CLERMONT, Fla. -- It was a banner day for the first year Northern Kentucky women's triathlon program as it competed at the Women's Triathlon National Championships in Clermont, FL.  Alisha Detmer led the Norse, breaking the tape for first place in the third heat, and Josie Timmers rounded out the day finishing 44^th in heat three. Competing at their first national championships, this was a great moment for the Norse and the team's first individual win in year one of the program!  

Coach Doughtie summed up the performance and the team's resiliency throughout this season. "This weekend having the race over two days really gave the team an opportunity to regroup from yesterday and put forth a strong effort that would set them up for success.  I preached for a few weeks heading into this weekend, let's work hard to allow success on race day, and I think what we saw was what we can build here at NKU when we do things the right way. I emphasized specific race tactics during training since regionals, and Alisha and Timmers really showed up and executed today, so I'm really proud of their races.  For Alisha to come back from the swim yesterday really shows the grit and resiliency we are building in our student athletes, and all the credit goes to them for their success today. I'm looking forward to taking this momentum and showcasing what this program can do in developing student athletes now and in the future."

THE BASICS
Results: Detmer: 1^st Heat 3, Timmers: 44th Heat 3
Race: Women's Triathlon National Championship
Location: Clermont, Florida

NOTABLES
- Alisha Detmer finished the sprint distance triathlon in 1:11:45, that included a 750m swim in 12:59, 20km bike in 36:57 and 5km run in 20:38.  Overall she finished in 116^th place after combining the three waves.
- Josie Timmers finished the sprint distance triathlon in 1:24:24, that included a 750m swim in 13:51, 20km bike in 40:22 and 5km run in 28:47.  Overall she finished in 178^th place after combining the three waves.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Day two at Lake Louisa State Park started with a pursuit start to the 20km, 4 lap bike course and 5km, 2 lap run based on the swim times from Friday.  After the Friday swim, Detmer was in 29^th and Timmers in 45th.  Detmer got off to a really fast start with the 180m run into transition, and quickly was able to get into the 2^nd main chase pack.  Timmers starting nearly 50s behind Detmer, quickly got to T1 and worked with a few different athletes.  Detmer's 2^nd chase pack, which consisted of about 15 athletes, settled into a good rhythm on laps 2 and 3 settling in on a gap of 1:45 to the front of the race.  Timmers was able to work with a few different athletes during the 20km bike course, coming in roughly 5:05 behind the leaders into T2.  Coming into T2 Detmer had a gap of about 1:50 to the leaders, but that was very quickly erased as she ran into the top 5 within the 1^st half mile of the 5km, 2 lap run course.  Detmer put a surge at the turn around at the end of lap 1 to take the lead and never looked back, winning heat 3 with an 1:15 advantage.  Timmers battled the hot conditions with a steady run to finish 44^th in the 3^rd wave.  

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