LOMA, Colo. – The No. 7 nationally-ranked Black Hills State University women's triathlon team faced another tough challenge on Sunday morning as they competed against yet another loaded field at the Desert's Edge Triathlon, competing against some of NCAA Division I's best at the Highline Lake State Park. The Yellow Jackets finished eighth in their first sprint triathlon (750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike, and 5-kilometer run) of the season, accumulating 97 team points. Leading the Green & Gold for the second consecutive race this year was sophomore
Payton Sheehan, who posted the second-fastest sprint triathlon time of her career.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- For the second consecutive race in the 2025 season, Payton Sheehan led the Yellow Jackets with a 47th place finish and an overall time of 1:14:07.0, her second-best time in a sprint triathlon in her career. She began the day with both the fastest 750-meter swim (12:45) and 20-kilometer bike (36:30) by a BHSU athlete, with a 47 second transition one between the two. She then tallied a time of 43 seconds in transition two before closing the day with the second-fastest 5-kilometer run time at 23:13.
- Scarlett Walsh, another Yellow Jacket sophomore, was again second in the team lineup for the second consecutive race to begin the 2025 season, finishing 55th with an overall time of 1:18:31.0, her second-fastest sprint triathlon time of her career. She began the day with the second-fastest swim (13:14) and bike (39:57) times of the event for BHSU, with a time of 59 seconds in transition one between the two areas. She then ran through transition two in a time of 53 seconds before finishing the morning with the third-fastest run time for the Yellow Jackets as she crossed the line in 23:29.
- Sydney Campbell was third in the Yellow Jacket lineup, finishing 56th with an overall time of 1:19:42.0 in her first sprint triathlon of the season. She exited the water with a time of 14:32 and posted a bike time of 40:28, both of which were the third-fastest for the Green & Gold, and in-between ran through transition one with a time of 1:06. She then made it through transition two with a time of 40 seconds, before clocking the fastest run time of 22:59.
- Running in her first sprint triathlon since 2023, Lilly Brophy recorded a 61st place finish with an overall time of 1:27:16.0. She concluded the swim portion of the race with a time of 15:08, before getting through transition one in a quick time of 46 seconds. She then clocked a time of 43:24 in the bike, followed by another quick transition time of 34 seconds, and ended the day with a time of 27:26 in the run. She posted the fastest times of the day by a Yellow Jacket in both transition one and two.
- Rounding out the Black Hills State lineup was Ava Elliott, competing in her first-ever collegiate sprint triathlon, finishing 62nd with an overall time of 1:36:14.0. She began the morning with a time of 20:29 in the swim and then tallied a time of 1:06 in transition one into the bike. In the bike portion of the race, she clocked a 46:39 and then proceeded to tally times of 1:18 in transition two and 26:44 in the run.
- Hannah Longmire recorded a time of 25:01 during the 750-meter swim but was unable to complete the triathlon.
BLACK HILLS STATE RESULTS
TEAM RESULTS
| 1. T-#1 Arizona State (D1) |
295 |
| 2. T-#1 Arizona (D1) |
283 |
| 3. San Francisco (D1) |
276 |
| 4. #4 TCU (D1) |
233 |
| 5. #8 South Dakota (D1) |
203 |
| 6. #5 Denver (D1) |
189 |
| 7. #3 Colorado Mesa (D2) |
145 |
| 8. #7 Black Hills State (D2) |
97 |
UP NEXT
Black Hills State will have three weeks to prepare for their third race of the season when they travel to the Prairie State Cup in Clinton, Illinois. The event will be held at the Clinton Lake State Recreation Area on Saturday, October 4.
