In just its second year of existence, the Arizona women’s triathlon program is bringing home a national title.
Under head coach Wes Johnson, the Arizona Wildcats cemented their place atop the emerging sport by winning the USA Triathlon National Championship in Clermont, Fla. on Saturday.
Arizona’s victory upends rival Arizona State’s streak of seven straight national championships.
Arizona dominated the national championship, securing four of the top nine positions in the individual competition.
Junior Kelly Wetteland led Arizona with a second place time of 59:20, followed by freshman Margareta Vrablova with a time of 59:24. Junior Molly Lakustiak gave Arizona a sixth place finish with a time of of 59:50, while sophomore Dana Prikrylova placed ninth in 1:00:09.
Three other Wildcats finished in the top 25.
The cycling and running portions of the triathlon were held Saturday Lake Louisa State Park. The swimming leg had to completed Friday at a different location due to the state park being impacted by Hurricane Milton.
The race consisted of a 750-meter swim, a 20K bike and a 5K run.
The title is the 23rd national championship in Arizona Wildcats history and the first since 2018, when women’s golf won the NCAA title.
Triathlon is considered an emerging sport by the NCAA. More than 40 schools compete in the sport across the NCAA’s three divisions.
