Erica Hawley is excited about her start to the triathlon season, although the soon-to-be college student is finding it tough balancing A levels and athletics.

Hawley, 17, has enjoyed a good start to her season, winning the junior age group and having the third best time among collegiate women at a race in San Diego. Presently, studying in England, Hawley was in California visiting colleges and decided to compete in the triathlon.

This past weekend Hawley and Tyler Smith both competed in the Camtri North America Junior Championships in Sarasota, Florida, where Hawley was sixteenth and Smith eighth in their age groups, both with improved times on last year’s performances.

The two 16-19 elite age group juniors have both qualified for the Pan American Triathlon Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, on July 9 by virtue of their top-20 finishes in Sarasota.

Hawley had a time of 1hr 03min 29sec, a five-minute improvement on last year, while Smith clocked 56:55 which beat last year’s personal best by 3½ minutes. They will now go up against the best juniors from North, Central and South America.

The Pan American Championships also double as the regional qualifier for the International Triathlon Union’s Junior World Championships on September 16 in Cozumel, Mexico. It promises to be a gruelling year for Bermuda’s top young triathletes.

“I’m very pleased with my performance in California,” Hawley said. “I hadn’t competed against any of the field before so I was unsure of what to expect, but I stuck to my race plan and ended up performing well.

“I went into the race as if it were a ‘tester’ to see where my fitness was after a winter season of training. I was pleased with the outcome. I’m grateful to have started my triathlon season so well and I think this has set me up nicely for the rest of the year.”

Hawley used the trip to the West Coast to look at colleges in California such as UCLA and University of California, San Diego, because of their triathlon programmes.

“This trip was so beneficial to me,” she said. “Not only was I able to train and meet the coaches of a few schools, I was able to visit the campuses and see what each one has to offer.

“Beforehand I was unsure of what I would be doing next year but now that I have looked at these schools I feel more confident about starting university in America.”

Hawley will compete again in Florida before combining other triathlons with her studies as she sits her A Levels.

“I’m competing in Florida for the next two weeks and then I have races scattered around until September,” she said.

“Of course it’s hard balancing A levels and triathlons, but what I have learnt is being as organised as possible is crucial when trying to avoid stress. I will be missing ten days of school this month, but besides that I’m coordinating my racing with my academics so I only will race during the summer holiday or Easter break.”

Hawley added: “My goals for 2016 are to race well and have a great season. When competing, I try to make small, process goals that reflect my training.

“I would love to return to ITU Junior World Championships and race against the fastest triathletes in the world for my junior elite age group.

“I think that each discipline is strong and has room for improvement. With that in mind there is always room for improvement and I will continue working hard to maintain that upward motion.”

Hawley and Smith are both hoping to emulate Flora Duffy and Tyler Butterfield and compete professionally in the future.

“I would love to compete professionally just as Flora and Tyler have done but I also want to ensure that I get a degree at university,” Hawley said.

“I guess I’ll have to wait and see what happens in the future. Flora has been a great inspiration to me and seeing her achieve so much success is awesome.

“She has taken the risk and done the hard work to be the best and that is truly inspiring for a young triathlete like me.”