Triathlon Wins 13th National Championship

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.—National championship lucky number 13 has been acquired. On Saturday, April 21^st   in Tuscaloosa, Ala., the University of Colorado Triathlon Team successfully defended its 2010 and 2011 national championships; sweeping the men’s, women’s and overall team competitions. The men’s team recorded the low score of 25, while the girls accumulated just 75 points. The combined total of 100 points was also good enough for the combined team victory.

CU sent 32 athletes to Tuscaloosa in defense of its 2010 and 2011 national championships. Twelve men and 11 women competed in the championship races consisting of a 1,500m swim, 40km bike, and 10km run.

Four of the 12 men in the championship race finished in the top 20. Second year graduate student Rudy Kahsar led the men in a time of 1:54:59, finishing 2^nd overall; just 26 seconds behind the winner McLarty (UC-Irvine). Rounding out the scoring for CU were juniors Drew Scott (5^th place, 1:56:42) Chris Braden (6^th place, 1:57:22), and sophomore David Bobka (15^th place, 2:00:39).

Junior Tess Amer was the first Buffalo across the line for the women, finishing in a time of 2:19:50, which was good enough for 12^th place. Less than a minute behind Tess was sophomore Bryn Morales who finished 16^th with a time of 2:20:36. Just two spots back in 18^th was junior Courtney Clark in a time of 2:21:05. The final scoring female was junior Caryn Maconi (35^th, 2:24:54).

In addition to the championship race, five CU athletes participated in the open race (following the same championship course) and a team of four in the Mixed-Relay event.

Freshman Jak Hamilton led the way for the Buffs, finishing the open race in 3^rd place with a time of 2:10:35, while Junior Eric Ebeling finished in 5^th with a time of 2:12:01.

New to the collegiate nationals event schedule was the Mixed-Team Relay. This race allowed teams of four athletes to participate in a mini-sprint triathlon. Each athlete completed a 250m swim, 6k bike, and 1.6k run. However, the first athlete swam 275m, biked 6k, and ran 1.6k.  Leigh Dodd, Thom Ward, Annette Mitchell, and Charlie Sisk represented the Buffs under the team name Tri in the Buff. They completed the course in a time of 1:47:48.

The University of Colorado Triathlon team is a student run club sports team for both men and women. Created in 1993, the team has won 13 collegiate national championships through USA Triathlon (USAT), most recently in 2010, 2011, and 2012. With over 100 due paying members, potluck dinners, summer ultimate Frisbee games, team hikes, and volunteer adventures the team is more than just a team; it is a family.

For more information contact: Jesse Frank CU Triathlon Team Marketing and Fundraising Officer at Jesse.Frank@Colorado.edu or 248-840-4264. To learn more about the CU Triathlon Team check out our website at http://www.cutriathlon.com/.