for the annual triathlon had to adjust the race route and shorten the biking portion of the event by more than a mile.
That just might have been enough to help Sean Siems, 18, of Kalamazoo win the Cereal City Triathlon on Saturday, July 19, in Battle Creek.
Complete Cereal City Results: All Age-Group Results
Siems took advantage of a shorter biking portion of the race to hold off last year’s winner Jeremy Sikkema, who took second this summer.
“This is my third year doing this. I’ve lost to this guy (Sikkema) each time. The goal was to get past him this year. I’ve been racing against him for years,” said Siems, who runs track and cross country at Kalamazoo Hackett High School. “I am kinda good at swimming and running, so that’s why I started doing triathlons. Today, I came out of the water first and that was key because he is a faster biker. And, my best thing is the run, so I felt if I kept it close on the bike, I could win it.”
The event consists of a 500-meter swim at Goguac Lake, 10-mile bike through the Lakeview area and a 3.1-mile run. The biking portion had been nearly 12 miles in past years.
“This year the bike was shorter, so I had less time to get a lead,” Sikkema, 40, said. “He is a much better runner than I am, so I didn’t have enough of a lead to hold him off on the run.”
Siems finshed first in a time of 52.16 with Sikkema second at 54:39. Battle Creek’s Aiden Moore was third at 54:48.
The race had a family atmosphere to it as Siems’ younger sister Brie Siems, 16, was the overall female winner in a time of 1:06.01. Brooke Mikle of Battle Creek was second at 1:06.46 with Sarah Lyon third at 1:10.34.
Brie Siems has won the triathlon two straight years and her other brother Kellen Siems was the best finisher in the 19-under category this year.
“Last night, when I was checking people in, I couldn’t help but notice how many families are doing this together,” said event organizer Emily Bandeen. “Husband and wife, brother and sister, mom, dad and son or daughter. It has become a real family-oriented thing for our community.”
Corey Oldenberg, 34, was the overall winner in a time of 1:10.18 for the duathlon, which consists of the run and the biking portion. Eric Fernandez of Hickory Corners was second in 1:10.36.
Dani Van Lente of Marshall was the overall female winner of the duathlon in 1:07.15 with JoAnn Cranson of Lake Odessa second in 1:14.19.
Nick Galanis, 14, of Rochester won the Super Sprint Triathlon for the second year in a row in a time of 37:51.
2025 Cereal City Triathlon winners
Duathlon
Super Sprint
Contact Bill Broderick at bbroderi@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on X/Twitter @billbroderick.
This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Road closures don’t hamper competitors at 2025 Cereal City Triathlon
Reporting by Bill Broderick, Battle Creek Enquirer / Battle Creek Enquirer
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