CU Triathlon Team Three-peats at Collegiate Nationals

Buffs Take Home Men’s, Women’s and Combined Titles

cu-tri-team April 21, 2012 (Tuscaloosa, AL) – For the third straight year, after coming off a strong showing at regionals, Colorado convincingly claimed the overall team title at Saturday’s USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championship in Tuscaloosa with 100 points. The U.S. Naval Academy was second with 259, while California was third with 267. Team scores are tallied by combining the finishing positions of each school’s top four men’s and women’s finishers.

Colorado captured the women’s team title with 75 points, outdistancing runner-up Duke by just six points. California took third with 103 points on the women’s side.

Stanford sophomore Marissa Ferrante won the individual women’s title in 2:06:48. A standout runner, Ferrante put together a complete race to cruise to victory more than five minutes clear of the field on the Olympic distance course.

“It means a lot, and I’m just so happy that USA Triathlon has this event,” Ferrante said about competing at such a high level on a national stage. “Triathlon has such a great atmosphere. It’s a sport I love to see at the collegiate level, and I can’t want to see how it progresses in future years.”

In the men’s competition, CU placed its top four athletes in the top 14 finishers of the men’s race to tally just 25 points and take the men’s championship title. Arizona was second with 123 points, and the U.S. Military Academy took third with 149.

Rudy Kahsar led the Buffaloes with his second place performance (1:54:59). The CU men were also paced by Drew Scott in fifth (1:56:42) and Chris Braden in sixth (1:57:22).

UC Irvine graduate student Dustin McLarty took the men’s individual title in 1:54:33. An All-American swimmer as an undergraduate at Florida, McLarty was the class of the field on the swim with a 17:04 1,500m split. He led the race by 45 seconds out of the water and held onto that advantage for much of the day. Midway through the bike, McLarty held a 40-second lead on Kanute, with Kahsar sitting third.

McLarty extended his lead to nearly a minute over Kanute and 1:30 over Kahsar, who got back into the race with a 58:37 bike split, entering T2. Kanute quickly made up 20 seconds on McLarty, but could not pull any closer on the run. Kahsar eventually overtook Kanute to grab his second straight top-two finish. A year ago, McLarty also crossed the finish line just ahead of Kahsar but was assessed a two-minute penalty for a position violation on the bike, dropping him to second place.

The University of Colorado triathlon team has now won 13 team national championship titles since 1994.

Women’s Overall

1. Marissa Ferrante (Stanford), 2:06:28
2. Jenny Shaughnessy (Duke), 2:11:48
3. Hallie Blunck (Alabama-Birmingham), 2:12:18
4. Christine Farson (California), 2:13:12
5. Samantha Morrison (U.S. Air Force Academy), 2:14:03
6. Erika Erickson (California), 2:14:13
7. Kathrine Warren (UC Santa Barbara), 2:15:02
8. Chelsea Koglmeier (Duke), 2:15:58
9. Jessica Hafey (U.S. Naval Academy), 2:17:49
10. Elizabeth Baugher (Texas A&M), 2:18:01

Women’s Undergraduate

1. Marissa Ferrante (Stanford), 2:06:28
2. Samantha Morrison (U.S. Air Force Academy), 2:14:03
3. Kathrine Warren (UC Santa Barbara), 2:15:02

Women’s Graduate

1. Jenny Shaughnessy (Duke), 2:11:48
2. Hallie Blunck (Alabama-Birmingham), 2:12:18
3. Christine Farson (California), 2:13:12

Men’s Overall

1. Dustin McLarty (UC Irvine), 1:54:33
2. Rudy Kahsar (Colorado), 1:54:59
3. Ben Kanute (Arizona), 1:55:08
4. Ryan Bice (UC Colorado Springs), 1:55:10
5. Drew Scott (Colorado), 1:56:42
6. Chris Braden (Colorado), 1:57:22
7. Colin Riley (Florida State), 1:57:49
8. James McCurdy (Auburn), 1:58:57
9. Alex Libin (Iowa), 1:59:14
10. Jason West (Penn State), 1:59:39

Men’s Undergraduate

1. Ben Kanute (Arizona), 1:55:08
2. Ryan Bice (UC Colorado Springs), 1:55:10
3. Drew Scott (Colorado), 1:56:42

Men’s Graduate

1. Dustin McLarty (UC Irvine), 1:54:33
2. Rudy Kahsar (Colorado), 1:54:59
3. Colin Riley (Florida State), 1:57:49

Overall Team Standings

1. Colorado, 100
2. U.S. Naval Academy, 259
3. California, 267
4. U.S. Military Academy, 356
5. UCLA, 376

Women’s Team Standings

1. Colorado, 75
2. Duke, 81
3. California, 103
4. U.S. Naval Academy, 104
5. UCLA, 129

Men’s Team Standings

1. Colorado, 25
2. Arizona, 123
3. U.S. Military Academy, 149
4. U.S. Naval Academy, 155
5. California, 164

Mixed Team Relay

1. California Relay A, 1:26:33
2. Stanford Relay A, 1:28:40
3. Mountain Collegiate Conference, 1:29:27
4. South Midwest Collegiate Conference, 1:29:59
5. Arizona, 1:30:42

Women’s Open Division Winner: Sarah Phelps (Austin, Texas), 2:25:27
Men’s Open Division Winner: Christopher Braun (Huntsville, Ala.), 2:08:16
Armed Services Champion: U.S. Military Academy
Team Spirit Award: Ohio State

University of Colorado Triathlon Team History

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