BILLINGS, Mont. – Coming off an extensive break from racing triathlons but plenty of training, the Montana State University Billings women's triathlon team begins the postseason at the NCAA National Qualifier, held at St. George, Utah's Quail Creek State Park on Saturday, Oct. 30. The collegiate sprint triathlon is scheduled for 3 p.m.
 
Saturday's race is one of three national qualifiers for the Women's Collegiate Triathlon National Championships, which will be held on Nov. 13 in Tempe, Ariz.
 
"For the most part, everyone is amped up for the postseason races," MSUB head coach Kevin Bjerke said. "Our energy levels and attitudes are what you'd expect for a team to have going into the postseason, which is exciting."
 
The NCAA National Qualifier is MSUB's first draft-legal triathlon of the year. Usually capped at 75 competitors, MSUB is one of 12 triathlon teams signed up for the Division I/II wave. But in order to fully take advantage of racing in a draft-legal competition, Bjerke says one of the key factors for the 'Jackets will be getting out to a strong start in the swim.
 
"We've been talking about different types of starts, getting out aggressively and drafting on both the swim and the bike," Bjerke said. "This is our first draft-legal race of the year, so we're changing our mindset from trying to hammer out the biking portion alone and working within a pack instead."
 
"The goal for everyone will be finding some of the smaller packs or even getting into the larger chase pack," Bjerke added. "It'll all come down to the swim in order to get into the right pack. In a draft-legal race, getting out to a good start in the swim is even more important because then that will get them into a better pack to draft off of in the bike."
 
Depending on how the swim portion will be marked, the out-and-back course that starts with a diving start off of a pier might be advantageous to MSUB. Aside from MSUB's leader Madisan Chavez and experienced swimmer Izzy Siegle, Ally Whitmer and Kylee Halpin will compete in arguably their most competitive swim of the year this Saturday.
 
Given the work that the team has put in since Whitmer and Halpin raced their first open-water swim back at the Oktoberfest Triathlon on Sept. 19, Bjerke believes both athletes will make considerable improvements in the swim.
 
"Kylee and Ally's biggest learning curve is the swim, so that's where they'll definitely show some improvements," Bjerke said. "Getting their first open-water swim last time was huge –in triathlons, you really have no idea what to expect until you do your first open-water swim. That in and of itself is super eye-opening. Now they know they need to sight more often so they can stay on course, so that'll be a huge focus. They can knock off two or three minutes alone if they can stay straighter on this next swim."
 
Following the out-and-back swim segment, three laps along a 4.1-mile cycling course awaits the athletes. The race concludes with a running segment that features three quick hills in each loop.
 
After this weekend, the national championships will take place at the Tempe Town Lake on Nov. 13. The top eight teams and the top 20 individuals – ranked by a point system based on the individual's finish in relation to the top three average times – will qualify for the national race, but an open race for those who do not qualify will also occur.
 
LAST TIME OUT

• On Sept. 19 at the Oktoberfest Triathlon, the MSUB women's triathlon team fielded a full, four-woman scoring team for the first time in program history.
• Madisan Chavez led the way for the 'Jackets for the second time this season with a total time of 1:16.06 – good for 15^th amongst collegiate athletes.
• Izzy Siegle, Ally Whitmer and Kylee Halpin made their collegiate triathlon debuts, placing 26^th, 27^th and 33^rd, respectively, in the college division.
• All four athletes were running on a quick turnaround after racing a 5K at the Gage McSpadden Memorial Invite less than 48-hours prior.
• Three of the four triathlon team members are coming off of racing the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships last week. Whitmer was MSUB's third-place runner in the 6K with a 24:29.6, followed by Chavez (25:38.0) and Halpin (25:44.2).

 
THE RUNDOWN

• Right now, MSUB is one of 12 teams competing in the DI/DII wave. Of those dozen teams, six are Division II schools.
• The four-time national champion Arizona State Sun Devils lead the collegiate field.
• As it stands, the top eight Division II teams are as follows: Queens, Colorado Mesa, Wingate, Davis & Elkins, Lenoir-Rhyne, Drury, Black Hills State and Emmanuel.
• Colorado Mesa, Drury and Black Hills State are scheduled to compete against MSUB tomorrow.
• MSUB, King and Newberry round out the Division II teams.
• Four of the top 20 individual Division II qualifiers are expected to race on Saturday: Abbie Erme (King/2^nd-DII), Jayne Wolbert (King/3^rd), Emily Sutherland (King/6^th), Rebecca Hartrick (Newberry/7^th)
• Saturday marks the first time the MSUB women's triathlon team has raced at Quail Creek State Park.

 
UP NEXT: MSUB is scheduled to race Saturday, Oct. 30 at 3 p.m. Live results can be found here.