DENVER, Colo. – The University of Denver Division-I women’s triathlon team kicks off its 2022 regular-season schedule with The Southern Hills Triathlon on Saturday, Sept. 3 in Hot Springs, South Dakota.
The six-meet season culminates with the Collegiate National Championships at Tempe Town Lake in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday, Nov. 12. The Pioneers are entering their second full season in 2022 after finishing fourth at their first-ever national championships last fall.
Two weeks after opening the season, DU heads to Southern Utah for the two-day Americas Triathlon Cup St. George event. The meet at Quail Creek State Park in Hurricane begins with a preliminary super sprint event (375m swim, 10K bike, 2.5K run) on Saturday, Sept. 24 before the final in a traditional sprint race on Sunday, Sept. 25 (750m swim, 20K bike, 5K run).
The Pioneers will be back in South Dakota on Oct. 1 for their first-ever dual, as they’ll take on the South Dakota Coyotes at the USD Vermillion campus.
Denver then heads to Stockton, Missouri, on Oct. 15 for the Western Regional National Qualifier at Stockton State Park. Last season, the Pioneers won the Eastern National Qualifier at Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia, and placed third at the Western National Qualifier in Hurricane, Utah.
DU’s final meet before the national championships is set for Oct. 30 when the squad travels to Berkeley, California, to take part in the Bearathlon, hosted by the Cal Tri Club.
Denver is welcoming five newcomers to its team this season, with incoming freshmen Elizabeth Harita, Nadiya Linde-Elmhirst and Coco Diemar joining sophomore-transfer Clara Normand and graduate student Melissa Funes, who is coming over from the school’s swim and dive team.
The returners feature senior Stormy Hegg and sophomores and 2021 All-Americans Olivia Ebenstein, Avarie Faulkner and Freya McKinley.
In 2021-22, the Pioneers picked up two team wins, with them also claiming the Oktoberfest Sprint title in Longmont, Colorado. Individually, Denver triathletes earned 15 top-10 finishes and seven podiums, led by four from McKinley.
2022 Denver University Triathlon Schedule
| Date | Meet | City |
| Sept. 3 | The Southern Hills Triathlon | Hot Springs, South Dakota |
| Sept 24 | Americas Triathlon Cup St. George | Super Sprint Semifinals | Hurricane, Utah |
| Sept. 25 | Americas Triathlon Cup St. George | Sprint Finals | Hurricane, Utah |
| Oct. 1 | Dual at South Dakota | Vermillion, South Dakota |
| Oct. 15 | Western Regional National Qualifier | Stockton, Missouri |
| Oct. 30 | Bearathlon | Berkeley, California |
| Nov. 12 | Collegiate National Championship | Tempe, Arizona |
— Ron Knabenbauer / Denver Athletics
Related:
Boulder’s Matthew Guenter Wins Olympic and Sprint Titles at USA Triathlon National Championships, Grand Junction’s Shannon Feran Claims Sprint Title
CU Boulder Triathlon Team Takes Third at the 2019 USAT Collegiate Club Nationals
DU Women’s Triathlon Team Finishes Fourth at First-Ever National Championship
CU Boulder Second Overall Team at the 2018 USAT Collegiate Club Nationals
CU Claims Seventh Straight Collegiate Triathlon Title
