The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Four friends from Sisters traveled to Sweet Home on Saturday, September 7, for the Best in the West Triathlon Festival, held at Foster Lake — and two of them came away as champions.

Josh Nordell and Winter Lewis, who frequently swim and bike together, each won his age division in the Olympic-distance triathlon that featured a 1,500-meter swim, a 40-kilometer (24.8 mile) bike ride and a 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) run.

Nordell described himself as “delighted” with his performance after clocking 2 hours, 17 minutes, 28 seconds in winning the 40-44 age group division.

“I just felt so darn good,” he said. “It was a great day and I’m just so happy.”

Nordell placed third overall among 176 finishers.

Lewis felt pleased with his performance as well, finishing in 2 hours, 24 minutes, 33 seconds to win the 45-49 age division and 12th

overall.

Another athlete with Sisters connections, Erin Kanzig, also shone, as she won among women in the “paddle” triathlon in which the swim was replaced with using a paddle board to navigate the 1,500-meter water section. Kanzig, who was celebrating her 29th birthday, clocked 2 hours,

54 minutes.

Sisters residents Tate Metcalf (3:05:19) and Ross Kennedy (3:26:37) also competed in the Olympic-distance triathlon.

The festival features events spread over two days that include a duathlon, relay races, a half-ironman triathlon, a half-marathon and more.