By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wis. -- It was a new beginning for Willamette Athletics on Saturday, Sept. 4, as the Bearcats competed in the sport of women's triathlon for the first time. Willamette opened the new sport at the Women's Collegiate Triathlon in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, in an event that serves as a national qualifier for USA Triathlon.

At the moment, collegiate triathlon events are under the guidance of USA Triathlon. The NCAA will not add a national championship in the sport until more teams start women's triathlon programs. Women's triathlon is an emerging sport for the NCAA.

In Wisconsin, WU participated in the competition for NCAA Division III athletes. The Bearcats were guided by Head Coach Brett Franz. A competition for NCAA Division I and NCAA Divison II athletes also was held.

Three Bearcats represented Willamette in the triathlon. Leading the way was Ella Isaacson (Fy., Saint Paul, MN/Central HS), who placed 13th overall with a time of 1:17:02.3 (1 hour, 17 minutes, 2.3 seconds). Isaacson was less than three minutes out of 10th place. She registered times of 13:30.0 in the 750-meter swim, 37:22.2 in the 20-kilometer cycle (bike riding), and 24:39.6 in the 5-kilometer run.

Veronica Castille (Fy., Round Rock, TX/Cedar Ridge HS) of Willamette placed 36th in 1:28:21.4. Here component times were 12:55.1 in the swim, 41:28.1 in the cycle, and 31:58.5 in the run. Castille was 12th in the swimming standings.

Alicia Robbins (Fy., Henderson, NV/Coronado HS) placed 42nd for the Bearcats in 1:35:29.6. Robbins finished the swim in 14:57.9, was timed at 42:18.6 in the cycle, and completed the run in 36:14.4.

The individual champion in NCAA Division III was Hailey Poe of North Central College (Illinois) with a combined time of 1:06:16.4. She registered times of 11:41.4 in the swim, 33:45.1 in the cycle, and 19:57.0 in the run. Amira Faulkner of Trine University (Ind.) placed second at 1:09:33.3. Faulkner's times were 12:26.9 in the swim, 35:16.7 on the bike ride, and 20:53.4 while running the 5K. Third place went to Charlotte Kumlere of Transylvania University (Ky.) in 1:10:51.6, as she completed the swim in 12:13.1 and added times of 34:45.0 in the cycle and 23:07.4 in the run.

A new rule for this season is that four competitors are required for a school to register a team score, so the Bearcats were not included in the team standings. Trine University (Ind.) placed first in the NCAA Division III team standings with a score of 31. Transylvania University (Ky.) was second at 38. Millikin University (Illinois) was third by edging out North Central College (Illinois) on a tie-breaker after both teams earned scores of 39.

Other NCAA Division III teams in addition to Willamette were Calvin College (Mich.), Central College (Iowa), Coe College (Iowa), and Concordia University (Wis.).

Willamette is scheduled to compete at the Virginia Regional Qualifier on Saturday, Oct. 16 at Smith Mountain Lake Park in Huddleston, Virginia. The meet will begin at 10:30 a.m. (PDT).