GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University women's triathlon team will look to regain the top spot of the regional podium when the Mavs head to the Women's Collegiate Triathlon West Regional Championships in Fort Worth, Texas.
 
Sunday's event at the Marine Creek Lake Park will be contested over two waves with the 75 highest seeded triathletes competing in the "A" wave at 11 a.m. CDT (10 a.m. Mountain) with the "B" wave preceding at 9:30 a.m. CDT (8:30 a.m. Mountain).
 
CMU is one of four NCAA Division II programs in the field, which includes four of the top six and five of the top eight teams in the latest Collegiate Triathlon Coaches Association's National Rankings.
 
There are seven Division I teams in the field and four from Division III, including defending national champions North Central.
 
Race Format
 
The full and preliminary entry list for Sunday's event includes 129 triathletes, 75 of which will race in the second "A" wave.  The others will race in the initial "B" wave.
 
The individual results from both waves will then be merged to determine the final standings, which in term will determine the final team scores.  The top five finishers from each team will score for their team while the sixth and seventh will displace lower finishes from other teams.  The eighth through tenth place finishers for teams that large will not be included in the team score calculations.
 
The team scores will be combined for all 15 teams although awards will be separated out by division.
 
Who's Competing
 
The Mavericks have entered eight triathletes for Sunday's race.  Five of them will be racing in the "A" wave while three have been placed in the "B" wave.
 
Rosa Schmidt-Moll is seeded 33^rd as the top Maverick and is joined in the top wave by Alexandra Schipai (36^th), Shantelle Tupaz (50^th), Mackenzie Mayer (60^th) and Sylvie Aardema Gagnon (72^nd).
 
Maddie Cox, Macy Arch and Kaia Merrill will represent the Mavs in the "B" wave.
 
Five of the Mavs raced in last year's regional championships, which were also held in the same location.
 
Schipai led the Mavericks on that day (Oct. 26), placing 30^th overall and third amongst Division II triathletes with a time of 1:09:10.  Tupaz was behind in 35^th overall and fifth amongst Division II athletes in 1:10:04.
 
Mackenzie Mayer finished 50^th (1:13:24) while Macy Arch was 52^nd as the Mavs' seventh finisher in 1:14:20.  Sylvie Aardema Gagnon also raced and took 58^th in 1:15:42.
 
The complete start seeding and start list can be seen here.
 
About the Course
 
Sunday's sprint distance race will feature a 750-meter swim in the Marine Creek Lake Park.  The 20-kilometer draft-legal bike segment will be contested over four laps of a counter-clockwise course.  The 5K run course also goes out on the bike course.
 
The full course map presentation can be seen here.
 
Last Time Out
 
The Mavericks last raced close to home on Sunday, Sept. 27, competing at the Desert's Edge Collegiate Cup at and around Highline Lake State Park in Loma.
 
The Mavericks finished sixth in a loaded 10-team field scoring 205 points.  The field included four of the top six teams in the Collegiate Triathlon Coaches Association's rankings at the time.
 
The No. 13 ranked Mavs finished well ahead of No. 11 and NCAA Division I South Dakota and both of their Division II rivals in No. 18 Cal Poly Humboldt and No. 25 Black Hills State.
 
Freshman Rosa Schmidt-Moll and sophomore Alexandra Schipai finished 13^th and 15^th, respectively to lead the Mavs.
 
Full Recap
 
Rankings Update
 
As mentioned earlier, the Mavericks are ranked 13^th overall and third amongst Division II teams in the latest edition of the College Triathlon Coaches Association's National Rankings, released on Friday.
 
The mathematical rankings are based on each individual's best performance.  The team rankings are then calculated by adding each team's best five individual scores.
 
The Mavericks have three athletes in the top 100 of the overall individual rankings, led by freshman Rosa Schmidt-Moll, who sits 52^nd with 94.17 points from her Desert's Edge Collegiate Cup effort.
 
