TEMPE, Ariz. – The University of Denver women's triathlon team placed third on Saturday afternoon at the Division-I Collegiate National Championships at Tempe Town Lake to conclude the 2022 season.
 
Denver had four athletes finish in the top 20 of the NCAA Division-I event, led by sophomores Olivia Ebenstein in 11th, Freya McKinley in 12th and Clara Normand in 17th and graduate student Melissa Funes in 19th. Freshman Elizabeth Harita was DU's fifth and final scorer in 22nd place.
                                          
"The team did an amazing job today from top to bottom. They have all believed this entire season in what we could accomplish and that has driven us throughout the whole year," said head coach Barbara Perkins. "This team is incredibly close and wanted to perform for each other, which made a huge difference in how things played out during the race. There was a lot of bravery, tenacity and heart out there today, and I'm so incredibly proud to have taken third as a team. It was a group effort through and through, and we're proud of the accomplishment."
 
Ebenstein finished the race in 1:05:55.8 and was just outside the top 10 as 2021 individual national champion Kira Gupta-Baltazar of San Francisco beat her by five-tenths of a second in a sprint to the finish line. Ebenstein posted the fourth-fastest bike time (34:46.2) and the second-fastest, second transition at 21.6 seconds.
 
McKinley crossed the finish line 20 seconds after Ebenstein in a total time of 1:06:15 after posting a 10:38.7 swim, 37:11.8 bike and 19:15.9 run.
 
Freshman Coco Diemar came in 21st and sophomore Avarie Faulkner placed 37th as Denver's two non-scorers in the race. Faulkner had a crash and mechanical issues in the bike segment.
 
The Pioneers garnered 194 total points to place third as a team in the race. Arizona State University finished with 239 points and just edged out Queens University of Charlotte to win the team championship. Queens posted 230 points with three athletes in the top 10 and all five scorers in the top 21.
 
The Pioneers joined ASU and Queens as the only teams with three or more athletes in the top 20.
 
Arizona State's Amber Schlebusch won the individual national championship in 1:03:41 while teammate Liberty Ricca earned the silver medal by clocking in at 1:04:51. Queens' Letizia Martinelli (1:04:55) joined the pair of Sun Devils on the podium in third place to round out the only athletes with sub-1:05:00 times.
 
Denver's third-place result marks the highest finish by a women's individual team at a national championship event in school history.
 
WHAT'S NEXT: The Pioneers' fall regular season is now complete. The school is going on winter break in two weeks, and the team will resume training in January in preparation for several spring races.
 
THE COURSE: Starting with a one-lap swim of 750 meters in Tempe Town Lake that began on the north side of the reservoir, the athletes then transitioned into a 20-kilometer bike course that included three laps around the proximity of the lake and featured several long straightaways, L-turns and two tight U-turns. The 5-kilometer run was two loops on the north side of the lake, heading west out of transition.
 
WEATHER: The air temperature at the 1:30 p.m. MT start was 72 degrees Fahrenheit with sunshine and no cloud cover.
 
NOTES: Barbara Perkins was recognized after the race as the Division-I Coach of the Year … Elizabeth Harita had the fastest swim among the Pioneers (10:27.6) … Clara Normand posted the seventh-fastest bike time (34:50.1), with only Olivia Ebenstein having a faster split among DU athletes (fourth, 34:46.2) … Melissa Funes posted the sixth-overall fastest run (18:40.7), while Freya McKinley was ninth fastest (19:15.9).
 
 
RESULTS:
Denver Triathletes
*11. Olivia Ebenstein, 1:05:55.8 (no swim data available/34:46/19:46) – 44 points
*12. Freya McKinley, 1:06:15.4 (10:38/37:11/19:15) – 43 points
*17. Clara Normand, 1:07:04.0 (10:41.9/34:50/20:08) – 38 points
*19. Melissa Funes, 1:07:35.7 (10:46/36:36/18:40) – 36 points
*22. Elizabeth Harita, 1:08:15.7 (10:27.6/37:20.0/21:04.6) – 33 points
34. Coco Diemar, 1:10:32.2 (10:52/36:28/21:40) – 21 points
37. Avarie Faulkner, 1:11:52.0 (11:07/39:32/19:38) – 18 points
   * - denotes team scorers
 
Women's Individual Finishers (20 Entries, 4 DNFs)
1. Amber Schlebusch, Arizona State, 1:03:41 – 54 points
2. Liberty Ricca, Arizona State, 1:04:51 – 53 points
3. Letizia Martinelli, Queens, 1:04:55 – 52 points
4. Ella Kubas, South Dakota, 1:05:23 – 51 points
5. Sam McInnes, Queens, 1:05:27 – 50 points
6. Natalia Hidalgo Martinez, Queens, 1:05:31 – 49 points
7. Alex Coursol, Arizona State, 1:05:35 – 48 points
8. Camille Buchanan, Arizona State, 1:05:42 – 47 points
9. Abby Church, East Tennessee State, 1:05:51 – 46 points
10. Kira Gupta-Baltazar, San Francisco, 1:05:55 – 45 points
 
Women's Team Results
1. Arizona State – 239 points
2. Queens – 230 points
3. Denver – 194 points
4. South Dakota – 159 points
5. San Francisco – 145 points
6. East Tennessee State – 135 points
7. Delaware State – 98 points
8. Wagner – 48 points

 
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