CLINTON, Ill. – The No. 5 nationally ranked Black Hills State University women's triathlon team posted a season-best finish of fifth place overall with 357 points last Saturday, competing in an 18-team field at the Prairie State Cup that featured 15 top-10 teams across all three NCAA divisions. The Yellow Jackets fifth place finish bested a pair of top-10 DI programs, including their in-state counterpart the University of South Dakota. Amongst 110 athletes competing at the Clinton Lake State Recreation Area, all five BHSU athletes finished within the top-60 overall and included four career-best times. Leading the way once again was Peyton Sheehan and Scarlett Walsh, who each improved their career-best sprint distance (750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike, and 5.0-kilometer run) times by more than seven minutes.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Leading the way for the third time this season for Black Hills State was Payton Sheehan, who clocked a career-best sprint distance time of 1:05:55 for 20^th place overall and 11^th in NCAA Division II. Her time was nearly nine minutes (8:53) faster than a year ago at this same meet. She began the day with a swim time of 11:49 and then notched the fastest transition one time by any competitor by making it through in just 19 seconds. She than posted the seventh-fastest bike time in the field, recording a time of 31:10 and reaching a speed of 23.11 miles per hour. She concluded the day with the third-fastest transition two time in the field at just 20 seconds and crossed the finish line with a run time of 22:18.
• Finishing second in the team lineup for the third time this year was Scarlett Walsh, who secured a career-best sprint distance time by nearly seven and a half minutes (7:26) compared to last years' time at the Prairie State Cup. Her overall time of 1:09:26 was 31^st on the day and was 18^th among NCAA Division II competitors. She was second out of the water for the Yellow Jackets, beginning the day with a time of 12:15 in swim and made it through transition one in 35 seconds. She was also second on the team during the bike portion of the race, cruising through the course at a speed of 21.36 miles per hour and notching a time of 33:43. Walsh closed out the day with a time of 26 seconds in transition two and crossing the finish line with a time of 22:29 during the run.
• The third career-best sprint distance time of the day came from Sydney Campbell, who notched an overall time of 1:11:02 for 38^th place and 23^rd in NCAA Division II. She exited the water with a time of 13:28 before notching the ninth-fastest transition one time in the field as she made it through in 25 seconds. During the bike portion of the race, she reached a speed of 20.66 miles per hour as she clocked a time of 34:51 and passed through transition two in 24 seconds. She posted the fastest time of the day by a Yellow Jacket in the final discipline, crossing the finish line with a run time of 21:57.
• Securing a season-best sprint distance time of 1:17:47 was Lilly Brophy, posting a 59^th place finish overall and 33^rd in NCAA Division II. She began the race by following right behind her teammate, Campbell, and exiting the water with a swim time of 13:32. She then recorded the fourth-fastest transition one time of the day by the field in just 21 seconds, setting up a bike time of 35:45 as she reached 20.14 miles per hour. Her transition two time was tied for the second-fastest on the team at 24 seconds, leading into a 27:47 run time as she crossed the finish line.
• Running in her first sprint distance triathlon of the season, Chantel Bickler, capped a day that included four career-best times at the distance as she recorded a career-best time of 1:18:11 as she place 60^th overall and 34^th in NCAA Division II. She exited the water with a time of 15:24 to start the day before passing through transition one in 24 seconds, the eighth-fastest among those competitors in the field. In the bike portion of the race, she clocked a time of 37:58, reaching a speed of 18.97 miles per hour as she entered the final transition. She completed the second transition in 34 seconds, then notched a time of 23:53 in the run as she crossed the finish line.

BLACK HILLS STATE RESULTS

Place (D2)	Name	Swim	T1	Bike	T2	Run	Total Time
20. (11)	Payton Sheehan	11:49	0:19	31:10	0:20	22:18	1:05:55
31. (18)	Scarlett Walsh	12:15	0:35	33:43	0:26	22:29	1:09:26
38. (23)	Sydney Campbell	13:28	0:25	34:51	0:24	21:57	1:11:02
59. (33)	Lilly Brophy	13:32	0:21	35:45	0:24	27:47	1:17:47
60. (34)	Chantel Bickler	15:24	0:24	37:58	0:34	23:53	1:18:11

 
TEAM RESULTS

1. #4 Drury (D2)	514
2. #3 San Francisco (D1)	504
3. #3 Colorado Mesa (D2)	472
4. #1 North Central (D3)	364
5. #5 Black Hills State (D2)	357
6. #7 Cal Poly Humboldt (D2)	344
7. #6 Indianapolis (D2)	332
8. #8 Denver (D1)	309
9. #2 Trine (D3)	299
10. #3 Central (D3)	286
11. #6 Willamette (D3)	255
12. Northern Kentucky (D1)	249
13. #7 South Dakota (D1)	194
14. #9 Roberts Wesleyan (D2)	192
15. #4 Millikin (D3)	172
16. #9 Concordia (Wis.) (D3)	135
17. Coe (D3)	91
18. Chicago State (D1)	69

 
UP NEXT
With the regular season now behind them, Black Hills State now shifts their focus to the NCAA West Region qualifier at the Marine Creek Lake Park in Fort Worth, Texas, on Sunday, October 26, as they look to punch their tickets to the national championship.