The Collegian

Issue date: 2/26/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Andrew Dodson Senior Ashley jelonek smiles as she finishes the bikig section of the triathlon before moving onto the final leg of running.

Saturday morning at 10 a.m., several combined months worth of preparation had finally come to an end for the 11 Hillsdale Indoor Triathlon competitors. For senior Ashley Jelonek, the morning began much earlier than scheduled.

"I woke up pretty early but didn't eat anything because I didn't want to get sick in the middle of the race," she said. "I started getting really nervous, and so I came and just started walking around in the gym rather than be alone at my house."

Like many others, Jelonek's nerves did not make an appearance until the day of the race.

"Then, right when I woke up, I just got this 'oh crap!' feeling" Jelonek said.

She showed up for the race anyway, finishing in fifth place with a combined distance of 10.17 miles.

The competition began in the pool, followed through on the bike and finished on the treadmill. For the men, junior Nathan McClallen came in first place with a distance of 17.06 miles while junior Sarah Holland took first place for the women with 13.09 miles.

"I felt so happy to have it over with," Jelonek said. "I'm definitely going to keep looking around for things like this to keep me active, but what that will be depends on where I'll be after graduation."

She has since signed up for the Miami of Ohio Student Foundation Triathlon taking place April 18 - eight weeks of training to go. This triathlon is larger race than Hillsdale's and will be done in a more traditional style measuring the race in distance instead of time with a 400 meter swim, 13 mile bike ride and 3.1 mile run.

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