(Tempe, AZ) Arizona State continued to roll in the USA Triathlon women’s collegiate national championships Saturday with its fourth straight victory in the event.
“We did it, but it was definitely a tougher one today,” ASU coach Cliff English said. “I think the girls pushed it out there and that’s what you want to do with racing is test your limits.”
The Sun Devils finished with the top-two racers in the Division I/II race.
“We work hard everyday and just to put it all together is amazing,” Roy said.
Roy believes the turning point in the race was when Ernst made her push up the hill before the last lap.
According to English, two-time national champion Hannah Henry had to drop out of the race because “she was having trouble breathing.”
The race (750-meter swim, 20K bike and 5K run) was held in Tempe for the third straight year at Tempe Town Lake. The University of South Dakota finished in second with Eastern Tennessee State University rounding out the top three in Division I competition.
Queens University took home the Division II team championship with help from second-place finisher Natalie Bash (1:07:10) and third-place finisher Sam McInnes (1:07:36). Davis & Elkins College’s second place finish was led by freshman Natalia Hidalgo Martinez (1:06:30), who finished as the Division II individual national champion. Black Hills State University had a third-place team finish in Division II competition.
North Central College extended its reign atop Division III competition with its fourth straight national championship, led by individual champion Madelyn Scopp (1:11:08) and third-place finisher Annika Cotner (1:12:41). Trine University’s Amira Faulkner (1:11:27) paced her team’s second place finish with a second place finish of her own Millikin University finished third overall in the Division III team competition
English is excited for the possibility of triathlon becoming an NCAA-sanctioned sport, which can happen when 40 schools have varsity teams. There are currently 31 schools who currently sponsor varsity women’s triathlon.
“It feels like the momentum’s great,” English said. “We’ve been seeing that pick up.”
Photos and article courtesy of the Arizona Republic.
