SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University triathlon program will travel to the west coast this weekend to compete in the Napa Valley Spring Triathlon as a part of their offseason training. Eight Yellow Jackets are set to take part in the event, splitting up with four in the sprint triathlon, which is the normal distance of a collegiate race, while the other four will step up to the challenge of competing in the Olympic triathlon distance which is double the sprint triathlon.
 
SPRINT TRIATHLON DETAILS
Date & Time: Saturday, April 5 at 11:03 a.m. MT / 10:03 a.m. PT
Location: Napa Valley, Calif. – Putah Canyon
Distances: 750-meter swim, 12.4-mile bike, and 3.1-mile run
BHSU Competitors: Anna Austad, Scarlett Walsh, Payton Sheehan, and Chantel Bickler
 
OLYMPIC TRIATHLON DETAILS
Date & Time: Saturday, April 5 at 11:33 a.m. MT / 10:33 a.m. PT
Location: Napa Valley, Calif. – Putah Canyon
Distances: 1,500-meter swim, 24.8-mile bike, and 6.2-mile run
BHSU Competitors: Keira Wilkinson, Natalie Moose-Elkin, Sydney Gasper, and Sydney Campbell
 
BLACK HILLS STATE STORYLINES

• In the fall the Black Hills State triathlon program celebrated their tenth season of competition with another strong finish at the Women's Collegiate Triathlon National Championships, finishing sixth place in NCAA Division II with 462 points. The sixth place finish secured their seventh consecutive top-6 finish at nationals as the Yellow Jackets qualified seven individuals, including Keira Wilkinson who was 25^th in DII and Natalie Moose-Elkin who was 29^th in DII.
• Wilkinson closed out the fall portion of her freshman campaign as the top Yellow Jacket finisher in three of the four races, notching finishes of 27^th place at the Southern Hills Triathlon, a sixth place finish at the Prairie State Cup, and a 92^nd place finish overall (25^th in DII) at the Women's Collegiate Triathlon National Championships. Additionally, she posted a 46^th place finish overall (11^th in DII) at the West Regional Qualifier. She had a season-best sprint triathlon time of 1:07:45 at nationals, which saw her post times of 33:10 in the 20k bike and 21:38 in the 5k run which were top-30 in DII in each discipline.
• A part of the Yellow Jackets top-30 duo among NCAA Division II athletes at nationals, Moose-Elkin became one of just three BHSU tri-athletes to be a 4-time nationals' participant. With a 99^th place finish overall (29^th place in DII) she posted a season-best sprint triathlon time of 1:08:09, which consisted of the 25^th fastest time in DII in the 5k run as she clocked a time of 21:25. She was among the top-3 in the team lineup all four races, and added finishes of 16^th at the Prairie State Cup, 31^st at The Southern Hills Triathlon, and 49^th overall (13^th in DII) at the West Regional Qualifier.
• Joining Moose-Elkin in becoming one of just three tri-athletes in program history to be a 4-time nationals' participant was Sydney Gasper, who posted a season-best sprint triathlon time of 1:12:33 for a 119^th place finish overall and 41^st place finish among NCAA Division II at the Women's Collegiate Triathlon National Championships in November. She also recorded finishes of 37^th at The Southern Hills Triathlon and 51^st overall (15^th in DII) at the West Regional Qualifier.
• Sydney Cambell made her second appearance at the Women's Collegiate Triathlon National Championships this fall, recording a season-best sprint triathlon time of 1:11:29 as she finished 114^th overall and 40^th among NCAA Division II competitors. While competing at nationals she posted the 26^th fastest 5k run time in DII, clocking a time of 21:29, in addition to notching a season-best 750-meter swim time of 12:02. She added finishes of 30^th place at the Prairie State Cup, 42^nd at the Southern Hills Triathlon, and 66^th overall (26^th in DII) at the West Regional Qualifier.
• One of two Yellow Jackets to compete at the Women's Collegiate Triathlon National Championships as freshman was Payton Sheehan, who recorded a 107^th place finish overall and 35^th among NCAA Division II competitors with a season-best sprint triathlon time of 1:09:44. At nationals she notched the 16^th fastest 20k bike time in DII with a time of 32:02 and added the only sub-11 minute 750-meter swim by a Yellow Jacket with a time of 10:49. Throughout the fall she also finished 21^st at the Prairie State Cup, 33^rd at The Southern Hills Triathlon, and 58^th overall (20^th in DII) at the West Regional Qualifier.
• Scarlett Walsh competed in three races throughout her freshman season at Black Hills State, which saw her post a season-best sprint triathlon time of 1:16:52 at the Prairie State Cup where she finished a season-best 27^th overall. Additionally, she notched finishes of 43^rd at The Southern Hills Triathlon and 71^st overall (30^th in DII) at the West Regional Qualifier.
• Also competing in three races throughout the fall was Chantel Bickler, who notched a season-best sprint triathlon time of 1:18:13 at the Prairie State Cup where she finished a season-best 31^st overall. During the race in Clinton, Illinois, she secured the second-fastest 5k run among BHSU tri-athletes and the ninth fastest in the field as ran to a time of 22:37. She added finishes of 47^th at The Southern Hills Triathlon and 89^th overall (35^th in DII) at the West Regional Qualifier.
• Anna Austad completed two races in fall, one being a sprint triathlon where she posted a season-best finish of 25^th place at the Prairie State Cup with a time of 1:16:50. She also notched a 45^th place finish at The Southern Hills Triathlon.
• Following the retirement of Connie Feist in December who had been the head coach of the program since 2016, Black Hills State Director of Athletics, Mark Nore, announced that Yellow Jacket alumna Katie Christy would take the reins of the program as just the third coach in program history.