ANGOLA, IND. -- In only its first season of existence as a varsity sport at Trine, the Thunder women's triathlon team will head to Tempe, Ariz. to compete in the USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championship on Sunday, Nov. 5.
Trine had two individuals qualify for the national meet during the season in junior Hannah Blystone (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) and sophomore Natalee Landel (Edgerton, Ohio/Edgerton) and then also qualified as a team in the final regional qualifier event on Oct. 7 in Florida.
A record field of more than 80 student-athletes representing 11 varsity and 10 club teams will compete at the USA Triathlon Women's Collegiate Triathlon National Championship that features a sprint-distance 750-meter swim, draft-legal 20-kilometer bike and 5-kilometer run.
Triathlon was approved as an NCAA Emerging Sport for Women in January of 2014, and the first varsity National Championship was held in the fall of that year. The sport has a 10-year window to demonstrate sustainability as an NCAA sport option by recruiting at least 40 schools to offer the sport at the varsity level. Eighteen schools currently sponsor varsity women's triathlon at the Division I, II and III levels.
At the National Championship, awards will be presented to the top five teams overall, the top-placing Division I, Division II and Division III teams, and the top-placing Division I, II and III individuals.
North Central (Ill.) College is the defending Division III champion.
Live coverage of the Women's Collegiate Triathlon National Championship will be available at usatriathlon.org and on Twitter at @USATLive. For more information about women's triathlon as an Emerging Sport for Women, visit usatriathlon.org/ncaa. Event details and course maps are available at thesundevils.com.
The race is set for 10:30 a.m. MST at Tempe Town Lake in Tempe, Ariz.
Women's Collegiate Triathlon National Championship
Tempe Town Lake North Shore
750m swim, 20k bike, 5k run
EVENT SCHEDULE:
7 a.m.: Age-Group Draft-Legal Triathlon Start, Wave 1 (Men)
7:15 a.m.: Age-Group Draft-Legal Triathlon Start, Wave 2 (Women)
9 a.m.: Meet-and-Greet with 2016 U.S. Olympian Ben Kanute and USA Triathlon National Team Member Renée Tomlin
10:30 a.m.: Women's Collegiate Triathlon National Championship Start
1:15 p.m.: Women's Collegiate Triathlon National Championship Awards | Tempe Mission Palms Hotel, 60 E. 8th St.
ONLINE RESOURCES:
• Live Coverage
• 2016 Women's Collegiate Triathlon National Championship Results
• 2017 Regional Qualifier Results
• Event Details and Course Maps
• About Triathlon as an NCAA Emerging Sport for Women
• List of Varsity Programs
