Triathlon team runs at nationals

The Liberty triathlon team took 10 athletes to Tempe, Ariz. for the USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championship Saturday, April 13.

Official team results and rankings were not yet available at the time of publication. However, Head Coach Beth Frackleton said she was pleased with her team’s
performance.

“Everybody improved in very difficult conditions,” Frackleton said. “As a coach, you can’t ask for much more than that. As a coach, you will always want to be better, but I’m content.”

The Arizona heat was not kind to any of the competitors, as race time temperatures spiked to 90 degrees.

Joseph Anderson was the top male finisher for the Flames. According to Frackleton, Anderson’s 30th place finish in a field of 500 is marked improvement over last year for him.

Kathryn Mullaly and Lane Ruchte, who finished less than a minute apart from each other, were the top female finishers for Liberty.

“Katie (Mullaly) and Lane (Ruchte) both went under two and a half hours. That’s a really good time,” Frackleton said.

According to Frackleton, each of the 10 athletes showed a lot of grit and resolve in light of the level of competition and the heat.