Huddleston, VA. ­– In their final tune up for the national championships the Black Hills State University triathlon team took on the East Regional Qualifier this past saturday in Huddleston, Virginia. This event was one of three opportunities to qualify for the Women's Collegiate National Championship in Tempe, Arizona on November 19th. The Yellow Jackets already qualified for nationals in September when they hosted the West Regional Qualifier at the Rocky Point Recreation Area in Belle Fourche, SD.
 
Leading the team was junior, Mathilde Bernard, who took 5th place in a competitive Division-II field with a time of 1:03:42. Other top Yellow Jacket performers include sophomore Chelsea Basford who took 10th place with a time of 1:06:32 and freshman Hannah Hirschi in 17th with 1:10:15. Freshman Myna Buckley and sophomore Kennedy Teeslink also had solid performances and posted personal best splits on the course. Overall, the team claimed fourth place among the D-II teams. Being just a few points short of the podium at this training race puts the Yellow Jackets in a good position to be in competition for top individual and team spots at the National Championship.
 
The triathlon team will now focus on their national appearance. A year ago, the team finished third amongst the division two schools with Bernard leading the way; she also finished third individually. Now in its fifth year, the program has a set a high standard of competing at the national championships and look to continue that tradition.
 
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Black Hills State is located in the Northern Black Hills of South Dakota, sponsoring 13 NCAA sports with membership in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the NCAA emerging sport of women's triathlon and NIRA rodeo. For all information regarding Yellow Jacket Athletics, please visit BHSUAthletics.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @BHSUAthletics.
---BHSUAthletics.com---