TEMPE, Ariz. – The Gallaudet University women's triathlon team made program history Sunday with a sixth-place finish at the 2026 Women's Collegiate Triathlon National Championships held at Tempe Town Lake North Park.
The Bison, competing in their third season as a varsity program, totaled 164 points to finish sixth among nine NCAA Division III teams. Gallaudet improved upon its previous best finish of eighth place at the 2024 national championships.
All four Gallaudet national qualifiers completed the championship course, which was changed from a triathlon to a duathlon because of unsafe water conditions in Tempe Town Lake following heavy rainfall.
Junior
Alecia Miller (Litchfield, Ill.) led the Bison with a time of 1 hour, 30 minutes, 19 seconds. Miller, the lone returning national qualifier from Gallaudet's inaugural 2024 season, finished 179th overall among 192 competitors who completed the race.
Sophomore
Melany Salcedo Benavides (Woodbridge, Va.) followed in 183rd place with a time of 1:32:04, while fellow sophomore
Marcella Shular (Colorado Springs, Colo.) placed 186th in 1:34:06.
First year
Priya Frank (Colorado Springs, Colo.) rounded out the Gallaudet contingent in 192nd place with a time of 1:41:37. Frank, Salcedo Benavides and Shular made their national championship debuts.
"It was an amazing day for our Bison triathletes," said Gallaudet coach
Brian Bennett, '12. "All four stayed focused, battled through the heat and competed hard against a strong field of collegiate triathletes. Each of them finished strong, and it was a special moment to watch their performances on the national stage."
The national championship was originally scheduled to feature a 750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike and 5-kilometer run. However, heavy rainfall and water releases into Tempe Town Lake prompted officials to close the lake to water activities. Water-quality testing determined that conditions were unsafe for swimming. As a result, the championship was converted to a duathlon consisting of a 2.5-kilometer run, 20-kilometer bike and 5-kilometer run.
Gallaudet competed in Heat C, the third of three championship races, which began at 2:45 p.m. local time (4:45 p.m. EST). The championship heats were organized by qualifying performances and national rankings, with Heat C featuring the lowest-seeded entrants across all three NCAA divisions.
North Central College captured the Division III national championship with 705 points, followed by Trine University (563), Willamette University (416), Central College (379) and Concordia University Wisconsin (314). Gallaudet finished ahead of Warren Wilson College (132), Eastern Mennonite University (70) and Guilford College (44).
The sixth-place performance marked another milestone for Gallaudet's growing women's triathlon program, which debuted in 2024 and continues to establish itself on the national stage.
BISON TRACKS
- Gallaudet placed sixth among nine NCAA Division III teams, its highest national championship finish in program history.
- All four Bison completed the national championship duathlon.
- Miller made her second national championship appearance after competing in 2024.
- Frank, Salcedo Benavides and Shular competed at nationals for the first time.
- University of Arizona's Kelly Wetteland captured the overall individual national championship with a winning time of 1:00:44.
- The University of Arizona won the NCAA Division I team title with 1,101 points, while Wingate University claimed the Division II championship with 937 points.
- The championship featured 36 teams and 192 finishers across all three NCAA divisions.
- Gallaudet was one of 28 teams across all three NCAA divisions to have at least four student-athletes complete the national championship duathlon.
UP NEXT
This concludes the 2026 Gallaudet women's triathlon season.
