BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Navy's women's triathlon team was back in action Saturday morning to place sixth of 11 teams at the Duquesne Collegiate Cup.
The Mids scored 180 team points in their second competition of the 2024 season. The course consisted of a 750m swim, 20km bike and a 5k run.
"Today was another step in the process. I am excited about how the team kept in it despite some setbacks early on the bike," stated head coach Billy Edwards. "Our front pack plebes, Natalie, Dylan and Sailor, showed the strength from pool work over the summer with a strong swimming performance today. MC and Ella stepped up in this much stronger field to get us much needed points. Natalie really deserves some credit for the amount of poise she showed as a plebe in just her second NCAA race. Emely came through with a veteran savvy performance off the bike to regroup our second pack coming off the bike."
Freshman Natalie Wang led Navy in scoring for the second-straight event. The San Diego, Calif., native scored 61 points with a ninth-place finish at 1:05:17.76. Wang was able to rebound from a swim time of 11:54, which was best for 16th out of the 69 competitors. In the 20km bike event, she recorded a time of 31:08 that was best for 17th at Beaver Falls. She would race her way back to finish with the ninth fastest 5k run with a time of 20:31.
Dylan Cashin had a strong showing while adding 48 team points with a total time of 1:08:27.28 to finish 22nd. The freshman posted top-20 times in each of the swim and run event. Cashin swam side-by-side with fellow Mid Wang as she finished one second after Wang with a time of 11:55. In the bike event, she clocked a time of 32:37. The East Hampton, N.Y., native capped her race off with a 21:47 5k run.
Following right behind Cashin was senior Emely Vela with a time of 1:09:05.34 to provide Navy with 45 team points. The veteran senior responded from a slow start in the swimming event with a time of 12:17, best for 29th, and improved in each of the final two events. In the 20km bike event, she finished with the 26th fastest time in the group with a mark of 32:15 then showed off her running skills with the 16th fastest 5k run with a time of 22:26 to cap off her race. With a strong finish, she finished with the 25th fastest time of the day.
MC Kistler posted a time of 1:24:34.81 for 15 team points. The sophomore posted a time of 13:25 in the swimming event, 40:12 bike time and ran a 5k time of 28:48.
Freshman Ella Sims made her debut as a Midshipmen and scored an additional 11 points toward Navy's team score with an overall time of 1:28:38.57.
Sailor Eastman rounds out the Mids in the event, she competed in the swimming event (12:00) and the 20km bike event (32:33) before opting out of the 5k run.
Navy will take its second trip to Virginia to compete in the Robious Landing Collegiate Cup in Midlothian, Va., on Sunday Sept. 29.
Team Standings
1. TCU – 329 points
2. Duquesne – 290 points
3. Lenoir Rhyne – 243 points
4. North Central – 229 points
5. Delaware State – 210 points
6. Navy – 180 points
7. Indianapolis – 151 points
8. Wagner – 126 points
9. Roberts Wesleyan – 49 points
10. St. Thomas Aquinas – 33 points
11. Gallaudet – 29 points
