SARASOTA, Fla. – Competing in its first event in more than a year on Sunday at Nathan Benderson Park, the Montana State University Billings women's triathlon team participated in the Sarasota-Bradenton Triathlon.
 
Freshman Journey Erickson made her collegiate debut in the race, and sophomore Madisan Chavez also competed to represent the Yellowjackets. Erickson finished in 34th place overall and 12th among women, while Chavez took 41st overall and 14th among women. A total of 63 competitors of all ages and both genders competed in the Age Group Draft Legal event.
 
"Journey looked great in her first race," MSUB head coach Kevin Bjerke said. "She had a really good swim, ran confidently, and biked confidently. That was really good to see from her, and she really put together a good race. Madi struggled on the swim today and that carried over a bit to the bike, but she ran well. Overall it was really good for us to get a race in."
 
Erickson finished her first collegiate race in a time of 1:10:11.3, completing the 0.75-kilometer swim in 11:51 minutes, the 18k bike in 34:27 minutes, and the 5k run in 22:01 minutes. Erickson finished in 10th place among a field of 15 female competitors who were within the 20-24-year-old age group.
 
Chavez posted a total time of 1:13:39.4, with marks of 13:33 minutes in the 0.75-kilometer swim, 35:52 minutes in the 18k bike, and 22:06 minutes in the 5k run. Among her age category of 20-24-year-old women, Chavez placed 12th of 15 competitors.
 
Adoh Doherty was the overall winner, finishing the race in a time of 54:13.1 with a swim of 10:06 minutes, bike of 26:39 minutes, and a run of 16:10 minutes. Jenna Horner was the top female finisher, with a time of 1:01:37.1 and marks of 11:44 minutes in the swim, 28:29 minutes in the bike, and 19:42 minutes in the run.
 
Sunday's race was the lone triathlon on the schedule for the Yellowjackets this spring.
 
THE BUZZ: Erickson was selected as the St. Vincent Healthcare Athlete of the Day.