2011 USAT Collegiate Nationals - Tuscaloosa, AL
Post date: Apr 12, 2011 5:09:42 PM
USAT Collegiate Nationals - Team Summary
By: Amanda Nauman
The Stevens Institute of Technology Club Triathlon Team had a thrilling time in Tuscaloosa, Alabama this past weekend at the USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championships. There were four men and three women who made their way to the National Championships to represent the finest triathletes that Stevens has to offer. For such a small Division III school, Stevens had an extremely impressive lineup of talented individuals who had numerous people asking, “Where’s Stevens?” all throughout the weekend. The entire team showed the competition what they were made of and definitely established Stevens’ name in the competitive world of collegiate triathlons.
The men’s side consisted of a full-scoring team comprised of Nicholas Walulik, Aaron Perelman, Matthew Smith, and Luke Niezelski. The men’s race kicked off at 7:30am when the first wave of guys started their swim. Nick was the highest placing Stevens male of the day coming in at 151st. His most noteworthy performance came out of his killer 40km bike split where he averaged over 23 mph and came in as the 95th fastest male on a bike that day. His intense training during the Stevens’ Cycling Team club season has definitely shown its benefits for Nick in Alabama. On an individual level, Nick’s finishing time of 2:14:41 and his run split of 45:55 were both personal bests and were very impressive for the stand-out Senior. Coming up in second for Stevens was Matt in 268th with a time of 2:23:57. All three of Matt’s splits were very good and showed that he is a well-rounded addition to the team, especially with his 10km run split right at 45 minutes. Very close behind was Luke at 281st overall and with a solid time of 2:24:53. Luke clocked the fastest 1 mile swim for the Stevens’ men and the 38th fastest male swim split in the whole race coming in just over 21 minutes. Matt and Luke both trained with the Varsity swim team throughout the school year and had great swims during this race thanks to that. Aaron rounded up the men’s team with a time of 2:28:16 and finishing place of 447th. He is an awesome runner with a split of 42:25 which put him in the 230th fastest male slot. With a little more experience in the swim, Aaron has great potential to place even higher in the next couple championships. There were a total of 595 male triathletes that competed in Tuscaloosa that morning and gave our men’s team some serious competition.
Because the men’s team was able to send four individuals to score for Stevens, they were scored amongst all the other teams at the race. Out of the 80 full men’s teams in Alabama competing in the championships, Stevens came in at 43rd. Considering all of the huge Division I schools that were in attendance and the fact that a lot of teams had more than four men competing for points, the Stevens men had an outstanding performance. The male triathletes from our small Division III Technology school made a huge impact at the race and really came out on top.
The women’s side was one short of a full-scoring team, but included the female stars from the Fall NECTC season: Amanda Nauman, Gabrielle Czernik, and Jamie Brabston. The women’s race started two and a half hours after the men’s race at 10am and this ended up being a huge disadvantage because of the enormous temperature difference in those few hours. All of the women had to race in 80+ degree temperatures and coping with the humidity was atrocious after being so used to the frigid East Cost all winter. However, after attacking the race in full force and dealing with the extreme temperatures, Amanda was the highest placing Stevens female of the day coming in at 77th. Contributing to such a solid time was her notable 10th fastest female swim split thanks to all the training she did with the Varsity swim team throughout the school year. Jamie wound up close behind in 91st with a time of 2:39:26. She had an equally impressive run split just under 50 minutes and the 78th fastest female 10km split of the day! Like Nick, her time with the Stevens Cycling team has also improved her bike power and lead to a great split. After powering through the intense temperatures with all her might, Gabby brought the team home at 278th with a time just barely over three hours at 3:02.45. Like Amanda, Gabby’s time with the Varsity swim team helped her achieve the 43rd fastest female swim split of the day. Both Gabby and Amanda exceeded all expectations with their strong finishes in Alabama after only two weeks to prepare for the triathlon following the NCAA Swimming Championships. There were exactly 400 female triathletes competing in Tuscaloosa that morning and the Stevens women had an amazing finish, all things considered. The men and women contributed to Stevens’ great finish as a team.
The outstanding accomplishments of every individual on the team can be recognized all over the results of the race. It is very exciting to see how fast the Stevens triathletes are becoming and this is leading the way to bigger and better things for the team in the years and championships to come. This is just the beginning and the triathlon club will only get faster! The upcoming NECTC season will be Stevens’ best performance yet!
The complete results are posted here if you would like to see the overall results from the day: http://onlineraceresults.com/event/view_event.php?event_id=6325