(photo courtesy of Mark James)

Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands (NMI) – After their performances in Saturday’s XTERRA Saipan Championship, local triathletes Jessika Dayrit, Blanda Camacho, Michelle Santos, Tobias Theisen, Leevin Camacho, Nathan Mapson, Mark Walters and Alex Oviedo secured spots to compete alongside some of the world’s elite triathletes at the XTERRA World Championships on Nov. 1 in Maui.

“The Guam athletes had a fantastic showing in Saipan this past weekend,” said XTERRA Island race director Eric Tydingco. “These competitors have trained for months, and the invitation to compete next to some of the world’s best triathletes is an awesome and well- deserved opportunity.”

Dayrit and Blanda Camacho boasted first place finishes in the 20-24 and 40-44 age divisions with times of 5:20:43 and 6:13:41, respectively. Santos finished alongside Ms. Camacho and placed second in the female 45-49 division with a time of 6:13:42.

In the men’s division, Theisen nabbed the top spot in the 25-29 age division with a total time of 4:29:59, while Leevin Camacho and Mapson finished second and third in the 35-39 division, with times of 4:01:53 and 4:28:59, respectively. Walters came in just under the four- hour mark with a finish time of 3:54:55, securing second place in the competitive 50-54 division. Oviedo edged out his competition in the 55-59 division with an overall time of 4:34:12.

“I’m in an age group that has a really competitive group of guys in it,” said Mapson. “I’ve had my sights set on qualifying for the XTERRA World Championships for the past three years, and I finally made it! I’m ecstatic all my hard work has finally paid off.”

Mapson and the other qualifiers plan to return to Guam to compete in the XTERRA Guam Championship, scheduled for Saturday, April 11 at Port Authority Beach.

For complete results of the 2015 XTERRA Saipan Championship and more information on the upcoming XTERRA Guam Championship, visit XTERRAisland.com.