ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's triathlon team returns to competition to race in the Clermont Draft Legal on Saturday and Sunday at Lake Louisa State Park in Clermont, Fla.
Zoe Adama,
Haley Harris and
Madeline Klippenstein will represent the Mids in the U25 national development race (8 a.m.) on Saturday and the NCAA women's race (11 a.m.) on Sunday.
The U25 national development race will consist of a 750m swim, a 20k (12.4 mile) bike and a 5k (3.1 mile) run. The NCAA event features a 375m swim, a 10k (6.2 mile) bike and a 2.5k (1.55 mile) run. Neither race will have team scoring.
"The team is racing a small crew of three in Clermont as part of a weekend of races that includes elite development and NCAA races. We are looking to get some non-championship season race experience," said head coach
Billy Edwards. "These races are paramount to the development of the team and Navy has always competed here with the club programs. It is a great venue for this time of year and this is also where nationals will be held in November. This race gives us a lot of opportunities to preview the course."
Clermont Draft Legal Links
View results from the races
HERE
View the schedule of events
HERE
View the course map and race details
HERE
View the Clermont Draft Legal website
HERE
Participating Teams
American International College, Arizona State, Arizona, Black Hills State, Colorado Mesa, Delaware State, Drury, Duquesne, East Tennessee State, King, Lenoir Rehne, Navy, North Central College, St. Thomas Aquinas College, TCU, South Dakota, Denver.
A Look Back at the Fall
Navy competed in six triathlons during its inaugural varsity season last fall.
The Mids began the season with a second-place finish at the Wingate Bulldog Super Sprint Kickoff. Navy placed four athletes in the top 10, led by Harris in fifth place.
The Mids placed fifth out of 13 teams the following week at the Duquesne Collegiate Cup, which was their first swim-bike-run event of the season. Harris (1:05:17.77) and Klippenstein (1:06:32.15) both claimed spots in the top 25 in 12th and 23rd place, respectively.
Navy then took sixth place out of 16 teams at the Giant Acorn Collegiate Cup. Harris posted the eighth-best time of the race at 1:12:47.6.
Sara Jarman returned to the lineup and placed 21st with a time of 1:14:07.9.
The Mids concluded the regular season by winning their first triathlon title at the Waterman's Sprint Triathlon. Harris (1:09:16.7),
Anna Wekluk (1:12:41.8) and Jarman (1:13:20.3) swept the podium, placing first, second and third, respectively.
The postseason started with the NCAA East Regional Qualifier, where Navy placed sixth out of 20 teams. All five mids who scored placed in the top 50 in a field that consisted of 117 athletes. Harris (13th place) clocked in a time of 59:56 to earn the team's best finish.
Navy's efforts at regionals helped it qualify as an at-large team for the NCAA Championship. The Mids finished one spot ahead of their pre-seed in 11th place at nationals. Harris crossed the finish line in 1:07:11.0 to place 36th out of 208 competitors.
2023 Clermont Draft Legal Results
Navy had an excellent showing at the Clermont Draft Legal in 2023. Eli Walz registered a time of 1:03:29 to place seventh out of 82 athletes in the national development race. Also placing in the event was Jarman (23rd / 1:06:33),
Reagan Quilty (39th / 1:08:55), Wekluk (44th / 1:10:06) and
Emely Vela (51st / 1:11:50).
Walz jumped four spots in the standings in the national development race the following day with a time of 1:03.54. Jarman (1:06:59) posted a 17th-place finish, while Quilty (1:09:06), Wekluk (1:09:47) and Vela (1:12:28) placed 26th, 32nd and 39th, respectively.
Additionally, the mixed relay squad ended in 10th place out of 47 teams with a time of 39:33.
