PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wisc. — The University of San Francisco women's triathlon opened its inaugural season at the Central Regional Qualifier at Pleasant Prairie, Wisc. Elizabeth Moore, Katherine Badham, and Hannah Weymuller competed in this historic weekend for the Dons and accomplished the feat by qualifying for the National Championship.

"I am thrilled on how our team did," said head coach Gina Kehr. "Elizabeth and Kat performed well and we know what work we need to do. We know our upside and are ready to meet it. As a team, we could not be more proud of each other and we feel blessed to be USF's first triathlon team to hit the racecourse."

Badham led the pack with a finish time of 1:06:37.6, finishing 11th in the Division I category (12th overall). Moore was close behind with a 1:07:19.5 and a 13th place Division I finish (15th overall). Weymuller placed 22nd in Division 1 and came in at 1:27:38.8. 

The swim portion had a smooth start for the Dons, as all three competitors swam up to current fitness. Moore was only 30 seconds behind ASU and South Dakota after the two laps, with Badham and Weymuller following close behind. 

"Transition 1 from swim to bike went as expected," Kehr said. "Elizabeth and Kat had quick transitions getting with their group of swimmers they came out of the water with. Hannah, having just learned transitions 10 days prior did very well."

During the bike portion, Moore rode well finishing a few minutes behind the leaders and Badham came in close behind her teammate. 

"Elizabeth and Kat both had solid runs and both girls finished within a minute of each other," Kehr said. "Hannah fought deep to keep going, and did finish her second triathlon ever, and her first draft legal triathlon."

UP NEXT
The Dons are back in action Saturday, Sep. 14 for the Trine Triple Sprint Triathlon in Fremont, Ind. Race time is at 5:45 a.m.