2024 National Championships

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS   DI TEAM RESULTS   DII TEAM RESULTS   DIII TEAM RESULTS

November 8th & 9th, 2024:

NCAA Triathlon's First 2-Day National Championship

After a long stretch of National Championships in Tempe, Arizona, NCAA Triathlon was primed to take on a fresh championship location: Clermont, Florida. In fact, the course at Lake Louisa State Park in Clermont is one of the most popular draft-legal race destinations for junior and elite-development athletes, so many of the collegiate triathletes were excited to race for a National Title on the flat and fast course they were familiar with. 

Unfortunately, losing the biggest positive about Arizona, predictable weather, came back to haunt NCAA Triathlon for moving the race to Florida. In the month leading up to Nationals, Hurricane Milton ripped through the area and damaged Lake Louisa's Beach. With the change in water levels, effect on wildlife, and many other variables from the storm impacting the open water swim course, it was determined that a swim at Lake Louisa would be impossible for the 2024 National Championships.

The month leading up to Nationals was a tumultuous time for NCAA Triathlon decision-makers. Multiple routes were explored: duathlon, swim time trial on one day + bike and run the next day, and maybe even more that we are unaware about. Securing a new location to swim for a National caliber event was no easy feat, but decision-makers knew that taking away the swim would likely alter the outcome of who would eventually be crowned National Champions. Therefore, by some miracle, they were able to secure a new open water swim location to conduct a 750m time trial. So, the 2024 NCAA Triathlon Championships became a 2-day event: 750m swim on Friday, November 8th & normal 20k bike + 5k run back-to-back on Saturday, November 9th.

Logistically, this opened up a giant can of worms for the teams. Before official rules and regulations were put together for the new format, rumors began swirling that teams were shelling out money on new aero cycling gear and advanced tech for the bike/run. Athletes were curious if they could wear a kneeskin for the swim portion or socks for the bike & run. And how would athletes be starting on day 2? How would the overall dynamics of the race change with this unprecedented format?

All theses questions were answered in the lead up to race day, but even so, the broken triathlon format was a race that nobody had experience in. We were all in for a surprise on race day(s).

Race Format

The 2-day race started on Friday, November 8th, with a 750m open water swim time trial. Athletes were assigned to 1 of 3 waves based on their individual/team ranking (this means that most athletes qualified for their wave based on their team, but some individuals qualified for faster heats based on their individual ranking). The swim start consisted of teams being called down to the start line (knee deep in the water) to choose their spot with individual qualifiers following at the end. The swim time trial started with Wave A, the fastest wave of athletes. After the conclusion of Wave A, the beach walk-down for Wave B began. And after the conclusion of Wave B, the beach walk-down for Wave C began.

On the second day of the race, Saturday November 9th, the 20k bike & 5k run took place. This time, the day started with Wave C, then Wave B, then Wave A (fastest athletes). Athletes from all divisions raced together with results separating out athletes by their division for team and individual championship titles.

Results

The DI race displayed one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Triathlon history: the University of Arizona defeated 7x reigning champion Arizona State. In just their second year as a team, University of Arizona proved that NCAA Tri is flourishing with new competition. Their impressive score of 942 points to ASU's 920 points was cemented by their 3rd and 4th women finishing ahead of ASU's 3rd athlete with their 5th also in before ASU's 4th.

ASU put up a good fight, but unfortunately, it was not enough to secure another team title. They did, however, find another Individual National Champion in Naomi Ruff who broke the tape in 59:08, 12 seconds ahead of National Runner-Up Kelly Wetteland (UofA). Ruff set herself up for success on Friday at the swim, finishing the time trial in the lead pack and staying near the front of the bike race until she ran away from the lead pack with a blistering 17:43 5k in the heat and humidity. Ruff is the first American to win a DI triathlon title since Erika Ackerlund in 2016.

The DII race displayed yet another upset with Wingate achieving the team title over 2x defending champions Lenoir-Rhyne. This was Wingate's first team title in triathlon after making three-for-three podiums from 2021-2023. Their score of 742 just narrowly beat Lenoir-Rhyne's 737 point total.

Carla Larrabeiti fought to an exceptional 15th place overall to take the win for the DII women, cementing herself as Wingate's third Individual National Champion in program history. Her 18:33 on the run was the fastest of the day for DII.

The DIII race showcased North Central's third straight team title with a dominant 525 point victory ahead of runner-up Trine (309 points). The Cardinals had two athletes on the podium and four out of seven 1st Team All-American Honorees.

Hailey Poe won her fourth-straight Individual National Title, the first 4-peat in NCAA triathlon history. Her effort on the bike was the top DIII cycling effort of the day, and she started the run in first for the B Wave.

In Conclusion

The 2024 NCAA Triathlon National Championship was a first of its kind. While the two day race format created a different dynamic for the athletes, it was interesting to see teams adapt to a new format and confront challenges. This National Championship truly showcased how gritty and flexible the NCAA women are. It also served as a great example to show the NCAA that no matter what challenges are thrown at a championship-level triathlon, the sport and its athletes can persevere. No matter the format, NCAA Triathletes are prepared to dominate and inspire more young women to compete at the collegiate level.