CLERMONT, Fla. – Gallaudet University, in its first season, finished eighth overall among Division III teams at the 2024 Women's Collegiate National Championships at Lake Louisa State Park.
GU finished Saturday's competition with 58 team points with the bulk of them coming from first year
Kathe Wilken-Yoder (Oviedo, Fla.), who finished 152nd overall and earned 43 team points.
North Central College won the national championship for Division III teams with 525 points out of 11 teams competing. Trine University placed second (309 team points) followed by Central College (261) in third, Willamette University (247) in fourth and Calvin University (213) in fifth.
Wilken-Yoder was the first Bison to complete the bike portion of the competition with a time of 39 minutes and 55 seconds. First year
Mara Land (Dell Rapids, S.D.) was a few minutes behind with a time of 43:46. First year
Talia Boren (Fair Oaks, Calif.) was close behind with a time of 45:31. GU's final triathlete was first year
Alecia Miller (Litchfield, Ill.) who posted a bike time of 46:42.
Out on the running course, Wilken-Yoder crushed it with a fast time of 20 minutes and 52 seconds. Wilken-Yoder was the first GU triathlete to finish with an overall time of one hour, 18 minutes and 37 seconds to place 152nd overall and 23rd among Division III competitors.
Boren made up some time of the run section and complete that in 33:02 and was the second Bison to finish with a time of 1:37:13 in 189th place and 43rd in Division III.
Land was the third Bison to finish with an overall time of 1:38:31 after a 39:19 run section. Land was 190th overall and 44th in Division III.
Miller posted the second fastest run time for GU with 31:12 and was close behind Land with an overall time of 1:38:47 in 191st place and 45th among Division III competitors.
North Central's Hailey Poe was the top Division III triathlete with a time of 1:05:03 as Poe finished 66th overall.
The University of Arizona won the Division I national championship with 942 points. Arizona State University's Naomi Ruff won the individual championship with an overall time of 59 minutes and eight seconds.
Wingate University won the Division II national championship with 742 points. Wingate's Carla Larrabeiti won the Division II individual championship with an overall time of one hour and 45 seconds. Larrabeiti was 15th overall in the final standings.
The swim time trials were held the day before at the Clermont Watersports Complex.
"This season has been a testament to the power of perseverance, teamwork and breaking barriers," said Gallaudet coach
Brian Bennett. "For Gallaudet University to not only qualify four triathletes for the Women's Collegiate National Championships in our very first season, but to see each of them conquer an unprecedented race format – splitting the swim and bike/run across two venues is nothing short of remarkable. Each of our athletes raced with heart, proving that success isn't just about crossing the finish line, but about how we rise to every challenge along the way."
UP NEXT
This concludes the 2024 season, the first in program history, for Gallaudet University women's triathlon.
Also see:
