By Myra Bean

Last Saturday, the annual Dragonfly Triathlon was held on Sardis Lake. Five people from Panola County participated in the 1/2 mile swim, 18-mile bike ride and four-mile run.
Numbered in the over 200 participants were Perrin Caldwell, Tyler Wilson, Stephen Whatley, Bradley Pickett and C. D. Overton.

Whatley, 30, placed third in his age group 30-34. He finished the triathlon in 1:38:49.97 hours. His swim was 15:03.95 minutes. The bike ride was 51/37.57 and the run was 30:17.42.
Whatley of Edward Jones Investments said he was surprised by the finish.

“There are some very solid athletes all over the mid-south,” he said. “It was a good group that showed up.”

This was Whatley’s second year to participate in the Dragonfly. He and three other men work year round on being prepared for events like this.

They swim at the Turner Center in Oxford two mornings per week. They ride 40 to 100 miles per week from the Batesville Square to Courtland or to Sardis Lower Lake.

The group runs three to 10 miles per day as they can in between the other two events.
“The Dragonfly should get more recognition in this area,” Whatley said. “Athletes stayed in our hotels and ate at our restaurants. We should be more behind this event.”

This group is planning a 10-mile run/5K walk on November 2.

Bradley Pickett
Bradley Pickett, 42, participated in his first Dragonfly Triathlon. He had been in one in Arizona a few years ago.

“Charles David Overton talked me into it,” he said. C. D., as he is known, did not have a lot of arm twisting to do. Pickett said he had been wanting to do one.

“The funniest thing about mine is I finished dead last. On the bike ride, I got a flat on the fifth mile. I had to ride 13 miles on a flat,” he said.

Instead of riding about 20 or 21 miles per hour, his ride was at 11.16 miles per hour and took 1:36:47.77 hours. His total time was 3:01:40.55. His swim was 24:16.02 minutes and the run was 52:42.74 minutes.

He said at first the flat tire was depressing, “but I finished. That is the most important part.”
Pickett was on order with the National Guard so he trained where he was.

C. D. Overton
Overton, 43, did not just encourage Pickett to participate in the Dragonfly, he also participated.
He finished the triathlon in 1:49:10.20 hours. His swim time was 10:44.55 minutes. He finished the bike race in 56:54.30 minutes and his run took 28:30.33 minutes.
Overton was a participant in the Boston Marathon earlier this year.

Perrin Caldwell, Tyler Wilson
Veteran Dragonfly participator Perrin Caldwell, 53,  teamed up in a relay with Tyler Wilson. They finished the Dragonfly in 1:52:49.98.
The swim took 20:15.14 minutes followed by the bike race in 51:18.87 minutes and the run at 39:26.75 minutes.