SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Behind a pair of top-10 finishes from freshman Dana Prikrylová and sophomore Kelly Lynn Wetteland, Arizona Triathlon posted another strong finish at the NCAA West National Qualifier. Prikrylová posted the Wildcats' fastest time for a second consecutive race on Saturday after clocking in seventh place at 1:04:48:76. Wetteland finished right behind her teammate in eighth just four seconds later.

"Today's race showed our team's maturity and discipline with some cold and windy weather as well as a delayed start time," said head coach Wes Johnson. "We were able to overcome that adversity and post faster times across the board from our last race, which I was very proud to see. As we continue to build this program to the best of the best, races like today shows how strong our drive is to grow and develop each and every day. We reached a new milestone for our program by qualifying to NCAA Championships in our first year as a program."

The Wildcats got off to a strong start to the race when sophomore Laura Holanszky posted the third-fastest swim time of the entire field at 10:09, just five seconds behind the swim leader. Wetteland and senior Grace Reeder each clocked in at 10:17 after the opening 750-meter swim segment.

Reeder and Prikrylová would surge to the front during the cycling stage with the team's fastest times, led by Reeder who rode the eighth fastest time of all competitors in the second stage at 32:59. Arizona got a winning performance from Lydia Russell in the final leg of the race as she ran the 5-kolemeter run in 17:48, which was the fastest time of the day. 

Arizona Triathlon will return to action for the final race of its inaugural season at the NCAA Championships on Saturday, Nov. 11 in Tempe, Arizona. The Wildcats qualified for the NCAA Championships as a team on Saturday, which means the program can select seven athletes to compete for the national title next month.