TEMPE, ARIZ. -- The Trine University triathlon team traveled to Tempe, Ariz. to compete in the Women's Collegiate Triathlon National Championship hosted by NCAA Division I Arizona State University at the Tempe Town Lake North Park.
Trine finished with a team score of 25 points to place second among six NCAA Division III schools. North Central (Ill.) College emerged as the overall team champions with 10 points and Milikin (Ill.) University rounded out the top three at 28 points.
Trine was paced by freshman Amira Faulkner (Bellbrook, Ohio/Bellbrook) who placed second overall with a cumulative time of 1:11:27. Faulkner started off the day with one of the top times coming out of the 750-meter swim of 11:08 and then followed with a mark of 49:30 in the 20k bike before completing the race with a time of 21:34 in the 5k run to finish as the national runner-up.
Freshman Ali Smith (Temperance, Mich./Bedford Senior) also had a solid race with a top-five effort with an overall mark of 1:14:01. In the swim portion, Smith found herself near the front of the pack after posting a time of 11:38. She then biked a 50:02 time and then completed the 5k run in a time of 23:37 to finish fifth overall.
Sophomore Kyra Warren (Kendallville, Ind./East Noble) had the third fastest time for Trine and 18th quickest overall at 1:22:03. Warren finished in the middle of the pack after the swim with a time of 13:47. She continued to stay on pace in the bike portion with a time of 57:06 and then wrapped up her race with a mark of 24:35 in the 5k.
Freshman Samantha Weaver (Stevensville, Mich./Lakeshore) was four spots back of Warren in the 22nd-place position with a cumulative time of 1:24:40. Weaver completed the 750m swim in 12:32, which was one of the better times among the field, and then posted a time of 56:00 in the bike portion. Then in the 5k run, Weaver crossed the finish line in 28:18.
Junior Tori Klingsmith (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) ended the day with the 24th fastest time of 1:25:12. She began the race with a mark of 15:31 in the swim and then rallied with solid times in the bike and run portions with times of 57:36 and 27:14, respectively.
The final two competitors for Trine were sophomore Rachel Jones (Indianapolis, Ind./Plainfield) and freshman Cameron Hoellrich (New Bavaria, Ohio/Holgate) who finished with times of 1:30:46 and 1:30:49 to place 32nd and 33rd, respectively. Jones finished near the middle of the field after the swim event after completing the course in a time of 13:43. She followed with a mark of 59:28 in the bike and wrapped up with a 30:55 effort in the run. Hoellrich completed her first national championship race with a time of 14:52 in the swim, then a 59:52 mark in the bike and ran a time of 30:34 in the final leg, the 5k run.
