All winners of BIG Little River Paddle Race 2018-04-28

Previously you saw the overall winner of the 6th Annual BIG Little River Paddle Race, organized by WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS) and Friends of Reed Bingham State Park (FORB), Saturday, April 28, 2018. Update 2018-07-16: Plus pictures of all the paddlers.

Here are all the winners:


The prize category is included for each winner.

CategoryWinnerTimeFinishPrize
First Place OverallLloyd Reeves 30:15
Kayak Solo MaleDan Phillips 39:06
Kayak Solo FemaleTracy Vellidis 56:28
Kayak Tandem MMGregory Antonoplos & son 41:37
Kayak Tandem FFN/A
Kayak Tandem MFVictoria & Paul Horst 1:03:12
Canoe Solo MaleRay Cummings 48:40
Canoe Solo FemaleN/A
Canoe Tandem MMWayne Hale & Terry Donahue 41:33
Canoe Tandem FFN/A
Canoe Tandem MFKurt & Donna Knuth 1:28:37
Fallers AwardGregory Antonoplos & son 41:37
Youngest ParticipantXavier Mckenzie age 4
Oldest ParticipantWayne Hale Age 69
Traveled greatest
distance to
Participate		Kurt and Paula Knuth St. Petersburg, FL

Follow the links for more and bigger pictures on the WWALS website, by WWALS board member and Outings Committee Chair Phil Hubbard and his photographic helpers.

BLRPR is the brainchild of Bret Wagenhorst, who is a founding board member of WWALS. He wrote a few days later:

[Benjamin from Bret Wagenhorst of WWALS]
Benjamin from Bret Wagenhorst of WWALS

Events are made possible and special by individuals who contribute to their planning and execution and to those who donate items to be used for the event. The 6th annual BIG Little River Paddle Race is no exception.

Thanks to Phil Hubbard for making/donating the handsome first place trophy and medallions, and to the Sunbelt Runners for their time clock. A loud applause to the Friends of Reed Bingham group, including Ms. Walters and Ms. Brannen, WWALS members Ms. Kokidko, Ms. Wiegenstein, and to Mr. Gonzalez for handling the finish line. Shout out to Pastor Brannen and members of his congregation to helping with the shuttle and to WWALS members Mr. Hetzel and Ms. Quarterman and FORB members for handling registration efficiently and expeditiously. A grateful round of applause for the staff at Reed Bingham State Park and the Suwannee Riverkeeper Mr. Quarterman for their support and encouragement.

And also a BIG thank you to Cook Medical Clinic for sponsoring the event again this year—good to see local health care provider supporting community events and encouraging healthy outdoor activity for youth and adults.

BLRPR organizer Bret Wagenhorst wrote about the overall winner, Lloyd Reeves:

[Returns the prize money]
Returns the prize money

Witnessed an act of generosity yesterday that bears sharing. Two local non-profit organizations, WWALS Watershed Coalition/Suwannee RiverKeeper and the Friends of Reed Bingham State Park (FORB) held a fundraiser Saturday: a paddle race on the Little River. The first place prize supplied by WWALS was a $100 bill. This was matched by FORB with an additional $100 for anyone breaking the previous record for the event. The gentleman who won the event and broke the record got the full $200. He immediately gave it back as a donation. Good to know that generous souls still exist and care about the our state parks and the health of our regional waterways/aquifer.

You can see more pictures of this exchange in a previous post.

Bret neglected to mention that even though WWALS offered to put up the $100 prize, Dr. Wagenhorst as usual supplied it personally.

See also the other pictures of BLRPR 2018:

There will be another blog post with pictures of the rest of the paddlers. Here it is.


Photo: Bret Wagenhorst of Youngest Paddler Xavier McKenzie finishing.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!