Alexndra Schipai is ranked 60^th with 93.59 points while Shantelle Tupaz is 94^th with 90.83 points.
 
Meanwhile, Mackenzie Mayer is ranked 121^st with 88.59 points, which came from the Southern Hills Collegiate Cup.  Sylvie Aardema Gagnon is also contributing to the Mavs' team score with 86.44 from the Desert's Edge event.
 
A look at the competition
 
Fifteen teams are slated to compete in Sunday's event.  Four of the nation's top six ranked teams are in the field including No. 1 Arizona State, No. 3 Arizona, the defending NCAA Division I champions, No. 5 TCU and No. 6 San Francisco.  No. 8 Denver are just behind those teams.
 
The Mavs, who are the highest ranked of four Division II teams in Sunday's field, are one of five teams in the next ten.  South Dakota is ranked 12^th ahead, just one spot ahead of the Mavs.  No. 15 North Central, No. 16 Drury, which has won the Division II regional title in the past two years, and No. 17 Division II Cal Poly Humboldt will also compete.
 
Black Hills State, ranked 21^st, rounds out the Division II representatives.
 
A larger East Regional Championships will be held in Buford, Georgia on Saturday in conjunction with the USA Tri Cup.
 
What it Means
 
In addition to determining the regional team championships for each division (I, II, III), the regionals will determine the wave assignments for the Nov. 8 national championships in Tempe, Arizona, which because of the draft-legal rules is a major advantage.

The top 20 finishers in each regional that declare for the national event will lock in a spot in the top wave for the national championships while the other 35 spots in the 75-person top flight will be based on the CTCA ranking system although Division III competitors will not be eligible for the top heat.
 
The next 75 highest ranked individuals will be in the second national championship heat.  The third heat will also include up to 75 individuals.
 
CTCA Awards
 
Additionally, Sunday's results will determine the CTCA regional awards and all-region teams.  The top seven finishers from each division will earn CTCA All-Region team honors.
 
The top true freshman finisher in each division will also earn the All-Region Freshman honor.
 
Regional History
 
The Mavericks won five straight regional titles from 2018-2023 and have finished second behind Drury in the last two seasons but will look to regain the top spot on Sunday.
 
Award Streaks
 
The Mavericks will enter the 2026 championship season in hopes of continuing their award-winning ways.
 
The Mavs have crowned multiple all-Americans in each of the last five seasons dating back to 2021 and have claimed 19 total all-America honors in that stretch.  Two current Mavericks in Mackenzie Mayer and Shantelle Tupaz are a part of that group after both earned honorable mention All-America honors in 2024 and 2025, respectively.
 
The Mavs have also had at least one all-region performer in each of the last eight seasons since and including 2017 and have had multiple performers in all but one year of that stretch.
 
The youth movement has also been strong with six different Mavericks earning the CTCA Region Freshman of the Year honors in the last seven seasons.  Tupaz (2024) and Alexandria Schipai (2025) are the current Mavericks to have earned that honor.
 
Tupaz has been an all-region performer in each of the last two years while Schipai earned that honor last year.
 
A look back to 2025
 
The Mavericks enjoyed another strong  season in 2025 and capped the year with a fourth place finish in the Division II portion of the standings at the Women's Collegiate Triathlon National Championships.  The Mavs also took second amongst Division II teams at the West Regional Championships.
 
The Mavs crowned two honorable mention All-Americans through the national meet in Shantelle Tupaz, who returns for her 2026 junior campaign, and Nadine Klive, who finished her career as one of just three 3-time all-Americans in program history.
 
At the regional level, Alexandria Schipai, who also returns in 2026, was the West All-Region Freshman of the Year and was joined on the All-West Region team by Tupaz and Klive.
 
Up Next
 
The Mavericks will wrap up their fall season at the Women's Collegiate Triathlon National Championships in three weeks on Nov. 8 in Tempe, Arizona.