SPOTSYLVANIA, Va. - The Navy women's triathlon team took another strong step forward as a varsity program by finishing in sixth place of 16 teams at the Giant Acorn Collegiate Cup at Lake Anna State Park in Spotsylvania, Va.
 
The event consisted of a 750m swim, a 25km (15.5 mile) bike and a 5k (3.1 mile) run.
 
The Mids totaled 319 team points and ended just five points behind Duquesne for fifth place. Lenoir-Rhyne claimed first place in the team standings with 418 points.  
 
"Very happy with the race today. This was another step in the right direction in regards to the individual performances. I'm extremely happy to have Haley (Harris) able to be one step closer to the front of the standings," said head coach Billy Edwards. "Everybody was able to execute closer to their potential and we're really learning to race at this level. At the same time, we are starting to see how little things like a slow transition will pay dividends in the standings as we approach the regional championship."
 
Haley Harris posted the eighth-best overall time in the meet at 1:12:47.6 to lead Navy for the third-straight meet. Her placement earned the Mids 83 points. Harris put herself in the top 10 of the standings right off the gate with the fourth-best swim time (10:22). She clocked in a 40:53 time on the bike and ended the competition with the fifth-fastest run time at 19:10.
 
Sara Jarman returned to Navy's lineup after missing the Duquesne Collegiate Cup with a 21st-place finish. She compiled a time of 1:14:07.9 to score 70 points. The Frederick, Md., native posted a swim time of 11:10. She then jumped up eight spots in the standings by clocking in the 22nd-best bike (40:05) and run (20:40) times.
 
Another great swim performance from Anna Wekluk earned her 33rd place with a time of 1:16:04.5. She garnered the eighth-best time in the swim at 10:28. She concluded the meet with a 40:42 bike time and a 22:32 run time to claim 59 points toward Navy's team score.
 
Emely Vela remained a consistent scorer for the Mids by totaling 54 points with a 38th-place finish. The junior clocked in an overall time of 1:17:20.0. Vela posted a swim time of 11:18 and bike time of 42:36. She used the run segment to jump up in the overall standings with the 27th-fastest time at 20:55.
 
Madeline Klippenstein crossed the finish line right after Vela in 39th place with a time of 1:18:07.9. She added 53 points to the scoreboard as the final point scorer for Navy. The Platte City, Mo., native compiled a swim time of 11:36, but found herself outside of the top 50 through the first segment. Klippenstein quickly made up ground with a bike time of 42:24 and finished the meet with a run time of 21:43.
 
Zoe Adama clocked in an overall time of 1:19:42.2 to take 47th place. She posted times of 11:43, 44:20 and 21:17 on the swim, bike and run, respectively.
 
Reagan Quilty capped off the meet for the Mids by placing 59th in 1:23:53.5. The event marked the first time Navy's team captain has completed a full competition this season. She compiled her best-ranked time on the bike at 46:03. Additionally, she ended with a swim time of 11:59 and a run time of 23:24.
 
Navy will make a quick drive over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to Rock Hall, Md., to participate in the Waterman's Sprint Triathlon next Sunday at 8 a.m. The Waterman's Sprint Triathlon will be the final event for the Mids before the NCAA East Regional Qualifier on Oct. 14.
 
Team Standings
1. Lenoir-Rhyne - 418 points
2. Queens University of Charlotte - 402 points
3. East Tennessee State - 398 points
4. Wingate - 337 points
5. Duquesne - 324 points
6. Navy - 319 points
7. Delaware - 237 points
8. Emmanuel - 216 points
9. Eastern Mennonite - 176 points
10. King - 93 points
11. Newberry - 76 points
12. Roberts Wesleyan - 67 points
13. Guilford - 61 points
14. St. Thomas Aquinas - 56 points
15. Greensboro - 21 points
16. Hampton - 15 points