One Last Time - University of San Francisco Athletics

Sunday morning will mark the seventh appearance in the Women's Collegiate Triathlon National Championships for the San Francisco Triathlon team, the first since 2024 when the Dons finished in sixth place.

The 2026 event feels a little different for USF, though. The squad is centered around a trio of seniors who have cultivated an environment of a close and unified team. The Dons are heading to Arizona with momentum and a sense of purpose, powered by a senior trio — Heidi Henry, Maite Kuestner and Abbey Lotz — that has carried the program from its early years into a new era.

Head coach Gina Kehr saw it coming weeks ago.

"Team dynamics are in a really good space," she said. "The culture's on fire, and the girls are super excited to head to nationals." Training has sharpened since regionals, with a deliberate focus on working together and lifting one another. "It's been a very positive build-up as we head into this championship week."

That energy comes from the seniors who have shaped what USF Triathlon means. "They were the bridge from the start of USF Triathlon to the future," Kehr said. "They were around for the original foundation and then continued that into every class thereafter."

This week, the Dons will race for each other and for the legacy they've built since day one.

For Heidi Henry, nationals will be as emotional as it is competitive. The race in Arizona was renamed the Hannah Henry Memorial Triathlon this year to honor her older sister, Hannah, who was tragically killed by an impaired driver in Arizona on Super Bowl Sunday of this year.

"This race is extra special," Henry said. "She loved this race and Arizona, so I am going to race from my heart, and give it all to make her proud."

Hannah's memory travels with the team this season, too.

"Hannah loved hummingbirds," Henry said. "I painted a hummingbird for her and got it made into stickers which I gave to my teammates. We all put them on our bikes to have a little hummingbird flying with us every time we go out for a ride or are racing. I think it is really special we all have a Hannah hummingbird watching over us."

That support has helped Henry find in training and competing this season with her fellow Dons. She said they've been amazing through pushing each other competitively in training that's a helped a lot in preparing for nationals.

Fully healthy again after a long recovery last year due to injury, Henry has been able to get a regular training regime on schedule and feels ready for nationals.

For Kuestner, nationals are a final chapter with the people who have become her family.

"It's my last race with this team," she said. "I'm excited to give it my all one more time, racing with my best friends that have been my family for the last few years."

Kuestner's USF story has always been about balance between academics and athletics, which has always impressed her coach. The two line up expectations each year, which also allowed her to be successful in both areas.

That discipline — and USF's support — helped her find a sustainable rhythm.

"Together we have found just how much training I need to keep my fitness up and at the same time have time for all the other things I want to and need to do to keep my academic success high as well," Kuestner said. "This involves listening to my body, trusting that sometimes less is more, and using my time efficiently."

She was recognized for that commitment last year with the Charles Harney award.

"I hadn't expected to win it," Kuestner said. "It was a really nice surprise. I have always put a lot of effort into my academics as well and it felt very rewarding getting recognized for those efforts."

Maite's impact reaches beyond the team. As a native of Germany, she's been a true example of what USF can offer international student-athletes.

"She would promote to her friends, and just people in general where she lives, and always promotes coming to the U.S., and specifically USF, for the opportunity to do their athletics and their sport," Kehr said.

Lotz's senior year has been the fulfillment of a promise she made to herself.

"I am super excited for nationals!" she said. "After watching the girls compete and get on the podium my freshman year, I told myself that I, too, would one day get to race on that course, and I finally get to this year."

Her journey hasn't been easy. An unfortunate fall at regionals last year left her with a concussion that kept her out of nationals. Finishing high enough to make the A wave at nationals, but not being able to compete was crushing for her. Still, she went to nationals with the rest of her teammates to support them and it motivated her to recover and get back to training in preparation for this year.

"Her growth, not only as a triathlete, but just in general as a person, as a leader on the team, has been something that has even been more fun to watch," Kehr said. "Abby has been just such a joy from year one as a freshman to where she is today."

Abbey credited the process to motivating her. Her goal each day is to show up to practice and just become a better of herself as both a person and a student-athlete. Learning not to stress about the little things has been vital for her growth.

For Kehr, this trip to nationals is about gratitude as much as performance.

"I am so proud of the three seniors heading into our last race," she said. "I think the team's ready for a good day, and I know going to Arizona again for their final chapter is something that they are all looking forward to."

Henry added: "There is no group of people I would rather go into my last race with. I can't wait to put the ribbons and bows and glitter in our hair one last time, have our hummingbirds on our bikes, and give it our all on the race course."

They've built something lasting — a standard, a culture, a family — and now they get one more opportunity to race as one.

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