Yellow Jacket Triathlon Ends Year Ten with Sixth Place Nationals Finish

CLERMONT, Fla. – The Black Hills State University women's triathlon team completed their tenth season as a program with their seventh consecutive top-6 finish at the Women's Collegiate Triathlon National Championships last weekend, November 8-9, at the Clermont Watersports Complex and Lake Louis State Park as they totaled 462 points for a sixth place finish as a team. Competing against a total of 202 athletes and 69 athletes from NCAA Division II, the duo of Keira Wilkinson and Natalie Moose-Elkin led the Yellow Jackets with top-100 finishes overall and top-30 in DII as Wilkinson was 92^nd overall and 25^th in DII while Moose-Elkin was 99^th overall and 29^th in DII.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Keira Wilkinson began her first appearance at the national championships with BHSU's second fastest 750m swim time on Friday, clocking a time of 11:02 before moving on to Saturday and posting a 1:09 transition one time. She was the lone Yellow Jacket to be among the top-30 of NCAA Division II in two different disciplines, as she notched the 26^th fastest bike time at 33:10, followed by a 49 second transition two stage, and the 28^th fastest run in DII with a time of 21:38. She ended the weekend with an overall time of 1:07:45, finishing 25^th in NCAA Division II and 92^nd overall.
Joining Wilkinson among the top-30 finishers in NCAA Division II was Natalie Moose-Elkin, who posted a 29^th finish in DII and 99^th overall with a sprint time of 1:08:09. She began the weekend with a swim time of 11:06 on Friday before starting Saturday with a transition one time of 1:10. She then continued throughout the course with a bike time of 33:45, a transition two time of 44 seconds which was tied for the fastest by a BHSU athlete, and ended her day with the 25^th fastest time in DII in the 5k run as she clocked a time of 21:25.
Third among Black Hills State athletes at the 2024 Women's Collegiate Triathlon National Championships was Jadyn Johnson, who recorded a 32^nd place finish in NCAA Division II and 104^th overall after entering the race with all-region honors. On Friday at the Clermont Watersports Complex she swam to a time of 11:57, before then notching a time of 1:19 in transition one back at the main course at Lake Louisa State Park. She then proceeded to post times of 33:49 in the bike, a 47 second transition two, and then ended her weekend in the Sunshine State with the 20^th fastest run in DII with a time of 21:07, bringing her total time to 1:08:58.
Another Yellow Jacket making their debut at nationals was Payton Sheehan who collected a 35^th place finish in NCAA Division II and was 107^th overall with a total time of 1:09.44. She began her weekend with the fastest 750m swim by a Yellow Jacket, being the lone athlete to crack a sub-11 minute time with a mark of 10:49. She than started Saturday morning with the fastest BHSU time in transition one as she clocked 1:04 before notching the 16^th fastest 20k bike time in DII with a time of 32:02. She then ended the weekend with a time of 49 seconds in transition two and a 25:01 5k run mark.
Fifth in the BHSU team lineup was Cassidy Teeslink, who finished 38^th in NCAA Division II and 111^th overall with a total time of 1:10:45. She posted a season-best 750m swim time of 12:20 on Friday to begin the 2-day race and then proceeded to notch times of 1:15 in transition one, 33:30 in the 20k bike, 58 seconds in transition two, and ended the event with a season-best mark of 22:45 in the 5k run.
Next in the Yellow Jacket lineup was Sydney Campbell who totaled a time of 1:11:29 for 40^th in NCAA Division II and 114^th overall. On Friday at the Clermont Watersports Complex she recorded a time of 12:02, her fastest 750m swim of the year, before beginning Saturday with a transition one time of 1:11. On the final day of competition she then proceeded to clock times of 36:06 in the bike portion of the race, 44 seconds in transition two which was tied for the fastest by a BHSU athlete, and then ended the event with season-best and 26^th fastest time in DII with a mark of 21:29 in the 5k run at the Lake Louisa State Park.
Rounding out the Black Hills State lineup was Sydney Gasper who was 41^st in NCAA Division II and 119^th overall. She started the triathlon with a time of 12:09 in Friday's swim before clocking a time of 1:09 in transition one on Saturday. She ended the event with a season-best time of 36:02 in the 5k bike, followed by a 51 second transition two and a 5k run mark of 22:23.

BLACK HILLS STATE RESULTS

Place (D2)	Name	Swim	T1	Bike	T2	Run	Total Time
92. (25)	Keira Wilkinson	11:02	1:09	33:10	0:49	21:38	1:07:45
99. (29)	Natalie Moose-Elkin	11:06	1:10	33:45	0:44	21:25	1:08:09
104. (32)	Jadyn Johnson	11:57	1:19	33:49	0:47	21:07	1:08:58
107. (35)	Payton Sheehan	10:49	1:04	32:02	0:49	25:01	1:09:44
111. (38)	Cassidy Teeslink	12:20	1:15	33:30	0:58	22:45	1:10:45
114. (40)	Sydney Campbell	12:02	1:11	36:06	0:44	21:29	1:11:29
119. (41)	Sydney Gasper	12:09	1:09	36:02	0:51	22:23	1:12:33

NCAA DIVISION II TEAM RESULTS

1. Wingate	742
2. Lenoir Rhyne	737
3. Drury	648
4. Colorado Mesa	582
5. Cal Poly Humboldt	524
6. Black Hills State	462
7. Emmanuel	361
8. Indianapolis	325
9. King	171
10. Roberts Wesleyan	164
11. Newberry	138
12. St. Thomas Aquinas	19