FRUITA, Colo.— Eight Colorado Mesa University women's triathletes and men's team club member Alex Linenberger raced close to home on Saturday morning, competing in and around the Imondi Wake Zone during the 2024 Desert's Edge Triathlon, held in a new location this year.
Linenberger and the eight Maverick women raced in their own collegiate wave before a community Super Sprint event, hosted by the Grand Junction Sports Commission.
The Mavs' top three finishers, Fiona Graves,
Torin Lackmann & Mackenize Mayer.
The Mavericks were scheduled to compete over 500-meter swim, 10-mile bike and 5K run segments although they ended up riding between 16-17 miles on the bike after a mix-up on directions along the bike course.
Linenberger finished the race in one hour, 15 minutes and two seconds while
Fiona Graves led the eight Maverick women in 1:17.09.
Torin Lackmann was the Mavs' second finisher in 1:17:48 while freshman
Mackenzie Mayer took third amongst the women in 1:17.56. The Moab, Utah native was also the top overall finisher in the female 19 & under age group while Graves led the women's 20-29 age group.
The Mavericks' other finishers were
Mariana Batarse Duenes (1:18:27),
Shantelle Tupaz (1:20:14),
Audyn Setzer (1:20:17) and
Jaycee Stephens (1:21:58).
Josie Williams had a bicycle tire blowout and was unable to finish.
The Mavericks will return to competitive action on Sept. 29 when they head to Fort Worth, Texas to compete in TCU's Battle in the Fort Collegiate Cup.
