By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications, (503) 370-6110

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Ella Isaacson (Fy., Saint Paul, MN/Central HS) of Willamette University earned 19th place and teammate Veronica Castille (Fy., Round Rock, TX/Cedar Ridge HS) placed 23rd, at the Women's Collegiate Triathlon Championships on Saturday, Nov. 13 at Tempe Town Lake. Isaacson and Castille competed against other NCAA Division III athletes, as the championships, sponsored by USA Triathlon, featured separate races for each of the NCAA's three divisions.

Each collegiate triathlon race included a 750-meter swim, a 20-kilometer cycle, and a 5-kilometer run.

"Today was a great day for Bearcat triathlon," Willamette Head Triathlon Coach Brett Franz commented. "Ella and Veronica were awesome today. It was another hot race but they came in confident and executed really well."

Isaacson attained an overall time of 1:21:59.3. She completed the swim in 12:33, worked her way through the bike phase in 41:46, and finished the run in 25:29. She was 16th in the bike.

"Ella put together another strong performance like she has all year," Franz noted. "She had a great swim, and then really worked well in some packs on the bike. She set herself up for a great finish in the run and just ran out of gas a little bit on the last loop. Finishing 19th in her first season is a great showing."

Castille concluded the race in 1:24:50.5 with times of 11:17 in the swim, 44:48 in the bike, and 26:19 in the run. A total of 43 athletes participated in the NCAA Division III triathlon.

"Veronica had a huge swim and came out of the water in third place," Franz recalled. "She put together her best bike race of the year, and ended with a personal best in the run. She came in ranked 35th and ended up 23rd in just the fourth triathlon of her career."

The individual champion in Division III was Haley Poe of North Central College (Illinois), who earned a combined time of 1:12:01.5. She won by 55 seconds. Amira Faulker from Trine University (Ind.) was second in 1:12:56.5, while Annika Cotner of North Central was third at 1:13:42.3. Hope Roderick of Millikin University (Illinois) placed fourth in 1:14:26.3. Charlotte Kumler from Transylvania University (Ky.) was fifth in 1:15:19.6.

Poe produced the fastest time in the swim at 10:51 and led the field in the run with a time of 20:37. Kumler was credited with the best time in the bike at 38:43.

Trine won the Division III team championships. Millikin was second and North Central placed third. Willamette did not enter a full team.

"Ella and Veronica have laid the foundation for the program at the national level," Franz said. "I'm excited to see how they continue to develop and I am excited to add to the roster in the future."