NAPA VALLEY, Calif. – The Black Hills State University women's triathlon team saw a highly successful trip to the west coast on Saturday as the Yellow Jackets placed three within the top-7 of the 116 athlete field in the Napa Valley Alpha Sprint Triathlon and then proceed to place four within the top-7 of the 60 athlete field in the Napa Valley Alpha Olympic Triathlon. Highlighting the strong performances in wine country for the Green & Gold were a pair of freshmen as Payton Sheehan collected a win at the sprint distance while Keira Wilkinson placed second to only a Team USA world championships representative at the Olympic distance.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – SPRINT TRIATHLON

• Leading the way for the Yellow Jackets was freshman and 2024 national qualifier Payton Sheehan, who used a strong start to create some distance in the women's field. She started the day with the second fastest 750-meter swim time overall at 9:12 and grabbed the lead during the first transition as she made it through in just 48 seconds. She held onto the lead in the women's sprint triathlon all the way to the finish line as she clocked the third-fastest women's 12.4-mile bike time at 40:29, cruising through the field at a pace of 18.3 miles per hour, posted a time of 2:09 in transition two, and ended the day with the fastest women's 3.1-mile run at 23:08 as she ran a 7:26 mile pace in the discipline. She completed the course in 1:15:48 as she finished 5:57 ahead of second place.
• Also securing a top-5 finish with a fifth place time of 1:23:01 was another BHSU freshman, Scarlett Walsh. Following the swim where she notched a time of 10:12, she stood fourth among the women's sprint triathlon competitors and then proceeded to add times of 1:43 in the first transition and 44:15 during the bike, falling back to seventh place in the field. Running the second-fastest 3.1 mile split on the course with a time of 25:37, she was able to pick off two more competitors to round out the top-5 at the finish line.
• Only 31 seconds behind Walsh was Chantel Bickler who turned in a seventh place finish in the women's sprint triathlon, posting a time of 1:23:32 on the day. After she recorded a time of 11:56 in the swim portion of the course, she was able to quickly make up ground on the field and find a spot within the top-10. She gained five spots within the first transition with a time of 1:44 and then proceeded to notch a time of 42:57 in the 12.4-mile bike and then 1:13 in the second transition. She gave the Yellow Jackets the sweep of the top-3 times in the 3.1-mile run in the event, clocking the third-fastest time at 25:40 to conclude the race.
• While Anna Austad was unable to complete the sprint triathlon, she stood in the top-10 of the women's sprint triathlon through the second transition. She began the day with a time of 10:32 in the swim, exiting the water in eighth place, and then proceeded to gain five spots with a time of 1:16 in the first transition. She then posted a time of 43:04 during the biking portion of the course and ended the day with a time of 2:01 in the second transition. Following the second transition her overall time stood as 56:54 and she was in fifth place at that point in time. 

BLACK HILLS STATE SPRINT TRIATHLON RESULTS

Place	Name	Swim	T1	Bike	T2	Run	Total Time
1.	Payton Sheehan	9:12	0:48	40:29	2:09	23:08	1:15:48
5.	Scarlett Walsh	10:12	1:43	44:15	1:12	25:37	1:23:01
7.	Chantel Bickler	11:56	1:44	42:57	1:13	25:40	1:23:32
113. (DNF)	Anna Austad	10:32	1:16	43:04	2:01	--	56:54

 
HOW IT HAPPENED – OLYMPIC TRIATHLON

• Keira Wilkinson, who was Black Hills State's top finisher at the Women's Collegiate Triathlon National Championships back in November, stepped up to the challenge and was the Yellow Jackets top finisher in the Olympic triathlon in Napa Valley. As the event's runner up in the women's race, she clocked an overall time of 2:22:36, she finished second by only 2:42 to tri-athlete Alex Sborov (age 30) who had represented the United States in the world championships this past fall in Spain. Starting with the third-fastest 1,500-meter swim with a time of 19:35, she remained within the top-3 the entirety of the race. Wilkinson then continued to notch times of 1:26 during the first transition, 1:13:46 during the 24.8-mile bike at a 20.1 miles per hour pace, and then just a 51 second pass through transition two which was the fastest in the women's race. The quick pass through the second transition moved her back into second place, and she maintained the position as she ran a time of 46:57 during the 6.2 mile run.
• Adding a third place finish for the Green & Gold in the Olympic triathlon at Napa Valley was Natalie Moose-Elkin, who completed the race in a time of 2:29:54. She exited the water with the lead in the women's race, completing the swim in a time of just 18:10, which was 30 seconds faster than any other female competing on the day. She continued to hold the lead through transition one with a time of 1:12 in the pass through, before eventually being caught by the rest of the field during the bike as she continued to hold a top-5 standing, posting the fourth-fastest ride with a time of 19:18 and an 18.7 miles per hour pace. She gained one spot in the second transition with a time of 1:12 before concluding the race with a time of 50:00 during the run.
• Rounding out the top-5 of the Olympic triathlon was Sydney Gasper, one of two 4-time national qualifiers on this year's squad for the Yellow Jackets, who turned in a time of 2:35:22. While she completed the swim portion of the event in tenth place with a time of 20:20, she notched the fastest time of the day for both the men and women in transition one as she made the pass through in just 59 seconds, gaining five positions in the process. A time of 1:23:03 during the bike saw her drop to seventh place, however, she quickly picked those two spots back up as she posted a time of 1:16 during the second transition and 49:41 during the run to end the day.
• The biggest mover of the day during the Olympic triathlon for the Yellow Jackets was Sydney Campbell, who gained ten positions throughout the race to help secure a top-10 finish with a time of 2:36:59 for seventh place. She exited the water with a time of 20:52 and was 14^th place at that moment before she quickly gained six spots during the first transition with a time of 1:37. She continued her way up through the race field with a time of 1:21:32 during the bike as she gained another pair of spots with a pace of 18.2 miles per hour. Making it a gain of ten positions from the end of the swim through transition two, she clocked a time of 55 seconds on the pass through to move up to fourth place. Campbell then ended her day with a time of 52:01 in the running portion of the event.

BLACK HILLS STATE OLYMPIC TRIATHLON RESULTS

Place	Name	Swim	T1	Bike	T2	Run	Total Time
2.	Keira Wilkinson	19:35	1:26	1:13:46	0:51	46:57	2:22:36
3.	Natalie Moose-Elkin	18:10	1:12	1:19:18	1:12	50:00	2:29:54
5.	Sydney Gasper	20:20	0:59	1:23:03	1:16	49:41	2:35:22
7.	Sydney Campbell	20:52	1:37	1:21:32	0:55	52:01	2:36:59