Triathlon Earns 12th National Championship

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (4/9/11) - For the second time in as many years and for the 12th time overall, the University of Colorado is the USA Triathlon Collegiate National Champions.

The Buffaloes had three of the top six men's finishers including Karl "Rudy" Kahsar who won the men's race and a top five finisher in the women's competition. CU finished first in the men's race and third in the women's race.

                       

Colorado totaled just 83 points on Saturday, with the men's team picking up 23 points and women's team 60 points. The U.S. Military Academy finished second overall with 120 points while the University of California Berkeley finished third with 233 points.

After CU in the men's standings was Army and Cal followed by UCLA and Michigan State. The U.S. Naval Academy won the women's race as they finished with 46 points, three points ahead of second place Army. Behind third place Colorado in the women's event was Cal Poly in fourth and Cal in fifth.

During nationals, all competitors completed a 1,500-meter swim, a 40-kilometer bike ride and a 10-kilometer run.

Kahsar, a graduate student at Colorado, finished the men's race in one hour, 57 minutes and four seconds for his first Collegiate National title. Kahsar made his biggest move on the bike portion of the race as he finished the 40k leg in a time of 58:33, good for the day's No. 2 split.

Prior to Kahsar coming to CU, he posted four top-20 finishes at the Collegiate Nationals as an undergraduate at the University of Virginia.

"I’ve been training for this race for four years… Every year I’m thinking about Collegiate Nationals, and I put so much into it this year,” Kahsar said. “This is the most emotional race I’ve ever done. It’s the hardest I’ve ever gone. I’ve never gone this hard in a race.”

Behind Kahsar was teammates Chris Braden and Ryan Bice who finished fifth and sixth respectively. Braden finished with a time of 1:59:20 while Bice was just three seconds behind him.

In the women's race, former national champion Jessica Broderick just missed the podium for CU as she finished fourth with a time of 2:15:53. Teammate Tess Amer finished eighth in a time of 2:20:24.

The Buffaloes back-to-back championships is their first since 2004-05. CU won five straight championships from 1996 to 2000 and four straight from 2002 to 2005. Colorado's first championship came 1994.

The Collegiate National Championships will be televised later this month on the CBS Sports Network. The men's and women's races will be shown on Apr. 29 in separate one-hour broadcasts with the women's race airing at 8 p.m. MT, followed by the men at 9 p.m. MT.

2011 USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championship Results

Overall Team Standings 

1. Colorado, 83
2. U.S. Military Academy, 120
3. Cal, 233
4. Michigan State, 383
5. Texas A&M, 395 

Men's Team Standings

1. Colorado, 23
2. U.S. Military Academy, 71
3. Cal, 99
4. UCLA, 108
5. Michigan State, 139 

Women's Team Standings

1. U.S. Naval Academy, 46
2. U.S. Military Academy, 49
3. Colorado, 60
4. Cal Poly, 130
5. Cal, 134 

Men's Overall

1. Karl Kahsar 1:57:04 - Colorado
2. Dustin McLarty 1:58:17
3. Brady Obryan 1:59:02
4. Brad Perry 1:59:15
5. Chris Braden 1:59:20 - Colorado
6. Ryan Bice 1:59:23 - Colorado
7. James McCurdy 1:59:25
8. Jordan Bethke 2:00:25
9. Ben Hall 2:00:36
10. Colin Riley 2:00:41

Women's Overall

1. Kaitlin Shiver 2:10:04
2. Julie Rechel 2:13:47
3. Marcie Nordt 2:14:28
4. Jessica Broderick 2:15:53 - Colorado
5. Erika Erickson 2:16:32
6. Hallie Blunck 2:17:28
7. Kathrine Warren 2:17:35
8. Tess Amer 2:20:24 - Colorado
9. Tracy Fridye 2:20:40
10. Samantha Fugate 2:20:47

Men's Undergraduate

1. Brady O'Bryan (UCLA), 1:59:02
2. Brad Perry (Wake Forest), 1:59:15
3. Chris Braden (Colorado), 1:59:20 

Women's Undergraduate

1. Kaitlin Shiver (Florida), 2:10:04
2. Julie Rechel (Richmond), 2:13:47

3. Marcie Nordt (U.S. Military Academy), 2:14:28

Men's Graduate

1. Karl "Rudy" Kahsar (Colorado), 1:57:04
2. Dustin McLarty (UC Irvine), 1:58:17
3. James McCurdy (Auburn), 1:59:25

Women's Graduate

1. Erika Erickson (Cal), 2:16:32
2. Hallie Blunck (UAB), 2:17:28
3. Samantha Fugate (Michigan State), 2:20:47 

Men's Overall Sprint Champion: Andrew Mueller (Champaign, Ill.), 1:06:02
Men's Collegiate Sprint Champion: Benjamin Drezek (Denton, Texas), 1:07:50
Men's Alumni Sprint Champion: Andrew Mueller (Champaign, Ill.), 1:06:02
Men's Open Sprint Champion: Gary Petmecky (Stone Mountain, Ga.), 1:13:20
Women's Overall Sprint Champion: Katherine Krzak (Mokena, Ill.), 1:17:28
Women's Collegiate Sprint Champion: Katherine Krzak (Mokena, Ill.), 1:17:28
Women's Alumni Sprint Champion: Ashley Yeager (Durham, N.C.), 1:19:01
Women's Open Sprint Champion: Katie Gilbert (Tuscaloosa, Ala.), 1:31:20
Team Spirit Award: Arizona State
Armed Services Champion: U.S. Military Academy