Louisiana canoe/kayak races pay out $11,500

Paddlers earning cash prizes in Tour du Teche 135, the ultramarathon canoe/kayak race finishing here Sunday, Oct. 4, included a solo paddler and a big boat crew of five who set new class records.
Tommy Yonley of Houston, paddling solo single blade, finished the three-day, 135-mile staged marathon in 20 hours, 58 minutes and 36 seconds, beating the old record of 22:15:36 set in 2013 by Neil Wiesner-Hanks of Mequon, Wis.
Yonley received the $1,500 bourré pot for the class in addition to $300 for winning the class.
Phil Bowden and Chris Champion of San Marcos, Texas, Heather Harrison of New Braunfels, Texas, Bobby Smart of Anacoco, La., and Wendell Smith of Seguin, Texas, shared the $1,500 bourré pot for topping the class record of 19 hours, 49 minutes and 23 seconds, set in 2012 by Brad Rex of Lafayette, Robin Lashway of Galveston and Jeremiah Jackson of Webster, Texas. The “Riverfitness” team, which had just finished the 257-mile Tour de la Rivière Rouge, did Tour du Teche in 19:07:34.
The bourré pot, inspired by the Cajun card game, is a cash prize that grows each year the record stands.
The quintet also shared the $1,000 first-place prize for their class win in the 410 de Louisiane, the back-to-back combination of Tour du Teche and Tour de la Rivière Rouge. They finished the 410 miles in a combined time of 68 hours, 51 minutes and 32 seconds.
And they captured St. Martin Sheriff Ronny Theriot’s $600 “Speed Trap,” plus another $100 for the first female (Harrison) to finish in the class, for a total cash prize of $4,700, or $940 apiece.
Theriot’s Speed Trap awards cash to the fastest racing and voyageur teams in Tour du Teche to reach St. Martinville. Randy Hargroder of Opelousas won the voyageur prize of $400.
Max Dugas of Lafayette and Adam Jones of Austin, Texas, with 142:43:00, placed first in the 410 Tandem Unlimited class, $1,000, or $500 apiece. They were also class winners in the Tour du Teche for an additional $300 apiece.
Jack Cover of Lafayette, 142:51:30, was first in Solo Unlimited Single Blade for a 410 prize of $1,000; and David Dupree of Rayville, 124:32:17, took first place in Solo Unlimited Double Blade for $1,000.
Class winners in the Tour du Teche included Tave Lamperez of New Iberia and Jim Short of Springfield, Mo., 21:33:57, USCA C2; Bob Harms of Palos Heights, Ill., 23:35:50, Solo Double Blade. Each paddler won $300.
And Sonja Gilman of Bristol, Ind., fourth in USCA C2 with partner Guy Gilman, was the first woman paddler in that class for a prize of $100.
Cash prizes are contributed by the sponsors of Tour du Teche and 410 de Louisiane. See www.tourduteche.com for a list.