There were no teams scores as Central was the only collegiate team competing in the open triathlon competition. The race started with an indoor 300-meter pool swim and then transitioned to a 20-kilometer bike and five-kilometer run. The swim distance was shorter than the official distances for college races, but the other two portions were normal.
“They all had pretty average times, especially for a spring race where we haven’t trained as much,” coach Jennie Hedrick-Rozenberg said. “They had a huge headwind for half of the bike ride on an open highway, but a big tailwind in the other direction. It was windy on the run course, too.
Laidlaw completed the course in 1 hour, 13 minutes, 29.73 seconds to be the first female across the finish line.Grace Benson (sophomore, Newton) was the next Dutch athlete across the line, finishing in 1:15.29.18 as the second female to finish. Taylor Jones (sophomore, Knoxville) followed closely behind in 1:17.59.01 to be the fourth female across the line.
“Luci was able to catch Grace and Taylor on the bike and then stayed ahead on the run,” Hedrick-Rozenberg said.
Saturday was the first time Jones was able to compete at full strength in a Central uniform.
“She had a great run,” Hedrick-Rozenberg said. “This is her first race without being injured or being in another sport. It was really good to see her push herself on the run.
The other two-sport athlete for the Dutch, Sophie Lunning (junior, Mason City) placed ninth among the women entries, recording a time of 1:25.26.25
“Sophie did her transitions for the first time with her shoes clipped into her bike,” Hedrick-Rozenberg said. “She also had a really good run.”
With all four athletes returning and three more joining them in the spring, spirits were high for the group on the way home.
“We talked about how great it will be to have a full team,” Hedrick-Rozenberg said. “They’re excited to see how strong our team could be and how we can push each other. They’re also excited because a lot of other schools graduated a lot of talent. We didn’t graduate anybody and we’re going to get more athletes.”
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