ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's triathlon team qualified for the NCAA Championship as an at-large team in heat one, the Collegiate Triathlon Coaches Association (CTCA) announced Tuesday
The Mids earned a spot in the top-seeded heat based on the individual times of their top-five athletes at the NCAA East Regional Qualifier. By qualifying as an at-large team, Navy will race its seven athletes in heat one rather than only qualifying individuals.
"By qualifying as a team, we can work in the race for our teammates, especially on the bike. At regionals, five of our seven athletes were in packs with a teammate. This allowed us to keep each other in the faster packs or press the field for faster bike speeds in later groups," said head coach
Billy Edwards. "This team was made varsity in March and had only two athletes with triathlon experience prior to the Naval Academy. Our seven athletes raced together, finishing in five different combinations over five of the last seven weeks. This team was not even in consideration a year ago and now they are fully in the mix as a team for nationals. This is a testament to the leadership, individual dedication and growth of this team the entire season.
"The history and culture of Navy triathlon is to grow and develop athletes to be great future Naval Officers. We have won club national championships and now we see that we can race with some of the top young women in the NCAA from around the world. We have work to do for when they toe the line with the best and continue to progress as a unit."
Qualifying Criteria
Heat one will consist of 12 teams. Three teams from the East (Queens, Denver, Lenoir-Rhyne) and West (Arizona State, San Francisco, TCU) Regions automatically qualified by placing in the top three as a team at regionals. Six at-large teams and 15 individual qualifiers make up the remaining competitors. The remainder of the field will race in heat two.
Navy compiled an overall team score of 466.649 to earn a qualifying spot in heat one. Team scores were given based on the top-five individual times from a team.
Five Mids garnered an individual score at regionals that ranks in the top-100 nationally. Individual scores were calculated using an athlete's time and dividing it by the average time of the podium finishers at regionals. Fans can view Navy's scores below.
32.
Haley Harris (96.452)
52.
Sara Jarman (94.680)
61.
Emely Vela (93.708)
79.
Anna Wekluk (91.336)
86.
Madeline Klippenstein (90.474)
102.
Zoe Adama (88.313)
Note - Team captain
Reagan Quilty didn't receive a score due to not finishing at regionals because of injury. She raced in a dynamic support role for teammates through the bike and will still compete at nationals.
The NCAA Championship will take place on Saturday, Nov. 11 in Tempe, Ariz. Heat one with the top seeds will begin at 2:15 p.m. ET. The NCAA Championship will feature over 200 athletes from 36 programs.
Heat One Teams (Regional Team Score)
Arizona State (493.671)
Queens University of Charlotte (493.324)
San Francisco (489.703)
Denver (487.624)
TCU (485.853)
Arizona (484.585)
Lenoir-Rhyne (478.313)
Wingate (477.612)
South Dakota (477.328)
East Tennessee State (477.246)
Colorado Mesa (467.124)
Navy (466.649)
