The Saunders family dominated the Sprint competition

By Jane Bellmyer jbellmyer@cecilwhig.com Cecil Daily

NORTH EAST — Almost 300 triathletes competed Sunday in the North East Triathlon hosted by Piranha Sports, in either the sprint or international competition.

Four of the top finishers in the Sprint are in the same Newark, Del., family.

Under sunny skies, with morning temperatures in the mid-60s, the athletes first dove into the Northeast River. Sprint athletes faced a 750-meter swim, a 17.7-mile bike ride and a 3.1-mile foot race that began and ended at North East Town Park.

The Saunders family dominated the Sprint competition, with father and son taking first and second place. Blair Saunders beat his 15-year-old son, Brett, by just under three minutes. Brett was OK with that.

“I beat him two weeks ago by three minutes,” Brett said. His father finished in one hour, 19 minutes and 41 seconds, while Brett was next across at one hour, 22 minutes and 35 seconds.

Not far behind the men were the Saunders women. Brooke, 17, was the first woman to cross the finish line. Her time was one hour, 27 minutes and 57 seconds, while mother, Jocelyn Saunders, was on her daughter’s heels at one hour, 28 minutes and 17 seconds. Brooke and Jocelyn finished sixth and seventh respectively, overall.