GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University women's triathlon team will get their season underway on Saturday morning taking on the University of Denver in a uniquely-formatted competition between the only two NCAA programs in Colorado.
The Mavericks, who took second in Division II at last year's Women's Collegiate Triathlon National Championships, and the Pioneers, third in Division I a year ago, will compete in an Aquathon Eliminator, on the DU Campus, beginning at 7:30 a.m.
Competition Format
The unique Eliminator format dual will consist of multiple rounds of races, featuring a 200-meter swim segment in the Pioneers' El Pomar Natatorium followed by a transition to a 1-kilometer run course around the adjacent Denver Soccer Stadium.
Eighteen total athletes, including ten Mavericks, are expected to compete. The triathletes will originally be divided in three heats of six for the opening round.
The fastest 16 times from the opening round will then advance to the semifinal heat.
Eight women, including a minimum of three from each team, will then advance to the final heat, which will complete the event.
A non-scoring consolation final, which will include the ninth through 16
th finishers from the semifinals plus the two athletes who failed to advance out of the opening round will also be held before the final round.
Team scores will be kept with the winner earning 18 points, second place receiving 17 and so on. Each team's top five finishers will be counted for the overall team score to determine the winning team.
A look at the Mavs
The Mavericks have an 11-woman roster, ten of whom are expected to race on Saturday. Nine of the Mavericks are returning from last year's squad, including five all-Americans.
Jen Mathe, who took over head coaching duties part-way into the 2022 season, also added two newcomers in redshirt sophomore
Maha Akl and true freshman
Audyn Setzer.
2-time CTCA (Collegiate Triathlon Coaches Association) All-American
Shannon Feran will return for her redshirt junior season after placing third at last year's national championships. Feran had also won the USA Triathlon Age Group National Title last August.
Sophomore
Nadine Klive also returns after earning Second Team CTCA All-America honors thanks to a 11th place finish at the national championships.
Meanwhile, junior
Torin Lackmann, redshirt junior
Natalie Mitchell and sophomore
Josie Williams also return after each honored honorable mention all-America honors with 15th, 17th and 21st place finishes at last year's championships.
The other returning Mavericks are redshirt junior
Abby Croasdell, sophomore
Fiona Graves, sophomore
Emma Polenske and junior
Yoana Tohom.
A look ahead
The Mavericks are slated to have six competitions this fall. The Mavericks will race close to home at the Desert's Edge Triathlon at Highline Lake State Park in Loma on Sept. 16.
They will then head to South Dakota for back-to-back races on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, competing at Black Hills State's Yellow Jacket Relays in Spearfish on Sept. 30 before racing in the Black Hills Collegiate Cup in nearby Belle Fourche on Oct. 1.
The Mavs will then turn their attention to the championship portion of the season. They will compete on Oct. 14 at the Women's Collegiate Triathlon West National Qualifier in Springfield, Missouri, the qualifier for the national championships which will be held once again in Tempe, Arizona on Nov. 11.
A look back
The 2022 season was a strong one for the Mavericks, who welcomed head coach
Jen Mathe part-way through. In her first meet in charge, the Mavericks won their fourth consecutive West Regional title with seven of the top eight individual finishers.
The Mavs then went on to match their best national-championship finish taking second amongst 12 teams.
All seven Mavs who represented the Mavs on that Nov. 12 day earned CTCA All-America honors with top-21 individual finishes. The Mavericks were the only school to be able to make such a claim.
