SPEARFISH, SD. – The Montana State University Billings triathlon team competed in their final race of the season at the Black Hills Tri Fest in Spearfish South Dakota on Sunday.
 
The Yellowjackets had a single participant racing in Alahna Lien, who finished with a time of 1:27:23.49. Lien placed 11^th out of 20 competitors in the race.
 
"It was fun to have a pool swim which was a first for us this season," said head coach Kevin Bjerke. "It's pretty uncommon for NCAA triathlon to not be an open water swim, but it is common this time of year in the Northern United States. Kudos to BHSU and Coach Feist for putting on a great event. Alahna wasn't overly happy with how she felt in the pool, but she held her own to come out of the water right on the heels of about five other women."
 
"It was in the low 30's outside to start the bike, and Alahna frustratingly lost around two minutes to many of her competitors as she bundled up for her ride," said Bjerke. "Normally this would be a major point of criticism but not considering the circumstances. She was very happy to be layered up on the bike and I don't blame her one bit. She ended up really enjoying the long and hilly bike course and hunted down several girls on the bike that she had lost touch with in the transition. The bike course was 5K longer than the usual 20K race, but Alahna dug deep despite that to still have her best ever run off the bike and close with an overall solid performance."
 
The Black Hills State completed the season for MSUB, where the Yellowjackets competed in six events, and had two runners qualify for the NCAA Nationals.
 
"Alahna really needed these two spring races for some experience after her fall season was cut short due to injury," said Bjerke. "This was a good new experience racing in the cold and in the pool, and a fun way to cap off a successful season overall."