LAKE LANIER, Ga. — A day after winning the Draft-Legal sprint race at this year’s USA Triathlon Collegiate Club Nationals, Benedikt Bettin of the University of Colorado earned his second individual championship title in the Olympic distance race on Saturday. With his win, Bettin returns to Colorado with two national titles.
Saturday’s race featured an altered Olympic-distance course. The swim was shortened to a 600-meter course due to low water temperatures. Participants raced a standard — and technical — 41-kilometer bike and 10k run.
Bettin took an early lead in the men’s race, earning one of the top split times in the swim followed by a swift transition. Battling through the hilly bike course and then finding his legs on the run to produce the fastest male run split of the day (31:18), Bettin entered the finish chute in 1 hour 45 minutes and 4 seconds to earn his second national title of the weekend.
“Yesterday right after the [draft-legal] race I just focused on recovery. I tried to sleep well, but it didn’t work. I felt tired this morning and my legs did not feel that good. I just had to trust myself that once the gun goes off, my body knows what to do,” said Bettin. “A lot of guys from Queens were with me on the bike route. It was tough at points. I struggled a bit on the bike for some time, but it was good. It is a nice course, there is a lot of hills, it is hard to find a rhythm sometimes, but it is fun.”
Queens University of Charlotte athletes occupied the remaining two spots on the men’s podium. Jorge Alarcon claimed second place, clocking a time of 1:46:28, with his teammate Alexander Mundt in third with a time of 1:48:59.
In the women’s race, Kathryn Kennedy of the University of California Berkeley asserted herself in a dominating performance from start to finish. She grabbed the victor’s tape with over two and a half minutes on the competition, finishing in 2:03:07.
“The race started off disappointing, because I am a swimmer and hearing that the swim was shortened, I was pretty bummed because I thought that was going to be my best leg. But I guess it didn’t matter much in the end. The bike was super challenging, the run was insanely challenging, it was nice to have my team out on the race course with me, they were really supportive and that was fun,” said Kennedy, who finished second in Friday’s draft-legal sprint race. “The whole run I was paranoid that someone was right behind me, I always have that feeling that someone is going to pop out of nowhere. I had some relief when I rounded transition and I realized this is it, this is real. I smiled all the way down the hill. It was a great finish.”
Sophie Tasker of the U.S. Naval Academy came in second place with a time of 2:05:43, followed by Gabrielle Trueblood of the University of Colorado Boulder in 2:07:23. Trueblood also finished third on Friday in the Draft-Legal sprint race, returning to Boulder with two podium finishes at this year’s championships.
CU Takes Second in Team Standings
Queens University of Charlotte earned the overall team title with 100 points, with strong performances from both the men’s and women’s teams Friday and Saturday. The Queens Mixed Relay team of Tristen Jones, Kira Ribbink, Milan Tomlin and Franca Henseleit won Friday’s Mixed Relay championship and Henseleit won the Draft-Legal title. The men’s team had two podium finishers in both Friday’s Draft-Legal race and Saturday’s Olympic-distance Collegiate Championships. With the win, Queens adds to their trophy case as the Royals also won the collegiate club title in 2019.
University of Colorado Boulder (134) placed second and University of California Berkeley (147) placed third in the overall team standings.
Colorado was led by Bettin’s individual wins in both Friday’s Draft-Legal race and Saturday’s Olympic-distance race for the men. For the women, Gabrielle Trueblood took third in both Friday’s Draft-Legal race and Saturday’s Olympic-distance race. Trueblood also contributed to Colorado’s third place finish in Friday’s Mixed Relay event, along with teammates Drew Kroeker, Maren York, and Brandon Wallace.
With the combined efforts over the two days, Colorado finished second in the men’s team standings, second in the women’s team standings, and second in the overall team standings.
2022 USA Triathlon Olympic-Distance Collegiate Championships
600m swim, 41k bike, 10k run — Complete Results
Top Men’s Finishers
1. Benedikt Bettin (University of Colorado, Boulder), 1:45:04
2. Jorge Alarcon (Queens University of Charlotte), 1:46:28
3. Alexander Mundt (Queens University of Charlotte), 1:48:59
Top Women’s Finishers
1. Kathryn Kennedy (University of California, Berkeley), 2:03:07
2. Sophie Tasker (United States Naval Academy), 2:05:43
3. Gabrielle Trueblood (University of Colorado, Boulder), 2:07:23
Team Standings
Overall Club Standings
1. Queens University of Charlotte, 100 points
2. University of Colorado, Boulder, 134 points
3. University of California, Berkeley, 147 points
Women’s Club Standings
1. University of California, Berkeley, 39 points
2. University of Colorado, Boulder, 47points
3. Queens University of Charlotte, 75 points
Men’s Club Standings
1. Queens University of Charlotte, 24 points
2. University of Colorado, Boulder, 76 points
3. University of California, Berkeley, 92 points
History of the University of Colorado Triathlon Team at Collegiate Nationals
2022: 2nd place (Coaches Brad Seng, Dave Sheanin)
2021: rescheduled for fall — didn’t compete
2020: cancelled due to pandemic
2019: 3rd place (Coaches Brad Seng, Dave Sheanin)
2018: 2nd place (Coaches Brad Seng, Dave Sheanin)
2017: National Champions (Coach Brad Seng)
2016: National Champions (Coach Brad Seng)
2015: National Champions (Coach Brad Seng)
2014: National Champions (Coach Dave Sheanin)
2013: National Champions (Coach Mike Ricci)
2012: National Champions (Coach Mike Ricci)
2011: National Champions (Coach Mike Ricci)
2010: National Champions (Coach Mike Ricci)
2009: 3rd Place (Coach Mike Ricci)
2008: 2nd Place (Coach Kirk Nelson)
2007: 3rd place (Coach Kirk Nelson)
2006: 3rd Place (student coaches)
2005: National Champions (student coaches)
2004: National Champions (Coach Matt Eagan)
2003: National Champions (Coach Ryan Ignatz)
2002: National Champions (Coach Bettina Younge)
2001: 2nd place (Coach Bettina Younge)
2000: National Champions (Coach Neal Henderson)
1999: National Champions (Coach Neal Henderson)
1998: National Champions (Coach Rick Ellison)
1997: National Champions (Coach Rick Ellison)
1996: National Champions (Coach Rick Ellison)
1995: 2nd place (Coach Rick Ellison)
1994: National Champions (student coaches)
Individual Champions
2022: Benedikt Bettin (Olympic distance); Benedikt Bettin (Draft-legal sprint)
2017: Nick Noone (Olympic distance); Dan Feeney, Erica Hawley (Draft-legal sprint)
2016: Brittany Warly (Draft-legal sprint)
2015: Rudy Von Berg, Rachael Lenz
2014: Rudy Von Berg
2013: Michelle Mehnert
2011: Karl “Rudy” Kahsar
2009: Jessica Broderick
2002: Sara Tarkington
2000: Beth Anderson
1999: Teri Duthie, Nick Cady
1993: Danelle Ballengee
Related:
CU Boulder Triathlon Team Takes Third at the 2019 USAT Collegiate Club Nationals
CU Takes Overall Team Title and Women’s Team Title at Collegiate Club Nationals
CU Boulder Second Overall Team at the 2018 USAT Collegiate Club Nationals
CU Claims Seventh Straight Collegiate Triathlon Title
Rudy Von Berg Leads University of Colorado to Fifth Straight USAT Collegiate National Team Title
