Women's Collegiate Triathletes Race this Weekend at Regional Championships

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Women’s Collegiate Triathlon athletes will race for Regional titles and National Championships qualification this Saturday, Oct. 14 at the East and West Regional Championship races in Virginia and Missouri.

Up for grabs is qualification to the 2023 Women’s Collegiate Triathlon National Championships, scheduled for Nov. 11 in Tempe, Arizona. This will be the sixth year for Tempe and Arizona State University to host the National Championships.

“We’re looking forward to an exciting and fun weekend of racing at the East and West Regional  Championships races, hosted by first-class local USA Triathlon Race Directors at beautiful venues in Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia and Springfield, Missouri,” said Tim Yount, Chief Sport Development Officer at USA Triathlon. “This is an incredibly exciting time in women’s collegiate triathlon. We are on the precipice of becoming an NCAA Championship sport and as the sport continues to grow at the collegiate level, we’re seeing more competition at the NCAA Division I, DII and DIII levels. Fans of triathlon are encouraged to go watch these fast women compete.”

The top three teams in DI, DII and DIII from the East and West Regional Championships automatically qualify for Nationals. In addition, the next six-fastest teams, regardless of region, will advance.

The East Regional Championship takes place on Saturday, Oct. 14 at Smith Mountain Lake State Park in Huddleston, Virginia, as part of the Blue Ridge Draft Legal Triathlon Festival, organized by race management company Kinetic Multisports.  

The West Regional Championship is Saturday, Oct. 14 in Stockton, Missouri, at the Heartland Triathlon Cup, organized by race management company Heartland Racing Co. 

Women’s Collegiate Triathlon athletes compete in a draft-legal race format, featuring a sprint-distance triathlon consisting of a 750-meter open-water swim, 20-kilometer bike and 5k run.

Top teams competing at the East Regional Championship include NCAA No. 1 ranked team, Queens University of Charlotte, No. 5 ranked University of Denver and last year’s NCAA Division II national champion, Lenoir Rhyne University, currently ranked No. 6 in the country.

The full list of schools competing at the East Regional Championship:

• Queens University of Charlotte
• Denver University
• Lenoir-Rhyne University
• Wingate University
• East Tennessee State University
• Duquesne University
• U.S. Naval Academy
• Delaware State University
• Emmanuel College
• Wagner College
• Eastern Mennonite University
• Trine University
• Newberry College
• American International College
• Guilford College
• King University
• Roberts Wesleyan University
• St. Thomas Aquinas College
• Hampton University
• Greensboro College

The West Regional Championship will also be ultra-competitive, as the country’s No. 2 ranked team and six-time reigning DI national champion Arizona State University, faces stiff competition from No. 3 ranked TCU, No. 4 University of San Francisco and in-state rival University of Arizona, ranked No. 8.

The full list of schools competing at the West Regional Championship:

• Arizona State University
• Texas Christian University
• University of San Francisco
• University of South Dakota
• Colorado Mesa University
• Drury University
• Black Hills State University
• North Central College
• Calvin University
• Cal Poly Humboldt University
• Willamette University
• Central College
• Millikin College
• Concordia University Wisconsin
• Coe College
• Montana State University-Billings

To date, more than 40 schools offer women’s collegiate triathlon at the varsity level, an important benchmark reached in 2022 as the NCAA Emerging Sport for Women now has a few more steps to take on its way to being fully managed by the NCAA as a Championship Sport, including committee, council, divisional and budget approvals.

Look Head to Nationals
Throughout the next month in the lead up to the Women’s Collegiate Triathlon National Championships on Nov. 11 in Tempe, USA Triathlon will highlight the programs, athletes and storylines to follow. Check out @usatriathlon social media and usatriathlon.org for the content. 

At the 2022 National Championships in Tempe, Arizona, Arizona State University claimed its sixth straight DI national title, Lenoir-Rhyne won the DII national title, while North Central won its fifth DIII national title. 

For more information about triathlon as an NCAA Emerging Sport for Women, visit usatriathlon.org/ncaa.

For questions regarding women’s collegiate triathlon events, programming and recruiting, contact Tim Yount, USA Triathlon Chief Sport Development Officer, at tim.yount@usatriathlon.org.