EAST SELMA, Ind. -- Members of the Trine women's triathlon team posted an eye-opening performance in the Eighth Annual Muncie June Triathlon over the weekend.
Hannah Blystone (Carmel, Ind. / Carmel) finished as the top overall female in the event, while Kirsten Godfrey (Fort Wayne, Ind. / Homestead) won the 20-24 female age group. Head coach Danny Powell topped the ranks of the 50-54 men age group. The trio competed at Sprint distance, which features a 750-meter (half mile) swim, 20-kilometer (12.4 mile) bicycle portion and 5-kilometer (3.1 mile) run.
Blystone posted an overall time of 1:16:22.4 to finish more than five minutes faster than the next-best female. She placed sixth overall. Blystone ran the 5K in the third-fastest time, clocking in at 23:32. The rising junior also notched the fourth-best swim time, finishing the swim in 5:03. Blystone averaged 16.9 miles per hour on the bicycle course to finish in 43:56.
Blystone's win came in her first attempt at a competitive triathlon race. She previously competed in distance and mid-distance running events for the Thunder women's cross country and track and field programs.
Godfrey won her age group with an overall time of 1:37:02.7. Competing in her first career triathlon, Godfrey notched the sixth-best swim time at 5:36. She added a 55:46 performance in the cycling portion and ran a time of 31:34. The rising sophomore is transitioning to triathlon after competing as a member of the Trine women's soccer team as a freshman.
Powell won his age group and notched the eighth-best overall time at 1:16:25.1. His performance included the sixth-best cycling time, where he averaged a 19.5 miles-per-hour clip on his way to a time of 38:13. He completed the swim in 6:13 and added a running time of 26:38. Powell, a veteran of more than 50 triathlon races of various distances, was named the first head coach of the Trine women's triathlon team.
Blystone and Godrey will make up part of Trine's inaugural women's triathlon team, set to begin competing this fall. The team will compete in the Central Division of the NCAA. As an Emerging Sport for Women, triathlon is in the process of becoming a full-fledged NCAA Championship sport. Trine will be one of 14 women's triathlon programs in the nation and the only such program in the state of Indiana.
The Thunder will compete in their first NCAA race Monday, Sep. 4. The Central Region qualifier will be hosted by North Central College.