Bad weather and choppy seas did little to prevent dedicated athletes who turned out in droves for the 25th annual Westchester Triathlon this fall.

Roughly 930 competitors made their way through the 32-mile course, which kicked off with a 9/10-mile swim in the waters off Rye’s Oakland Beach. Unfortunately for some competitors, however, some swimmers went even further than that after the heavy winds blew the race buoy off-course. The race continued with a 25-mile bike race that twisted through Westchester County, before coming down to a 6.2-mile foot race that concluded in Rye Town Park.

Among the elite racers, Andrew Starykowicz was able to parlay a blistering 58-minute bike split into a first place finish, completing the course in 1:58.30. Starykowicz was able to hold off a challenge from Army graduate Nicholas Vandam, finishing 10 seconds ahead of the 22-year-old.

Rebbeca Wassner, who won the women’s elite competition in 2007 and 2008, added another Westchester win to her resume, beating second-place finisher Alicia Kaye by over a minute.

Several local amateurs fared well also, with Rye teens Mason Curtis, Tyler Breckenridge and Greg Langer earning top 10 spots in the 15-19 age group; Rye Brook’s Chris Budden finished fourth in the 30-34 group. Don Gervais of Rye finished 3rd in the 35-39 bracket, Bronxville’s Randolph Mayer took a third-place finish in the 55-59 bracket, and race-chair Phillip Gormely of Rye finished with a time of 2:24.59 to take second among racers aged 50-54.

On the women’s side, Cassie McWilliam of Rye put together a time of 2:22.32, making her the top amateur finisher, while fellow Rye resident Michele Wolfson finished 5th overall. Kristen Budden of Rye Brook and Shana Marshall of Mamaroneck finished 2nd and 4th among runners aged 30-34, Rye’s Noga Ruttenberg and Victoria Cerami placed first and second in the 35-39 and 50-54 divisions respectively, while New Rochelle’s Andrea Luongo finished 4th  in the 40-44 bracket.

In the kids’ triathlon, which was run on Saturday, the Popp siblings of Rye all excelled, with Katie winning the 7-10 overall bracket, brother Connor, 7, placing second, and older brother Ryan finishing third in the 11-14 age group.

-Reporting by MIKE SMITH