FREMONT, Ind. — In a new format, the University of San Francisco triathlon team competed at the Trine Triple Sprint Triathlon on Saturday, Sep. 14. The Dons recorded a fourth-place team finish.

"This was a great race for all three ladies," said head coach Gina Kehr. "Each team member had different experiences and had to push in different ways that they haven't had to. We are excited that we chose to go to this race and gain a lot of technical riding, rolling terrain, and transition work. We are excited to be home for the next four weeks to focus on training and our next race."

The Trine Triple was a different format, consisting of three smaller races. Each race included a 300-meter open water swim, 5-mile bike, and a 1.25-mile run. With an hour rest in between each race, the format had the fields much closer together, and the Dons had to swim, ride and run harder while working on major skills with their transitions.

The swim portion of race one went smooth for the Dons, as all three swam up to current fitness. The race started as a mass in-water start and Elizabeth Moore was third out of the water with Katherine Badham coming out 30-seconds later, and Hannah Weymuller another minute after Badham. 

Transition one from swim to bike went as expected for the Dons, with Badham breaking through the pack, and advanced up the field to come off the bike first. Moore came off the bike around 15-seconds later. Badham kicked off the run portion first and kept the lead taking the win on the first race. Moore ended up 9th at about 1:25 behind her teammate and Weymuller rounded out the teams finish at 35th.

During race two, the swim started with a time trial run into a dive start and Weymuller was out of the water first. Moore bridged a gap and came out right behind Weymuller followed by Badham about 30-seconds later.

The transition from swim to bike went well again for the Dons and Moore made her way to the first pack. Badham also worked her way up the field, and both Moore and Badham started the run in the lead group. Weymuller had her best ride yet and came off the bike just a few minutes behind.  

Badham quickly made her way to the front at the start of the run and put distance between her and the rest of the pack. Moore battled to the top, finishing in eighth for the second race and bettering her overall time by 40-seconds. Weymuller also had a battle on the run and finished in 35th.

With a group pontoon start in race three, all competitors were put in groups of 10 or 11 based on their previous race finishes — group one being the last finishers and group five being the first finishers. Weymuller started in group two with Moore and Badham in group five and each group was set 30-seconds apart with a dive start off the dock. 

From swim to bike, all three Dons had their strongest bike races. Moore led the charge with Weymuller close behind. Badham, once again, rode through the pack and ended up with Moore's group by the end of the first lap.

Badham quickly made her way to the front at the start of the run and maintained her lead until the very end. Moore dug deep to keep a third-place finish and Weymuller finished at 35th.

Overall, Badham came in first place for USF with an overall finish time of 1:21:35. Moore (1:24:51) and Weymuller (1:44:20) finished behind Badham at sixth and 35th, respectively.

UP NEXT
The Dons will head to Smith Mountain Lake, VA for the Women's Collegiate Triathlon Central Regional Qualifier on Saturday, Oct. 19. Time is TBA.