Women's Triathlon Team to Battle for Top Finishes at National Championships

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Willamette University women's triathlon team will compete for solid team and individual finishes at the Women's Collegiate Triathlon Championships on Saturday, Nov. 11. The event will feature a 750-meter swim, a 20-kilometer bike, and 5-kilometer run. Willamette will compete against other NCAA Division III teams. Action is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. MST/11 a.m. PST.

During the West National Qualifier on Sunday, Oct. 14 in Springfield, Missouri, Willamette placed second in the NCAA Division III team standings. North Central College (Ill.) won the West Regional title, while Calvin University (Mich.) finished in third place. All three teams should compete well at the national meet.

Top triathletes for Willamette at the West Regional were Riga Grubis (Fy., Fairbanks, AK/West Valley HS) in sixth place, Ella Isaacson (Jr., Saint Paul, MN/Central HS) in 11th place, and Veronica Castille (Jr., Round Rock, TX/Cedar Ridge HS) in 13th place. Also competing at the meet were Abbey Staniec (So., Stockton, CA/Lincoln HS) in 21st place and Natalie Thomas (Fy., Jensen Beach, Florida/American Cooperative School of Tunis) in 35th place. Grubis was named All-West Region and was chosena\  as the West All-Region Freshman for 2023.

Head Coach Brett Franz is in his third season after starting the triathlon program at Willamette in the fall of 2021. Previously, he served as the assistant head coach of cross country and track and field at Willamette. He is in his 15th year on the coaching staff.