SARASOTA, FLA. -- The Trine University triathlon team traveled to Sarasota, Fla. to compete in the Sarasota-Bradenton Triathlon Festival for the Collegiate East Regional Qualifier. Highlighting the race for the Thunder, sophomore Natalee Landel (Edgerton, Ohio/Edgerton) qualified to compete in the NCAA Triathlon Championship in November.
Due to weather conditions in the area, the race was turned into a duathlon which features a run, bike, run format. The first run portion was 2.5 km, followed by a 20km bike, and capped with a 5km run.
The Thunder were the only Division III team to compete in the event and had two competitors finish the race in junior Hannah Blystone (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) and Landel.
Blystone posted the top overall mark with a combined time of 1:11:05 and placed 10th overall in a field that featured several Division I and II athletes. In the 2.5km run portion, Blystone came in with a time of 9:28 and then followed with a mark of 36:20 in the 20km bike. Blystone wrapped up her race with a 5k time of 23:48.
Landel started her race with a time of 10:34 in the first run portion and then completed the bike ride in a time of 40:28. In the final leg, Landel turned in a time of 28:55 to record an overall event time of 1:21:48 to finish 25th and qualify for the NCAA Triathlon Championships in November.
The Sarasota-Bradenton Festival was the final scheduled event of the season before the NCAA Championships that will be held in Tempe, Ariz. on Sunday, Nov. 5. Blystone, who qualified for nationals in the very first meet of the season, along with Landel, will compete in the event that will be held at the Tempe Town Lake area.