SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Sophomore Maira Carreau recorded her fifth career collegiate podium by placing third for the Denver Pioneers women's triathlon team on Saturday afternoon at the Western Regional Championships at Fellows Lake.
 
Freshman Beatrice Normand joined her fellow Quebec, Canada, native by picking up her first career top 10 in seventh place with a time of 1:02:49 (9:25/33:05/18:39). The Pioneers' other three scorers finished in the top 20, with sophomore Alex Campbell in 13th at 1:04:34 (9:27/33:03/20:21), senior Clara Normand one second behind in 14th at 1:04:25 (10:18/32:12/20:22) and junior Elizabeth Harita in 19th at 1:05:11 (9:38/33:12/20:32).
 
The Pioneers finished third overall in the standings with 595 points, earning an automatic team bid into next month's national championships. Arizona State and Arizona tied for first with 614 points, but the Sun Devils earned the tiebreaker as their sixth finisher placed higher than that of the Wildcats. South Dakota was fourth in Division-I race (529 points) while Northern Kentucky was final D-I team to place in 15th.
 
Carreau's third-place result came one year after winning the Eastern Regionals at Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia, and she will earn West All-Region honors along with Beatrice Normand. The La Prairie, Quebec, native was in the second wave out of the water in seventh place at 9:25 before posting a 33:05 time in the 20-kilometer bike leg. Carreau ran a 18:39 5K, the third-fastest of her NCAA career and second-fastest in the field on Saturday behind Kelly Wetteland of Arizona (18:22).
 
Denver's other finishers on Saturday were freshman Ava Pfaff in 23rd at 1:06:19 (9:45/33:02/21:42), senior Olivia Ebenstein in 26th at 1:08:21 (10:16/35:59/20:18), junior Coco Diemar in 29th at 1:08:52 (10:21/34:12/22:23) and senior Avarie Faulkner in 37th at 1:10:14 (11:25/35:29/21:23).
 
Naomi Ruff of Arizona State won the individual Western Region Championship in 1:02:25. U of A's Wetteland placed second in 1:02:37, 12 seconds ahead of Carreau.
 
Both ASU and Arizona each had four finishers in the top 10, with the Wildcats' four all in the top eight. The Sun Devils had each of their five scorers in the top 12 and their sixth finisher in 16th to earn the tiebreaker; U of A's sixth-place racer was one spot behind in 17th.
 
WHAT'S NEXT: Denver has now approximately a month to prepare for the 2024 Collegiate National Championships. This year's nationals is on Saturday, Nov. 9 at Lake Louisa State Park in Clermont, Florida. It is a venue that DU is familiar with as they compete in their spring races every March in the Clermont Challenge.
 
THE COURSE: The course at Fellows Lake began with a 750-meter, triangular-shaped swim, with an in-water start off a beach on the northwest side of the reservoir. The athletes then transitioned to a four-lap bike course in the park and on the adjacent East Farm Road 66, featuring two long straightaways but also four L-shaped turns and two 180-degree turns. The run was a two-lap, out-and-back course inside the park that followed the same bike straightaway.
 
WEATHER: Sunny with the air temperature at the 12 p.m. CT start was 81 Fahrenheit, with 35-percent humidity. No wetsuits were needed for the swim.
 
NOTES:

• Maria Carreau has now podiumed in five of her six career collegiate races. Her third-place result was the first of her career.
• Maira Carreau and Alex Campbell were both part of the second wave out of the water, with Carreau tied for seventh (9:25) and Campbell being two seconds behind in 10th (9:27).
• Maira Carreau posted the fastest 750-meter swim of her career (9:25), besting her time from the Battle in the Fort two weeks ago (9:47).
• Clara Normand posted the fastest bike time in the field at 32:12 (23.2 MPH average) while sister Beatrice Normand was seventh-fastest on the bike at 32:40 (22.8 MPH).
• Freshman Ava Pfaff finished her first full sprint of her collegiate career after posting a DNF in the bike portion two weeks ago at the Battle in the Fort Collegiate Cup in Fort Worth, Texas.
• Beatrice Normand's seventh-place result was a career high and she was the second-highest finishing freshman in the field.
• Maira Carreau and Beatrice Normand will both earn Western All-Region Team honors for placing in the top seven among Division-I athletes.

 
RESULTS:
 
Denver Triathletes
3. Maira Carreau, 1:02:49 (9:25/33:05/18:39) – 101 points*
7. Beatrice Normand, 1:03:30 (9:52/32:40/19:17) – 97 points*
13. Alex Campbell, 1:04:34 (9:27/33:03/20:21) – 91 points*
14. Clara Normand, 1:04:35 (10:18/32:12/20:22) – 90 points*
19. Elizabeth Harita, 1:05:11 (9:38/33:12/20:32) – 85 points*
23. Ava Pfaff, 1:06:19 (9:45/33:02/21:42) – 82 points
26. Olivia Ebenstein, 1:08:21 (10:16/35:59/20:18) – 80 points
29. Coco Diemar, 1:08:52 (10:21/34:12/22:23)
37. Avarie Faulkner, 1:10:14 (11:25/35:29/21:23)
  * - denotes team scorer
 
Women's Individual Finishers (128 Entries, 14 DNFs)
1. Naomi Ruff, Arizona State, 1:02:25 – 103 points
2. Kelly Wetteland, Arizona, 1:02:37 – 102 points
3. Maira Carreau, Denver, 1:02:49 – 101 points
4. Sidney Clement, Arizona State, 1:03:04 – 100 points
5. Margareta Vrablova, Arizona, 1:03:09 – 99 points
6. Molly Lakustiak, Arizona, 1:03:16 – 98 points
7. Beatrice Normand, Denver, 1:03:30 – 97 points
8. Ellison Wolfe, Arizona, 1:03:56 – 96 points
9. Alice Allessandri, Arizona State, 1:04:11 – 95 points
10. Zoe Adam Mari, Arizona State, 1:04:16 – 94 points
 
Women's Team Results
1. Arizona State – 614 points*
2. Arizona – 614 points
3. Denver – 595 points
4. South Dakota – 529 points
5. Drury – 478 points
6. Colorado Mesa – 450 points
7. Black Hills State – 441 points
8. North Central – 433 points
9. Cal Poly Humboldt – 418 points
10. UIndy – 315 points
11. Central College – 314 points
12. Calvin – 304 points
13. Willamette – 292 points
14. Millikin – 241 points
15. Northern Kentucky – 113 points
16. Concordia – 46 points
  ** - Won 6th-place tiebreaker