CU Triathlon Team Wins Conference Championships

Team Set to Defend National Title in One Month

March 22, 2012 (Boulder, CO) – In what has become an annual pre-spring break pilgrimage, athletes from the University of Colorado triathlon team descended on Lake Havasu, Arizona last weekend to contest the Mountain Collegiate Triathlon Conference Championships.

The Olympic-distance race acts as an early season tune-up in preparation for the Collegiate National Championships scheduled for the end of April.

True to form, the team defended its titles at the race, taking the men’s team title, the women’s team title, and the combined team title.

The men were paced by last year’s collegiate national champion, Rudy Kahsar, who finished second in 1:57:02. Close behind Kahsar was teammate Drew Scott, who took third in 1:57:58.

The women also turned in a solid performance with Tess Amer claiming second in 2:21:34, and Bryn Morales finishing fourth in 2:23:22.

Head coach, Mike Ricci, noted the team was “looking good for Nationals with a few things we need to work on, as always.”

The 2012 USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championships will be held on Saturday, April 21 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. A capacity field of more than 1,200 collegiate triathletes is expected to vie for individual and team national titles in the Olympic-distance championship event, which features a 1,500-meter swim, 40-kilometer bike and 10-kilometer run starting and finishing at the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater. The women’s race will start at 7:30 a.m., followed by the men at 10:30 a.m.

The 2012 Collegiate National Championship marks the sixth consecutive year that USA Triathlon has held one of its major championship events in Tuscaloosa. Collegiate Nationals also was held in Tuscaloosa in 2007, 2008 and 2011.

“USA Triathlon has enjoyed remarkable support from the town of Tuscaloosa over the past six years, and we look forward to returning Collegiate Nationals to one of the nation’s best-known college towns,” USA Triathlon National Events Director Jeff Dyrek said.

“The atmosphere and camaraderie of Collegiate Nationals is unparalleled in triathlon, and our new team relay event gives the student-athletes another opportunity to display their school spirit.”

Led by men’s national champion Rudy Kahsar, Colorado repeated as the combined team champion in 2011. CU also won the men’s team title a year ago, while the U.S. Naval Academy won the women’s team crown.

The USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championship has been a springboard to success for some of the nation’s top up-and-coming triathletes in recent years, including current elite athletes Rudy Kahsar, Kaitlin Shiver, Caitlin Snow, Barrett Brandon, Kevin Collington, Amanda Felder, Ben Hoffman, Nicole Kelleher and Steve Sexton, who all captured individual collegiate titles.

Mountain Collegiate Triathlon Conference Championships

March 17, 2012 – Lake Havasu, Arizona

CU Women

CU Men