The women’s triathlon team won their fourth straight regional title on Saturday, Oct. 15 in Stockton, Mo. The Mavericks placed seven of the top eight places in yet another dominant showing.
The triathlon season runs from Aug. to Nov. which makes it one of the shortest sports seasons at Colorado Mesa University (CMU). The Mavericks competed in two races this season before sending their top seven athletes to the West Regional Qualifier to solidify their position in the November Women’s Collegiate Triathlon National Championships.
The team opened their season in Hot Springs, South Dakota at the 25 annual Southern Hills Triathlon. The Mavericks placed four of their own in the top eight on their way to a second place finish only behind Division I University of Denver. Freshman Nadine Klive posted the best Maverick time with 1:01.4.8 which was good enough for a fourth place finish.
The Mavericks then traveled to Loma, Colo. for the Desert’s Edge Triathlon. Redshirt sophomore Shannon Feran won the overall race while nine other Mavericks swept the rest of the top 10 finishers.
The national qualifier took place on Saturday, Oct. 15 in Stockton, Mo. Redshirt sophomore Megan Buchanan won the race with a time of 1:03:30, earning an individual regional title. Overall, the team earned 117 points while Drury earned 86 and Black Hills State ended with 54.
This is the first regional win under new coach Jen Mathe, but the team also had victories in 2018, 2019 and 2021. While some of the team was away, there were athletes supporting from home.
Ashlyn Hicken is a freshman, but has been competing in triathlons for most of her life. She started when she was nine and has continued to race throughout middle and high school, now she is into collegiate races. Hicken stated her decision to join the team was an easy one.
“The team is lovely. They’re such strong, confident girls. That was another driving factor for me because I met the team and I was like, ’okay, there’s no way I can meet these girls and not come here.’ They’re just electric, they’re so fun and hardworking,” Hicken said.
The Utah native is planning on continuing and improving in her coming years at CMU.
Freshman biology major Fiona Graves started competing in triathlons in April 2022 and decided to keep racing in college. Her initial interest began because she swam and ran cross country throughout high school. Before joining the triathlon team, Graves did go for the swim team.
“Next season, I’m going to have redemption because I didn’t finish the [first] triathlon because I crashed. I’m really gonna focus. During the race, I was kind of like, ‘oh my gosh, oh my gosh,’ and I was going through the motions and I wasn’t really thinking about any strategy. I’m going to try and actually implement a race strategy instead of just going in blind,” Graves said.
Practices for the triathlon team understandably include an insane amount of work. Bike rides, weights, runs and swimming take up most days of the week. Practice distances can be up to 40 miles on the bike according to Graves.
The team will get one more practice run when they race in the University of California-Berkeley Bearathlon before competing in the Women’s Collegiate Triathlon National Championships which will take place in Tempe, Ariz. on Sunday, Nov. 12.
