The ISU Triathlon Club finished 12th out of 24 teams on Saturday, despite the weather differences faced from Iowa to Lake Havasu City, Ariz.

“It was fun, just being able to say that I was able to do three hours of racing,” said Stacy Kennedy, who was participating in her first triathlon. “I did all that.”

A triathlon, a part of the National Collegiate Championships, consists of a 1500-meter swim, a 40-kilometer bike ride and a 10-kilometer run.

Iowa State was led by Lars Brudvig, who finished with a time of 2:03.52, good enough for 20th overall.

“Lars was really strong. To be [20th] out of about 800 athletes is very good,” said four-year club member Luke Anderson. “He’s Lars — he is just fast.”

Thirteen club members made the 1,600-mile trip to participate in the championships. In the men’s competition, Iowa State brought a seventh-place finish home this year, compared with 15th last year. The women came in 17th out of 30 teams.

The women were led by Kim Landau, who recorded a time of 2:31.13.

Anderson came in third for the men’s squad with a time of 2:09.07, beating his personal record by more than a minute.

“Basically, everybody did really awesome,” he said. “It was a personal record for me, so I was really happy with that. This is early in the season, and I was really excited to do that.”

Anderson and club president Andrew Carney have participated in numerous triathlons. Carney has been running in triathlons for six years and said the more triathlons he has been in, the more he knows how his body will react.

Some members were competing for the first time, however.

“I had no idea what to expect,” Kennedy said. “I know when I got up to the starting line I was thinking, ‘Why am I doing this?’ Swimming was the toughest — this is just so much different than swimming in a pool.

“It’s tough when you are in the water with people hitting you.”

Aside from the differences in the water, Kennedy said she wished she would have pushed herself a little harder.

“I had a lot left during the race, but I didn’t know how fast to go,” she said. “It was hot out there, so I wasn’t sure if I should push myself too hard or not.”

Decisions like that come down to experience, Carney said. He said the real difference in training is the difference in weather.

“We were used to the winter in Iowa,” he said. “So the heat really sucks the water and energy right out of you.”

Kennedy said she is already planning to get ready for next year. With the personal record Anderson achieved, he said he is also ready for more triathlons.

“I am really excited about this summer, more races,” he said.

Most of the races in which the club is set to participate in during the summer will be held in Iowa, with two in Missouri and one in Wisconsin.