STOCKTON, Mo. – Black Hills State Triathlon placed third among Division II schools at the West Regional Qualifying race on Saturday.

"We are happy with how our team raced against the highest level of competition we've seen this season," said Head Coach Connie Feist. "All ten of our athletes were able to complete the multi-loop bike course and avoided being lapped out it was a good measure of their cycling skills and ability to race with the best collegiate triathletes in the nation." 

The DII team finish order was:
1 - Colorado Mesa
2 - Drury
3 - Black Hills State
4 - Cal-Poly Humboldt
5 - MSU Billings.

Lilja McKendry was the first finisher for the Yellow Jackets in 10th with a time of 1:07:46, followed closely by Emily Gilbert in 13th (1:09:08), Sydney Gasper in 15th (1:09:36), Myna Buckley in 16th (1:09:57), Natalie Elkin in 17th (1:10:02), Jadyn Johnson in 18th (1:11:29) and Cassidy Teeslink in 20th (1:13:51).

Hannah Hirschi (1:12:53), Lilly Brophy (1:15:50), and Madelynn Potter (1:19:30) all completed the race, but didn't finish with a final placement.

Up Next
The qualifying teams from both the East and West regional races will now set their sights on the National Championships being held on November 12 in Tempe, Ariz. Black Hills State will be bringing a full team of seven athletes to the Championships."