SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University triathlon team had a very strong showing at the Draft Legal Challenge this past weekend in Clermont, Florida. The format of the racing was back-to-back Super Sprint races on Saturday and Sunday which included a 375 open water swim, 10k bike and 1.5 mile run both days.
 
Highlights from Saturday's races:
The team's top finisher on Saturday was Sydney Gasper in 25^th place with a total time of 36:17, which included a blazing fast run split of 10:50.  
 
Natalie Moose-Elkin (Jr., Brandon, S.D.) was the second finisher for the Yellow Jackets on Saturday in 30^th place with a total time of 36:56.
 
Jadyn Johnson (So., Spearfish, S.D.) placed 32^nd in the field of 64 athletes by getting into a solid draft pack and posting a bike split of 17:16, followed by a 11:13 run split.
 
Cassidy Teeslink (Jr., Rapid City, S.D.) finished in 38^th place on Saturday with a total time of 37:53 and Sydney Campbell (Fr., Sioux Falls, S.D.) finished in 47^th place in 40:04.
 
Anna Austad (Fr., Littleton, Colo.) started the race on Saturday posting the team's third fastest swim split, then withdrew as planned for a DNF in order to focus on Sunday's competition.
 
Highlights from Sunday's races:
The Yellow Jackets had a great turn-around for Sunday's races with many of the athletes posting faster times on day two.
 
Elkin took was top team finisher Sunday by putting together a great swim, getting into a fast and skilled bike draft pack and finishing her race with a 10:48 run split for a total time of 35:18.
 
Sydney Gasper (Jr., Peyton, Colo.) finished in 35^th place on Sunday by posting a total time of 35:58 which was 20 seconds faster than her time the previous day. This was due to dropping her run split time to 10:25, which was the 11^th fastest run in the field of 66 competitors.
 
Teeslink was the next finisher for BHSU, in 43^rd place with a total time of 36:59, a full minute faster than her time on Saturday.
 
Johnson finished in 45^th place on Sunday in 37:23, while Campbell finished in 55^th and met her goal of racing sub-40 minutes with a time of 39:47. Austad finished right behind Campbell with a time of 40:16 and Lilly Brophy (So., Gretna, Neb.) rounded out the team finish in 58^th place with a time of 42:06.

Up Next: The Draft Legal Challenge concludes the team's collegiate racing schedule for the 2023-24 season. They will host one final race on April 21 with the Black Hills Tri Fest.