Lyons Township High School teachers rise to triathlon challenge
By Jane Michaels
jmichaels@pioneerlocal.com
May 25, 2012 2:22PM
Lyons Township High School social studies teacher Tom Swiontek crosses the finish line of a mini-triathlon earlier this month in memory of coach Fred Dryanki with proceeds earmarked to the LT Relay for Life June 9. | Photos by Jane Michaels-Sun-Times Medi
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Updated: July 2, 2012 9:42AM
Sometimes, the best lessons learned are caught, rather than taught, and that’s the hope of a hearty band of early-bird staff members at Lyons Township High School.
Forsaking a few extra minutes of sleep, 30 teachers and staff members donned swimsuits and Spandex to hit the south campus pool at 6:45 a.m. recently.
Adjusting goggles and swim caps, the athletes listened to physical education teacher Susie Murphy rattle off instructions for the May 17 mini-triathlon. Each participant would swim 150 yards, or six lengths of the pool, and then race down the hall to a gym with stationary bikes for a five-minute ride. The final leg was a one-third mile run or walk around the track outside.
“The sophomores do this same triathlon in PE classes, and so our feeling was to show them, ‘you’ll make it, because I did it, too,’” said Dana Krolikiewicz, who teaches special education and physical education and is training for the Chicago Triathlon Aug. 26.
But aside from serving as role models, teachers said they were spurred by a deeper motivation. They entered the event as a tribute to former colleague Fred Dryanski, who taught special education students in physical education classes and coached boys gymnastics for 30 years.
Dryanski retired in 2010 while battling pancreatic cancer, after recovering from prostate cancer six years prior. He died March 6.
With pledges and donations for the before-school triathlon, teachers collected $575 in honor of Dryanski for the LT Relay for Life effort June 9 marking 10 years of raising money for cancer research.
“Coach Dry? He was the best,” said Principal David Franson, who stopped in to cheer on his colleagues. “He loved people, especially his students, and he loved his work. He was really a leader.”
After pausing for the “Star-Spangled Banner,” the teachers jumped or dove in both ends of the pool and snaked their way along the lanes. Then they climbed out and grabbed shoes and shorts, dripping and hopping down the hall to the stationary bike challenge.
Outside the pool, sophomores Stacy Montgomery of La Grange Park and Page Marogil from La Grange held up a sign and cheered for their French teacher, Madame Virginia Breder.
In the fieldhouse, teachers peddled furiously for five minutes. One by one, they ran outside past the tennis courts and around the track at Bennett Field, breathless, but exhilarated.
“I was hoping for doughnuts at the end, but there’s just water. I hope I’m not asleep by fifth period,” joked social studies teacher Tom Swiontek at the finish line. “I’ve always wanted to do a triathlon, and this was for a good cause. Maybe it’ll help me enter one someday.”
Murphy, a 1991 LT graduate, reintroduced the mini-triathlon in October with positive feedback from students proud of their accomplishment, she said. She helped organize the teacher’s version in between a second triathlon for sophomores May 16 and 18.
“It makes teaching a lot easier when you can lead by example,” she said.
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