HOT SPRINGS, S.D. – The Denver Pioneers placed two triathletes on the podium and finished second overall on Saturday morning at the Southern Hills Triathlon Super Sprint at Angostura State Recreation Area to begin the 2024 season.
 
Freshman Ava Pfaff led the Pioneers in second place in her NCAA debut and senior captain Olivia Ebenstein joined her teammate on the podium in third. Pfaff and Ebenstein were separated by a second at the finish line as the rookie clocked in at 32 minutes and 46 seconds and the veteran completed her super sprint in 32:47. The Denver duo were among the leaders out of the water and stayed near the front of the pack all race long.
 
Arizona's Kelly Wetteland won the individual title in 32:20.
 
Pfaff's second-place result makes her the fifth Pioneer in program history to earn a podium spot in her collegiate debut. She joins Maira Carreau (first, 2023 Black Hills Collegiate Cup), Alex Campbell (first, 2023 Aquathlon Eliminator), Elizabeth Harita (third, 2022 Southern Hills) and Grace Arlandson (third, 2021 Clermont Challenge) as members on DU's list.
 
Ebenstein's third-place result marked her first career podium and third career top-five finish. It was her best result since placing fourth in the 2021 Oktoberfest Sprint as a freshman.
 
The Pioneers had three finishers in the top 10 as junior Elizabeth Harita joined Pfaff and Ebenstein in eighth with a mark of 33:16. Denver's other two scorers were senior captain Clara Normand in 18th with a time of 34:33 and junior Coco Diemar in 22nd at 35:14. Senior Avarie Faulkner timed in at 35:33 to place 24th.
 
Denver totaled 202 team points and was just one point behind winter TCU (203). South Dakota rounded out the team podium in third place with 199 points and joined DU as the only other squad to place three athletes in the top 10. Arizona placed fourth with 183 points while Colorado Mesa (126) and Black Hills State (93) rounded out the scoring.
 
While the Pioneers have previously raced in super sprints annually at the Clermont Challenge, this year's Southern Hills race marked the program's first super-sprint race during the regular season. Saturday's collegiate race distances were a 375-meter swim, 10-kilometer bike and 5K run.
 
This was the second time that DU raced at the Southern Hills Triathlon, as they won the collegiate event in their last race in Hot Springs, South, Dakota in 2022.
 
WHAT'S NEXT: The Pioneers will continue training for their first full sprint triathlon of the season in approximately a month as they travel to Fort Worth, Texas, for the Battle in the Fort Collegiate Cup on Sept. 29 at 8:30 a.m. MT. It will be the start of a stretch where they have two races in 14 days as DU will then compete at the Western Regional Championships on Oct. 12 in Springfield, Missouri. The National Championships are Nov. 9 in Clermont, Florida.
 
THE COURSE: Starting with a run into the water off Breakers Beach, the triathletes did a one-lap swim totaling 375 meters in Angostura Reservoir. The bike portion featured an out-and-back course through and out of the state park that included several steep hills and tight turns. The run was another out and back that headed south out of transition and along the eastern shore of the lake and also included several hills.
 
WEATHER: The air temperature at the 7:30 a.m. MT start was 66 degrees Fahrenheit with sunny conditions and no cloud clover. Water temperature was 70-72 degrees Fahrenheit.
 
NOTES:

• Olivia Ebenstein earned her first career podium and third career top-five finish (4th, 2021 Oktoberfest Sprint; 5th, 2024 Clermont Challenge NDR).
• Ava Pfaff is the fifth Pioneer to earn a podium result in her debut race and her second-place finish in her debut was the second-best result in a three-sport meet behind only Maira Carreau's win at the 2023 Black Hills Collegiate Cup.
• Elizabeth Harita earned her eight career top 10.
• Clara Normand has now placed in the top 20 in 14-of-16 career races. It was her first college event since the 2023 National Championships after spending the spring studying abroad.
• Coco Diemar completed her first regular-season triathlon since Oct. 1, 2023 at the Black Hills Collegiate Cup after being limited last fall due to an injury. She did race in the spring.
• Sophomores Alex Campbell and Maira Carreau and freshman Beatrice Normand did not race as they prepare for the Canadian National Championship next weekend.

 
RESULTS:
 
Denver Triathletes
2. Ava Pfaff, 32:46 (5:51/16:51/9:20) – 49 points*
3. Olivia Ebenstein (5:46/17:02/9:25), 32:47 – 48 points*
8. Elizabeth Harita, 33:16 (5:47/16:57/9:48) – 43 points*
18. Clara Normand, 34:33 (6:00/17:12/10:32) – 33 points*
22. Coco Diemar, 35:14 (6:14/18:05/10:09) – 29 points*
24. Avarie Faulkner, 35:33 (6:23/18:02/10:22) – 27 points
  * - denotes scorer
 
Women's Individual Top-10 Finishers (50 Entries)
1. Kelly Wetteland, Arizona, 32:20 – 50 points
2. Ava Pfaff, Denver, 32:46 – 49 points
3. Olivia Ebenstein, Denver, 32:47 – 48 points
4. Chelsea Webber, South Dakota, 32:52 – 47 points
5. Laura Holanszky, Arizona, 32:57 – 46 points
6. Alexa Magallon, South Dakota, 33:01 – 45 points
7. Ani Veltcheva, TCU, 33:11 – 44 points
8. Elizabeth Harita, Denver, 33:16 – 43 points
9. Kira Gupta-Baltazar, TCU, 33:20 – 42 points
10. Grace Busch, South Dakota, 33:42 – 41 points
 
Women's Team Results
1. TCU – 203 points
2. Denver – 202 points
3. South Dakota – 199 points
4. Arizona – 183 points
5. Colorado Mesa – 126 points
6. Black Hills State – 93 points