NANCY CAMPBELL/Submitted photo KORRIE DUBRAY OF ISLAND CITY placed 22nd at the XTERRA Solstice Triathlon Saturday at Morgan Lake.

The XTERRA Solstice Triathlon returned to La Grande Saturday.

Seventy-three athletes competed in the event that took place at Morgan

Lake.

The triathlon is a part of the XTERRA America Tour and has a reputation as one of the toughest points series races.

This year the event started off with a 1K swim through Morgan Lake, then consisted of a 25K bike ride down a fast, rocky road, and finished with a 10K run.

Many local athletes competed and did fairly well, but when it was all over, Jason Jablonski of Wenatchee, Wash., took first place with a time of 2:15:54.

Chris Bragg of Portland was a close second with a time of 2:27:05, while Damian Hill, also of Portland, took third at 2:28:21.

“We had an unprecedented number of local teams and athletes this year,” event organizer and competitor Mary LaBerge said. “All of our individuals did very well.”

David Cloninger of Bend and Erik DeRoche of Bellingham, Wash., rounded out the top five with times of 2:29:17 and 2:32:48, respectively.

Andy Perry of La Grande finished the highest out of any of the local athletes competing. Perry, 40, finished 15th with a time of 2:52:47 and had the sixth fastest bike split at 1:30:19.

Korrie Dubray of Island City and Cory Larvik of La Grande placed 22nd and 23rd with final times of 3:00:07 and 3:00:36.

La Grande’s Dominic Clay was the youngest competitor in the field. Clay, 14, placed 30th with a time of 3:09:14.

He was the first athlete out of the water after swimming the lake in 12:36.

“That’s a pretty amazing feat for a 14-year-old kid when you’re competing against some world-class athletes,” LaBerge said of Clay.

Keri Gross, who placed 24th, was the World Champion XTERRA Triathlete of the Year last year. She finished with a time of 3:00:48.

LaBerge, still competing at the age of 61, finished 44th in the event after posting a time of 3:26:49.

Tina Seavert and Julian Pridmore-Brown, both La Grande residents, came in 49th and 52nd, respectively, with times of 3:35:12 and 3:41:09.

Enterprise’s Sandra Isbell placed 41st with a time of 3:24:57, and Wallowa’s Dawn Chamberlain finished 51st at 3:40:56.

Joseph’s Fred Hauptman came in 57th at 3:48:23.

“I would like to thank all of our athletes and I hope we have another good turn out next year,” LaBerge said.