By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
DECATUR, Ill. -- Aubrey Tuttle (Fy., Roseville, CA/Roseville HS) finished in 13th place and Ella Isaacson (So., Saint Paul, MN/Central HS) took 15th place to lead the Willamette University Bearcats at the Millikin University DIII Invitational triathlon on Saturday, Sept. 24. The Bearcats placed seventh in the team standings with 103 points, just 19 points out of third place.
"It was a great day against a really strong D3 field," Willamette Head Triathlon Coach Brett Franz commented. "We were very close to fourth place as a team, only 10 points, and another nine points from third. It was the first draft-legal race for most of the team, so it was a great learning experience. Tuttle did a great job in her first draft-legal race to lead the team. We are just starting to get into the groove of training and we are excited about the progress that will come in the next few weeks and the rest of the season."
Tuttle completed the triathlon in 1:16:16. The competition featured a 750-meter swim, a 20-kilometer cycle, and a 5-kilometer run. Tuttle was 7:46 behind the winner, Hailey Poe from North Central College (Ill.), who recorded a time of 1:08.30. Poe won by just under three minutes.
Alli Smith of Trine University (Ind.) placed second in 1:11:22, while Delany McPherson from Transylvania University (Ky.) took third in 1:12.05. Bethany Smeed of North Central was fourth at 1:12:16 and Aly Barnes from Millikin was fifth in 1:12.47. Charlotte Kumler of NCC placed sixth at 1:12.56, just seven seconds in front of Grace Huisman of Trine, who was seventh in 1:13:03.
Isaacson was timed in 1:17:59 as she reached the finish line just 19 seconds out of 14th place and only 1:43 behind Tuttle for a solid 1-2 combination. Veronica Castille (So., Round Rock, TX/Cedar Ridge HS) of WU placed 26th in 1:21:54. Abbey Staniec (Fy., Stockton, CA/Lincoln HS) registered a time of 1:27:37 for the Bearcats, while Molly Parsons (Fy., Dallas, OR/Dallas HS) concluded the course in 1:37:48 and Alessandra Armenta-Lopez (Fy., Portland, OR/Gladstone HS) was timed at 1:51.21. A total of 46 student-athletes completed the race.
North Central claimed the team title with 173 points. Trine was second at 155, with Millkin in third at 122. Central College (Iowa) grabbed fourth place at 113, Transylvania was fifth at 110, Calvin College (Mich.) placed sixth at 109, Willamette was seventh at 103, Concordia University Wisconsin finished eighth at 46, and Coe College (Iowa) was ninth with 31 points.
Willamette is set to compete at the Division III Eastern Regional at Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia on Saturday, Oct. 15. The triathlon is scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m. EDT/10:30 a.m. PDT.
