Arizona State triathlon wins sixth-straight national title, junior Amber Schlebusch wins individual title
Arizona State triathlon continued its dynasty with its sixth-straight national title on Saturday at Tempe Town Lake. The Sun Devils have won every national title since the program's start.
ASU junior Amber Schlebusch won her first national title after crossing the finish line at 1:03:41.4. Schlebusch swam for 10:04.6 on the first leg, biked for 34:46.8, and ran the last leg at 17:32.3.
"When you see it all come together like that, that's what it's all about as a coach," ASU head coach Cliff English said. "You know year after year we just keep doing our best and that's all you can do. but I'm really happy with this one. It's been a challenging semester so it's really good that the team brought it home."
Since the Women's Collegiate Triathlon National Championships moved to Tempe, ASU has won four of the five individual titles.
In her final race at ASU, senior Liberty Ricca finished second overall at 1:04:51.3. Ricca had the second-best swim out of the competition, clocking at 9:47.8.
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"I've had a long legacy of amazing seniors and people before me that have led this team to success," said Ricca. "So as a senior, I was like, 'Okay, I got to make sure I do this too', and I had such amazing teammates here."
While last season's race saw more parity with the schools, ASU dominated with four of its athletes finishing in the top ten. Only five athletes from each team are counted for scoring.
Alexe Coursol finished seventh (1:05:35.5), Camille Buchanan was eighth (1:05:42.6), and Heidi Jurankova was 18th (1:07:07.4).
It won't be much longer before women's triathlon will be recognized as an NCAA sport.
Triathlon is currently an NCAA emerging sport for women, but USA Triathlon reached the deadline of 40 schools in February, well before its 2024 deadline. The milestone will trigger a recommendation and a vote to officially add women’s triathlon as an NCAA championship sport. That move will benefit ASU in NACDA Directors' Cup standings, the award given to universities with the most success in athletics.
Reach the reporter at jenna.ortiz@arizonarepublic.com or 602-647-4122. Follow her on Twitter @jennarortiz.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State triathlon, Amber Schlebusch win national titles
