Bryan Cisneros cheered on his sister Emma as she reached the end of the pool. Reaching out, Emma tagged Bryan and he took off running.
BYU’s Student Leadership Office hosted the annual Splash and Dash biathlon on March 29. The event included swimming and running, and participants could compete in both events or team up with a friend.
Siblings Bryan and Emma Cisneros took first place in the team category. Emma swam one mile and then tagged Bryan to run the 10k. The siblings finished the race in one hour and two minutes.
The siblings grew up in Minnesota and moved to California after Emma finished high school. Emma, a junior, has always been a swimmer and has participated in the Splash and Dash since she came to BYU.
“I love this event,” Emma said. “It’s not very well known, not many people do it. But I think it’s so fun, because you feel like you really accomplished something. Swimming a mile, running a 10k, doing it as a team is just a lot more fun. You get to cheer for each other, and you depend on each other to do well.”
Emma did the swim and run her first year, but teamed with her roommate for her second year. When Emma heard Bryan was coming to BYU, she knew who her next teammate would be.
“When Bryan was coming to school I was like, ‘Oh, we should do it together! That would be so fun,’” Emma said. “He’s a really good runner, and I could do the swimming.”
Bryan Cisneros, a freshman, participated in cross-country and track during high school. He did not hesitate to agree to be Emma’s teammate for the Splash and Dash.
“I was excited to do it,” Bryan Cisneros said. “I love running, I love to do races. So doing a team event was fun.”
The siblings motivated each other in the months leading up to the event. Their training paid off, and they had a great time.
“It was a good time and it was fun, cause he was there cheering for me swimming, and I cheered him running,” Emma Cisneros said. “So, a good little tag team.”
This is the only year the siblings will run together. Bryan Cisneros will be leaving for a mission in Brazil this summer, and Emma Cisneros will graduate before he returns.
Junior Jonathan Grether, the student lead in charge of the event, said the Splash and Dash is unique to BYU.
“You have a lot of different options for runs around,” Grether said. “We just wanted to be able to provide kind of a unique biathlon experience.”
Participants had race options ranging from beginner to elite and could also choose to do the event as team or by themselves.
The Student Leadership Office offers many events throughout the year. Follow them online at studentleadership.byu.edu or on Facebook for more events.
