SULLIVAN, IL – Grim Reaper Fitness kicked off the triathlon season – and the defense of its USAT Mideast Region Club Racing Series (MERCRS) championship – Saturday at the Sullivan Civic Center Triathlon. 
Michael Braun (pictured, right) led the way in a top-heavy men’s division winning the 18-24 Age Group, which was good for 5th overall in the sprint event that consisted of a 400-meter swim, 13 mile bike leg, and a 3.1 mile run. Braun had an overall time of 1:00:35. The top three men’s finishers all came in under an hour, with the winner posting an overall time of 55:56.6.
Bryan Heppe and Kevin Tuuk also captured top 3 finishes for GRF, with Heppe taking 10th overall and 2nd in 35-39 in 1:04:12, and Tuuk finishing 3rd in 40-44 at 1:22:18.
On the women’s side, Wendy Smith was 2nd in 40-44 with an overall time of 1:20:32. Her bike time of 41:49 was 6th best among the women.
In the relays, Kelly Ruiter teamed with David Ford and Steve Barcus to win the relay event in 1:01:28. Ruiter completed the swim leg in 6:32. In 3rd place, was the team of Jill Dorbeck, Jori Cooper, and Reagan Rinchiuso. at 1:23:15. Dorbeck, who was 4th in women’s 35-39. had the women’s 7th best time of the day at 6:25.
