BERKELEY, Calif. – Three University of Denver triathletes placed in the top five on Sunday morning at the Bearathlon at Berkeley Marina. It was the Pioneers' final tune-up race before the 2022 national championships in two weeks.
 
Freshman Elizabeth Harita (59:30.0) led the Pioneers in second place while sophomore Avarie Faulkner (59:54.2) joined her teammate on the podium in third. Graduate student Melissa Funes (1:00:49.8) came in fifth overall for DU at the race, which was won by Juliette Janne Dothee of San Francisco (58:31.5).
 
Freshmen Coco Diemar (1:02:49.9) and Nadiya Linde-Elmhirst (1:02:59.4) also scored for Denver with top-10 results by coming in ninth and 10th, respectively, and senior Stormy Hegg placed 15th (1:09:36.5)
 
Harita's second-place finish was a career best and marked the second podium of her collegiate career after finishing third at the Southern Hills Triathlon on Sept. 3. She was among the leaders out of the water and went on to produce the fastest 20-kilometer bike time (28:30) and fourth-fastest run (19:40) to put herself on the stand.
 
Faulkner and Funes also had strong kicks in the 5K run to wrap up the race, with Funes posting the fastest mark in the field at 18:45.4 and Faulkner having the third-quickest at 19:18.7.
 
The Pioneers placed first in the team event with 76 points after having all five of their scorers finish in the top 10. The University of San Francisco placed second with 57 points, just edging Colorado Mesa University in third (56 points).
 
It was the Pioneers' second team win of the season and the fourth in program history. Denver has now finished on the podium in all five races this season.
 
Denver competed without Freya McKinley and Clara Normand, as the two sophomores were racing internationally this weekend for their respective countries at the 2022 Pan American Junior Championship in Montevideo, Uruguay.
 
WHAT'S NEXT: The Pioneers will close the fall campaign and go for their first national title on Saturday, Nov. 12 as they travel to Tempe, Arizona, for the 2022 Collegiate National Championships at Tempe Town Lake.
 
THE COURSE: Starting from the windsurf launch dock in the Berkeley Marina, the athletes did a one-lap swim of 750 meters before exiting off the main marina dock and transitioning to the 20-kilometer bike ride. After riding four loops along the frontage road adjacent to Interstate-580, the race concluded with a two-lap run on the nearby San Francisco Bay Trail for a total of 5 kilometers.
 
WEATHER: The air temperature at the 7:30 a.m. PT start was 55 degrees Fahrenheit with 89 percent humidity. It was mostly cloudy for the entire race.
 
NOTES: Denver picked up its second team win of the season and fourth in school history … The Pioneers have placed on the podium as a team in eight races in their history … Elizabeth Harita grabbed her second top 10 and podium of her freshman campaign … Avarie Faulkner earned her first podium since also placing third at the 2021 Oktoberfest Sprint in Longmont, Colo., and posted her fastest-ever 20K bike time … Melissa Funes earned her first career top 10 and posted new PRs in the 750-meter swim and 20K bike … Coco Diemar had her fastest swim and bike of the year and picked up her first career top-10 result … Nadiya Linde-Elmhirst and Stormy Hegg both had the best races of their careers, posting personal bests in all three sports.
 
RESULTS:
 
Denver Triathletes
2. Elizabeth Harita, 59:30.0 (8:45/28:30/19:40) – 19 points
3. Avarie Faulkner, 59:54.2 (9:53/29:26/19:19) – 18 points
5. Melissa Funes, Denver, 1:00:49.8 (9:21/31:28/18:45) – 16 points
9. Coco Diemar, Denver, 1:02:49.9 (9:31/28:54/22:21) – 12 points
10. Nadiya Linde-Elhmhirst, Denver, 1:02:59.4 (9:55/30:52/21:00) – 11 points
15. Stormy Hegg, Denver, 1:09:36.5 (12:59/33:54/21:08) – 6 points
DNS: Olivia Ebenstein
 
Women's Individual Finishers (20 Entries, 4 DNFs)
1. Juliette Janne Dothee, San Francisco, 58:31.5 – 20 points
2. Elizabeth Harita, Denver, 59:30.0 – 19 points
3. Avarie Faulkner, Denver, 59:54.2 – 18 points
4. Shannon Feran, Colorado Mesa, 1:00:06.5 – 17 points
5. Melissa Funes, Denver, 1:00:49.8 – 16 points
6. Maddie Perkins, San Francisco, 1:00:57.4 – 15 points
7. Ashlyn Hicken, Colorado Mesa, 1:01:43.5 – 14 points
8. Veronika Divis, San Francisco, 1:02:22.4 – 13 points
9. Coco Diemar, Denver, 1:02:49.9 – 12 points
10. Nadiya Linde-Elhmhirst, Denver, 1:02:59.4 – 11 points
11. Torin Lackmann, Colorado Mesa, 1:03:46.8 – 10 points
12. Chloe Yoder, San Francisco, 1:03:48.0 – 9 points
13. Abigail Croasdell, Colorado Mesa, 1:04:08.0 – 8 points
14. Emma Polenske, Colorado Mesa, 1:06:56.6 – 7 points
15. Stormy Hegg, Denver, 1:09:36.5 – 6 points
16. Fiona Graves, Colorado Mesa, 1:10:44.1 – 5 points
 
Women's Team Results
1. Denver – 76 points
2. San Francisco – 57 points
3. Colorado Mesa – 56 points

 
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