HOT SPRINGS, S.D. – The Denver Pioneers women's triathlon team opens the 2024 season on Saturday morning at the Southern Hills Triathlon super sprint at Angostura State Recreation Area.
Denver will be among six collegiate teams competing in the race, alongside Arizona, Black Hills State, Colorado Mesa, South Dakota and TCU. The NCAA race begins at 7:30 a.m. MT and is a super-sprint format that features a 375-meter swim, 10-kilometer bike and 5K run—half the distances that NCAA squads usually race at.
The season-opening meet will serve as a tune-up of sorts for the Pioneers and rest of the squads as part of their early-season training and to prepare for a key two-week stretch with the Battle in the Fort Collegiate Cup on Sept. 29 and Regional Championships on Oct. 12.
Denver previous raced in the Southern Hills Triathlon to begin the 2022 campaign, which was a full sprint. The Pios won that team event and swept the podium with
Freya McKinley placing first,
Clara Normand in second and
Elizabeth Harita coming in third.
The 2024 collegiate course begins off Breakers Beach with a one-lap swim in Angostura Reservoir. The bike portion features an out-and-back course through and out of the state park that includes several steep hills and tight turns with the college competitors turning around after 5 kilometers. The run is another out and back that heads south out of transition and along the eastern shore of the lake and features several hills.
The Pioneers have six athletes racing in South Dakota in seniors
Olivia Ebenstein,
Avarie Faulkner and
Clara Normand, juniors
Coco Diemar and
Elizabeth Harita and freshman
Ava Pfaff, who will be making her collegiate debut. Freshman
Beatrice Normand and sophomores
Alex Campbell and
Maira Carreau are currently in Canada training for next weekend's Canadian National Championships in Montreal.
There are several other races taking part on Saturday with Olympic distance, age group sprints and youth triathlons scheduled as part of the Southern Hills event. The collegiate super sprint will open the day's events, as the start time was moved up 30 minutes to accommodate the athletes and avoid course traffic.
