TEMPE, Ariz. – Freshman Maira Carreau of the University of Denver's women's triathlon team won the individual national championship in NCAA Division I on Saturday afternoon at the 2023 USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championships at Tempe Town Lake.
 
Carreau becomes the first Denver triathlete to win an individual national title and also the first to finish on the podium in the championship race. In Denver Athletics history, she is the 128th individual national champion and the first since Katie Hensien in women's alpine skiing in 2022.
 
"It's pretty amazing," said Carreau. "Coming into the race, I knew I could do it. I had the pressure—the whole season I was going for that title. I knew I could do it. The work was there with the whole team the whole season. It's also an amazing way to finish the season."
 
The Pioneers placed fourth in the team standings with 933 points, with DU freshman Alex Campbell and junior Clara Normand also finishing in the top 20 in 16th and 20th place, respectively, and earning All-American nods.
 
"Incredibly proud of this team and how far we have come this year—another fourth-place finish at the national championships," said Denver head coach Barbara Perkins. "We got to bring home the first-ever individual triathlon national championship title, which was the cherry on top. The depth of the race was much higher this year, combining Division I, II and III but also bringing in more programs like the University of Arizona and TCU."
 
Carreau finished her nationals debut in 1:03:22.6, edging second-place Naomi Ruff of Arizona State by 10 seconds (1:03:32.6). Ruff's teammate and 2022 national champion Amber Schlebusch was third with a time of 1:03:49.6, helping propel ASU to the national team title.
 
Maybe the biggest surprise of the day was Josi Seerig of East Tennessee State in fourth place, as she finished just under the one-hour and four-minute mark. Overall, five teams were represented in the top 10.
 
Carreau had the 13th-fastest swim but climbed up the field early in the bike portion. The La Prairie, Quebec, native was in the lead pack by the second of three laps and posted a split of 34:15 for the 12th-fastest 20K bike time.
 
"I knew already on the bike that I had a good chance to win the race," Carreau said. "I was evaluating the situation, seeing who was in the pack, who was not. Some girls I was expecting to be there that weren't. So it was like, 'OK, let's get this.' Work intelligently on the bike."
 
Carreau overtook her competitors early in the run, passing the leaders out of transition prior to the first turn of the two-lap, out-and-back course. She never relinquished the lead from there by clocking in the third-fastest run at 17:46, one of just four athletes to post a sub-18-minute 5K.
 
"After T2, I came out and there were two or three girls in front of me," Carreau said. "After 500 meters I caught them, I was in front, and I was like, 'Ok, let's keep it cool, let's see how it goes, see if girls are following.' I was quite surprised to see some girls following me after the first U-turn (on the run), but after that a gap opened and it stayed the same with the second lap. So just focus on everything… I was like, 'You got this, keep pushing and you're going to finish first.'"
 
Campbell joined her fellow Canadian in completing a memorable freshman campaign with a 16th-place finish in a time of 1:05:29.4. After posting the 21st-fastest swim (10:36), Campbell joined Carreau in the push up the field on the bike. She had sixth-fastest split at 34:10 on the second leg before running a 19:49 mark in the 5K (32nd fastest).
 
The rookie began the season by winning the Aquathlon Eliminator Duel against Colorado Mesa before earning two top-10 finishes in her next two full triathlon races.
 
"I had a lot of fun. I love having a team," said Campbell, reflecting on her first collegiate campaign. "I love traveling and training with this team. I find it's so much less nerve-wracking going to races when you have a group of girls all going through the same thing, and they're there to support you. I had so much fun this season."
 
Normand was one of the Pioneers' biggest movers of the day, climbing up from 62nd in the swim (11:11) to earn her second top-20 result of her career at NCAA Nationals. The Coteau-du-Lac, Quebec, native clocked in at 1:05:46.8. She was 15th fastest on the bike at 34:17 before recording the 19th-quickest run at 19:26.
 
"Biking is definitely my strength, so I tried to position myself intelligently on the course to work smarter, not harder, is what I like to say," Normand said. "I tried to take the best lane possible on the turns and stretch out the pack so the girls at the back had to work harder to catch back on. Just always take the fastest line, get really [aerodynamic] in my drops and make up as much time as we can."
 
Denver's other two scorers were sophomore Elizabeth Harita in 30th (1:06:59.7) and junior Olivia Ebenstein in 34th (1:07:28.4), while junior Avarie Faulkner was 46th (1:09:09.1) and graduate student Maren York placed 52nd (1:09:53.4).
 
