HUDDLESTON, Va.- The EMU Women's Triathlon team went into the NCAA East Region Qualifier on Saturday, Oct. 14 with one goal in mind: to make program history and win their first regional championship. The Royals did exactly that, winning the East Region title and punching their ticket to the NCAA Women's Triathlon Championship on Saturday, Nov. 11 in Tempe, Ariz. EMU triathletes finished second through fifth among Division III competitors on their way to the team title. The sprint triathlon consisted of a 750-meter swim, an 18-kilometer (11.2 miles) bike ride, and finished with a 5k run.
Highlights
- Jenna Weaver led the pack of Royals, finished runner-up out of Division III athletes and 62nd overall with a cumulative time of 1:08:57.6. For Weaver, her time was a nearly five-and-a-half-minute improvement from the same competition in 2022, when she logged a time of 1:14:28. Of note, Weaver's 5k run of 19:50 was the 35th-fastest in the entire field.
- The next three spots in the DIII results were all taken up by Royals, with Vanessa Gardiner (1:11:27.6), Jessica Buckwalter (1:12:28.4), and Lily Gusler (1:12:34.1) finishing in that order. Like Weaver, Gardiner and Buckwalter both shaved several minutes off of their 2022 times at NCAA East.
- First-year Zoe Clymer and sophomore Daisy Buller rounded out the Royals contingent, clocking in cumulative times of 1:22:43 and 1:33:27.1, respectively.
- EMU men's athletes Nate Lehman and Micaiah Landis competed unattached in the sprint age group triathlon. Lehman posted a time of 1:12:48.4, while Landis completed the course in 1:22:10.
What's Next
The EMU triathlon team will have nearly a month to prepare for the Women's Collegiate Triathlon National Championships on Saturday, Nov. 11 in Tempe, Ariz.
To keep up to date with everything surrounding the EMU triathlon program this year, follow EMU on Twitter and Instagram, like EMU Athletics on Facebook or visit our website.
