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A format change did not slow down the Central College triathlon team en route to a third-place finish amongst Division III teams at the USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championships on November 9th, earning the number seven spot on our countdown of the top 10 sports stories of the past school year for the Dutch.

The opening section of the triathlon, swimming, was moved up a day to Friday and held at a new location because the original swimming location was considered unsafe for competition after hurricane damage. The athletes continued the triathlon Saturday morning with the bike and run. Adeline Koritz was Central’s top finisher, placing 10th in a time of 1 hour, 14 minutes, and 1 second. Central’s junior trio of Taylor Jones, Grace Benson, and Luci Laidlaw finished 15th, 16th, and 18th, respectively. Jones crossed the line at 1:15.19 and Benson was right behind her in 1:15.48. Laidlaw recovered from an accident at the end of her bike to cross in 1:16.53. The fifth scorer for Central, Estella Allen finished 32nd in 1:22.36.

Coach Jennie Hedrick-Rozenberg picked up some hardware of her own as she was selected by her peers as the Division III Coach of the Year. Katelyn Freeman and Sophie Lunning were Central’s other two participants in the championship meet, and both had solid performances, finishing in 1:23.01 and 1:26.51 respectively.