ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Navy's triathlon team shifts its focus to the post season when it competes at the NCAA East Regionals on Saturday. The event begins at 10 a.m. at the Sandling Beach Recreation Area in Wake Forest, N.C.

The course consists of a 750m swim, 20k bike and finish off with a 5k run.

"This team has already built itself to a great position and I need to give them credit for how far they have come together since plebe summer and this short fall season. As a young small squad, they have bonded and grown into a very solid team that competes," stated head coach Billy Edwards. "The plebes and Emely are excited because they have continued to grow as athletes and they know what it takes to progress from race to race. Even out of their best performance at the Robious Cup, they each walked away with areas they want to work on."

Heat One

Competing in the first heat at 10 a.m. will be the duo of MC Kistler and Ella Sims. Kistler's best performance came at the Patriots Triathlon where she placed 15th. The Apex, N.C., native raced her fastest time at the Duquesne Collegiate Cup with a total time of 1:24:34.

Sims scored in one event for the Mids this season at the Duquesne Collegiate Cup. Sims ran a time of 1:28:38 for 11 team points.

Heat Two

Four Midshipmen – Natalie Wang, Dylan Cashin, Sailor Eastman and team captain Emely Vela – will be competing in the fast heat. The heat will kickoff at noon.  

Freshman Wang has been Navy's leading scorer with 169 total points. Wang finished as the Mids top finisher as she placed in the top-10 in all three events this season. The San Diego, Calif., native began her career winning the Patriots Triathlon with a time of 1:10:03.

Cashin has also been a key contributor as a freshman with top-25 in all three competitions this season with a best third place finish at the Patriots Triathlon to open the season.

Senior Vela is the most experienced competitor on the team. In last season's NCAA East Regional Qualifier, Vela finished 31st out of 94 athletes with a time of 1:01:41. The local Chester, Md., native placed fifth at the Patriots Triathlon for 29 team points.

Eastman was able to compete in her first full competition in the most recent event at the Robious Landing Collegiate. At the event she displayed an impressive performance to finish 14th with a time of 1:01:18.