Salem's Kelly (LaPlume) Hulshult is in St. Croix, but this is, at best, a working vacation.
Hulshult will get plenty of sun ... while competing today in the St. Croix Half Ironman. That's a 1.25-mile ocean swim, a 56-mile bike ride and a 13.1-mile run.
Although a recent calf strain has her concerned, otherwise Hulshult, 44, is ready to go.
"I'm probably in better shape now than I was in college," she said shortly before departing for the Virgin Islands.
That's impressive as she still owns the area schoolgirl javelin record with a whopping 148-10 throw in 1982. Also, she was a four-year starter in field hockey at Ohio State, where she was second-team All-Big 10 in 1985, led the Buckeyes in assists twice and scored a team-high nine goals in 1983.
This will be a step up as Hulshult's previous longest triathlons were a half-mile swim, 18-mile ride, 5K run.
Not that she's complaining.
"It's definitely a challenge, especially the swim,'' she said. "It's hard when you put all three together. When you get to the run, you really have to try to finish."
There are obstacles the layman can't even conceive of.
"The swim is always the big problem for most triathletes," she explained. "It's like being in a washing machine with all those bodies. I had two black eyes because a guy kicked me in the face."
Hopefully he apologized because her husband, Dr. Gene Hulshult, a dentist with a practice in Concord, N.H., was a scholarship offensive lineman at Ohio State.
Hulshult is big on preparation. She checked out the course in March.
One thing she noticed was the hills for the cycling.
"They are called the Beasts," said Hulshult, whose parents, Janine and Ray LaPlume, still live in Salem.
Given her athletic background, triathlons made sense.
"I'm pretty competitive," said Hulshult, who has a 14-year-old daughter, Amelia, and a 12-year-old son, Andrew, who both attend the Pike School in Andover. "I didn't have a competitive outlet. I was playing old lady soccer!''
Her friend, Cheryl Andreasen of Kingston, N.H., sold her on triathlons. Hulshult has done about 10 shorter triathlons and duathlons.
"I just want to toe the start line and cross the finish line," she said. "If you compete all your life, you learn to ignore certain things. My friend (Andreasen) says you have to learn how to suffer in a triathlon. You push yourself through it. It's an accomplishment to finish."
Hulshult will be joined by several teammates from the TriFury club including Tom and Lyn Licciardello of North Andover, Sharon Johnson of Andover, Adam and Christine Cooper of Salem, Bruce Rose of Bradford, Caroline Kavanagh of Andover and Rich Ebbert of Andover.
Buckeye scholars
At one point, Ohio State field hockey heavily recruited our region. And the Buckeyes lured some talented scholar-athletes.
Salem's Kelly (LaPlume) Hulshult (1982-85), Salem's Sally Shackleton (1977-80) and Methuen's Kathy Szostak (1980-83) were each four-year Buckeye Scholars. Szostak also was OSU's leading scorer in 1981 with 12 goals and an assist.
Don't forget Big Baby
This was the Year of the Left Tackle in the NFL draft with Jason Smith of Baylor going second, Andre Smith of Alabama sixth, Eugene Monroe of Virginia eighth and Michael Oher of Ole Miss 23rd.
I have to believe, though, the best of the bunch wasn't even selected. Boston Celtics power forward Glen ''Big Baby'' Davis would have been a fifth-year senior this year if he had stayed at LSU.
He was one of the top high school prospects in the country for both sports — then LSU football coach Nick Saban drooled over him — but he opted for basketball. But at about 6-8, 300 pounds with his footwork, clearly, he's more of a natural football player.
Considering Jason Smith will likely sign for nearly $60 million, Davis, who is making $711,517 this year, may have made the wrong career choice.
Spears' towering teammate
The prep schools continue to swarm down on the public schools like vultures. St. Mark's, which already scooped up Georgetown's 5-7 super sophomore Jaymie Spears, will be adding a little height. Kaleb Tarczewski, a 6-10 sophomore from tiny Stevens High in Claremont, N.H., is also transferring to the Southborough, Mass., prep school.
Cakes are baking
Belated birthday wishes to Haverhill native Gerry Ashworth, the Olympic gold medal sprinter, who turned 67 on Friday. If you see Londonderry's Stefanie Murphy on Monday, wish the BC hoop star a happy 20th. ... What constitutes a Hall of Famer? A .500 record (65-65-1) over 13 years was enough to get one coach recently into the Mass. Football Coaches Hall of Fame.
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