Queens University of Charlotte (967 points) finished as runner-up in the team title behind Arizona State (999 points), while San Francisco earned the tiebreaker over Denver for third. Both DU and USF recorded 933 points among their five scorers, but the Dons gained the edge as their sixth-place finisher, Heidi Henry, came in 41st while DU's sixth, Faulkner, was 46th.
 
Arizona rounded out the top five in the team scoring with 917 points, earning the slight advantage over fellow NCAA newcomer TCU in sixth (914 points).
 
"It was a little gut wrenching to lose in the tiebreaker for third place, but I wouldn't trade this weekend and our experience for anything," Perkins said. "This team is so strong, and they love each other so much. It is going to be harder and harder every year to get onto the podium and chase a national title. I believe with the team we have, the experience we gained here, and the recruits we have coming in, we have something very special brewing here in Denver."
 
The 2023 campaign marked DU triathlon's the fourth NCAA season, and the program was competing at its third nationals event. The Pioneers have finished among the top-four teams in each of the three previous championship races, placing fourth in their debut in 2021 and third last season in 2022.
 
"It's so rewarding for me as a coach to watch this program continue to grow, and I'm excited where the road ahead will take us," Perkins said. "We wouldn't have been able to have a performance like this without our DU support staff, families, friends, fans, alumni and supporters. I hope this boosts our program, brings awareness to how special it is to have a team like this, and lets people know that Denver Triathlon is here to stay and should never be doubted."
 
WHAT'S NEXT: The Pioneers' 2023 regular season is now complete. The school is going on winter break in one week, and the team will resume training in January in preparation for several spring races.
 
THE COURSE: The race began with an in-water start and one-lap swim of 750 meters in a rectangular course off North Shore beach at Tempe Town Lake. 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, out-and-back on the north side of the lake, heading west out of transition.
 
WEATHER: The air temperature at the 2:35 p.m. MT start was 78 degrees Fahrenheit. It was sunny conditions with no cloud over and little shade or wind on the bike and run course.
 
NOTES:

• Freshmen Alex Campbell and Maira Carreau and graduate student Maren York made their debut at nationals
• Carreau placed on the podium in all three of her races this season, including winning her last two.
• Carreau was also named the Freshman of the Year for being the top performing freshman at nationals.
• Carreau becomes the fifth Canadian to win an NCAA title and first since San Francisco's Kira Gupta Baltazar in 2021.
• DU recent-signee, Ava Pfaff, who will join the team in 2024, raced in the open Sun Devil Classic earlier in the day and was the second-fastest woman and 15th overall with a time of 1:07:34.4.

RESULTS:

Denver Triathletes
1. Maira Carreau, 1:03:22.6 (10:29/34:15/17:46) – 208 points*
16. Alex Campbell, 1:05:29.4 (10:36/34:10/19:49) – 192 points*
20. Clara Normand, 1:05:46.8 (11:11/34:17/19:26) – 187 points*
30. Elizabeth Harita, 1:06:59.7 (11:12/34:17/20:37) – 175 points*
34. Olivia Ebenstein, 1:07:28.4 (10:41/34:52/21:02) – 171 points*
46. Avarie Faulkner, 1:09:09.1 (11:32/35:30/21:08) – 155 points
52. Maren York, 1:09:53.4 (11:34/36:43/20:37) – 147 points
 
*-denotes scorer
 
Women's Individual Division-I Top-10 Finishers
1. Maira Carreau, Denver, 1:03:22.6 – 208 points
2. Naomi Ruff, Arizona State, 1:03:32.6 – 207 points
3. Amber Schlebusch, Arizona State, 1:03:49.4 – 206 points
4. Josi Seerig, East Tennessee State, 1:03:58.1 – 205 points
5. Heidi Jurankova, Arizona State, 1:04:06.8 – 204 points
6. Kira Gupta Baltazar, San Francisco, 1:04:27.8 – 203 points
7. Beth Cook, Queens, 1:04:30.1 – 202 points
8. Maite Kustner, San Francisco, 1:04:31.0 – 201 points
9. Cara MacDonald, Queens, 1:04:40.4 – 200 points
10. Laura Holanszky, Arizona, 1:04:52.6 – 198 points
 
Women's Team Results
1. Arizona State – 999 points
2. Queens – 967 points
3. San Francisco – 933 points**
4. Denver – 933 points**
5. Arizona – 917 points
6. TCU – 914 points
7. East Tennessee State – 891 points
8. South Dakota – 800 points
9. Navy – 724 points
10. Duquesne – 630 points
11. Wagner – 378 points
12. Delaware State – 328 points
13. Hampton – 21 points
 
**-San Francisco won tiebreaker over Denver with its sixth-place finisher placing higher