DENVER – University of Denver women's triathlon head coach Barbara Perkins is entering her third season at the helm of the program and looking to build on the success the Pioneers had in their first full campaign in 2021.
 
Denver picked up team wins last season at the Oktoberfest Sprint in Longmont and the Smith Mountain Eastern National Qualifier in Virginia before placing third at the St. George Western National Qualifier in Utah and fourth at its inaugural national championships in Tempe, Arizona.
 
Individually, the Pioneers had six podium appearances in their fall and spring campaigns, led by four from now-sophomore Freya McKinley. McKinley and fellow 2021 All-Americans Olivia Ebenstein and Avarie Faulkner return for their second NCAA seasons and will be joined at the front of the pack by incoming-sophomore transfer Clara Normand. Like McKinley did for the United States, Normand competed for her home country of Canada at the World Triathlon Junior Championship in May in Montreal and is another athlete that can reach the stand in any race for the Pios.
 
Perkins' second recruiting class features Coco Diemar (Eagle, Colorado), Elizabeth Harita (Anaheim, California) and Nadiya Linde-Elmhirst (Keene, Ontario), and the trio should add depth and give Denver more options on potential scorers this season.
 
The Pioneers' present schedule features five races, with the Oktoberfest Sprint on Sept. 19 being added to the slate after the previously-scheduled Americas Triathlon Cup St. George event on Sept. 24-25 in Hurricane, Utah, was cancelled last month. DU opens the campaign on Sept. 3 at The Southern Hills Triathlon in Hot Springs, South Dakota, before concluding the fall season on Nov. 12 at the Collegiate National Championships in Tempe, Arizona. Denver will also compete in several spring races as well in March.
 
This year also features a new scoring system, with the first-place finisher earning the most points, the second-place finisher the second most, and so on. A team still can only have a maximum of five scorers on their squad but now doesn't need five scorers to earn a team score.
 
Perkins chatted with DenverPioneers.com recently to discuss her squad and the 2022 season
 
What are you looking forward to the most this season?
 
"The team has a great balance of working hard and enjoying spending time together. One of the key things I like to emphasize is supporting each other, so we can get the most out of one another and all have the best possible experience together. "
 
Reflecting on the 2021 season, the first full campaign in program history, how do you think it went overall?
 
"It was a steep learning curve in a lot of ways, but overall it was a very successful year, especially considering it was our first full season. Winning the Smith Mountain Lake division-I race, sweeping the top five spots at the Oktoberfest Sprint and winning the women's team title, some individual podiums for Freya McKinley and of course finishing fourth at the national championships with three All-Americans all while maintaining above a 3.75 team GPA is something very proud of. We carried a lot of momentum into our training in the spring and saw a lot of improvement at the Clermont Challenge last March and going into the summer season. 
 
Did you learn anything about the race dynamics/strategy at last year's national championship that you can take into this season?
 
"With the race during the hottest part of the day, I think dealing with the heat was a huge factor in the race. This year we will consider how to prepare the week before the race, how to manage hydration and regulating body temperature before, during and after the race. The bike course is surprisingly technical, so practicing components of that will help us prepare as we go into the national championship this year. Also, having athletes who have experienced the race and the course to share with the newcomers will also be impactful."
 
How does adding transfer Clara Normand help this team get to where it wants to go?
 
"Clara is exactly the type of athlete I am looking for on this team. She is competitive and has raced at a high level, but she is also very humble and a great teammate. She can share a lot of her expertise with other members of the team. Clara is from Canada, and it also opens the door for more international athletes to join our squad."
 
How have you seen Freya McKinley grow as an athlete over the past year after she first stepped on campus as a freshman last summer?
 
"Freya has grown so much as an individual and as an athlete. She wants the very best for this team and goes out of her way to share that. She trusts the process, and we believe so much in each other in our coach-athlete relationship. Her confidence in herself and her abilities have also grown. It's been very rewarding to see her growth, and I am excited for her to lead this team this year."
 
What excites you about your 2022 recruiting class in Coco Diemar, Elizabeth Harita and Nadiya Linde-Elmhirst?
 
"They have all brought in experience, different backgrounds and are hungry to work hard. They fit with the team and bring great energy. I am looking forward to working with each of them and continuing to help them improve on their individual journeys and see them contribute to the team."
 
What makes Denver such a great place to train and compete?
           
"Our proximity to so many gorgeous training locations, training at altitude, our facilities to campus and the amount of triathletes we have in our community. We have hundreds of miles of trails in all directions, we are close to the mountains, open water swim locations and amazing state parks. Also having a 50-meter pool right here at the Ritchie Center and having Washington Park right out our front door really makes it a triathlete's ideal playground."
 
The regular season is fairly short, just two-and-a-half months long, what is key to managing the athletes' training so their peaking at the right time in mid-November at the national championship?
 
"The athletes need to come in with a fairly open mind and with a solid foundation from the summer so they are not behind. Most of these athletes are coming off a summer racing season, so another factor is not burning out or getting injured. It is very humbling coming to altitude for the first couple of weeks, so there is definitely an adjustment period. We have some short two-to-three-week blocks between races, so building the volume and intensity strategically is where the magic happens. We train through the season and don't rest very much for a majority of the races. Our focus is on being healthy and fast for nationals. There are also huge gains made in the offseason as shown by the returners who had huge jumps in the spring and summer. I am excited to see the newcomers have that same jump in their performance and continue to increase the returner's capabilities."
 

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