TEMPE, Az. - Almost a month after winning the NCAA East Region Qualifier, the Royals triathlon team went into Saturday's national championships with high hopes...and they didn't disappoint.
EMU had four triathletes finish in the top-15 as they picked up a third place team finish at the 2023 Women's DIII NCAA National Triathlon Championships, earning 407 points.
Highlights
- Jenna Weaver kicked things off for EMU, as she finished sixth in DIII with a total time of 1:17:19.9, earning All-American status. She bested her 2022 nationals time by 13 seconds and picked up seven spots in the process. She led off with a swim time of 13:27.9, followed by a bike time of 40:33.4 and finished the course with her run in 22:09.1.
- Just two spots behind Weaver was Jessica Buckwalter, also a returner from last year's squad. She made a 14-spot jump from 2022, finishing in eighth place Her swim time of 14:35.2, bike time of 41:00.9 and run of 21:36, combined to give her a total time of 1:18:15.6.
- Securing another top-10 finish was Vanessa Gardiner, who grabbed 10th place for the Royals. She completed her swim in 13:51.6, finished the bike in 41:34 and the run in 22:09.5. Her total time of 1:18:51.8 helped her improve six spots from her 2022 finish and move into the top-10.
- Making her first nationals appearance, Lily Gusler was 15th in the DIII field, finishing the course with a time of 1:19:58.3. She came out blazing on the swim with a time of 11:33.7, and followed that up with a bike time of 40:53.9 and a run of 26:01.1.
- Zoe Clymer was also making her first trip to the national championships and finished 46th overall with a swim time of 16:30, a bike time of 47:22.2 and a run time of 27:22.1. That time, with her transitions, set up her finish in 1:32:39.5.
- Rounding out the Royals team was Daisy Buller, who finished the swim in 18:42, but due to the "lap out" rule, was removed from the race during the bike portion.
Defending national champion, North Central College, brought home the title once again with 623 points while Trine University was second, finishing just 14 points ahead of the Royals with 421 points.
What's Next
This wraps up the 2023 triathlon season for the Royals, but they will return a bulk of the team for 2024 and will look to challenge the Cardinals to take the top spot in DIII.
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