Greater Waco Sports Commission Selects 8 Waco Residents for 3nd Year of TEAM Waco

The reason we all love sports is because of the stories within them. Triathlons are often individualized sports and other than a support team, it may seem like there isn’t a lot of attention on the individual athlete. With the IRONMAN race hosted in Waco for 5 more years, we want to help create more local stories for the community to support. Our goal is to provide the opportunity for local residents to overcome their hurdles (financial, mental, and physical) to achieve their dream of becoming an IRONMAN.     

GWSC partnered with local businesses (Ascension Providence, Active Group Therapy, Bodyhack Labs, NVDM Coaching, Sigma Swimming, The Bear Mountain, YMCA Waco, Yoga8, and the Greater Waco Chamber) in creating 8 sponsorships.  These sponsorships are valued at over $7,000 worth of equipment, training, and race entries including the entry to the IRONMAN in Waco October 6, 2024.

This initiative called TEAM Waco started two years ago and has been a huge success by giving our community real people to cheer for and support. This year we received close to 60 applications and after a round of interviews, 8 McLennan County residents were selected as the next TEAM Waco.  Their stories are incredible and exciting for Waco to cheer for. Newly added this year, TEAM Waco will have 2 of the 8 individuals working toward completing the IRONMAN 70.3 Relay.      

TEAM Waco:

Emma Cartisano

Regan Haddock

Kaden Huff

Robert Gonzales

Troy Roenfanz

Jose Vallejo

Relay TEAM Waco:

Shannon Best (Swim & Run)

Chris Wills (Bike)

Each of these individuals has a specific reason or story for why they were selected, and they’d love to share. Please let us know if you’d like to interview any of them and we will help coordinate based on availability. These athletes will get to compete because of this community but also for this community. Please follow along their journey on the Greater Waco Sports Commission social media accounts (@WacoSports) as we have weekly check-ins and monthly highlights on their journey so far.

For any questions or feedback please reach out to Mike@WacoSports.org