LAKE GEORGE, N.Y. - It was a historic day for the Daemen College women's triathlon team which competed in its first-ever event today, the Lake George Triathlon Festival, officially cementing its place as one of the first NCAA triathlon programs in the country.

Head coach Jon Metz sent two competitors into the field today, junior Ashley Cheff (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Falls) and graduate student Anna Lyons (Webster, N.Y./Webster Thomas) and both fared well in their first outing.  The course, situated around the majestic setting that is Lake George, featured a 0.9-mile, open-water swim, 24.8-mile bike ride and a 6.2-mile run.

Cheff, who has also competed for the Daemen cross country and track and field teams in the past, led the way, finishing the race in just over two-and-a-half hours (2:30.54).  That time was good enough for second place in her grouping which featured females from ages 20-24.  She also placed 13th overall amongst all females (225 total entrants) and 64th overall in the mixed gender final results.

Lyons was nearly as impressive, completing the course just nine minutes after Cheff (2:39.38) to finish fifth in the group, 26th among all females and 114th in the mixed gender final results.

The etablishment of the triathlon program has been exciting news around the Daemen campus.  The Wildcats were recently awarded a $70,000 grant from USA Triathlon to aide in the initial establishment of the program.  USA Triathlon is the governing body for the sport, and has been the driving force behind the expansion of the sport into the intercollegiate ranks, leading to the sport gaining approval as an NCAA Emerging Sport for Women at the NCAA Convention in January of 2014.  At present, Daemen is one of a handful of colleges and universities nationwide to sponsor the sport for intercollegiate competition.

Metz's team will be back in action next Sunday, September 13 at the Finger Lakes Triathlon in Canandaigua, N.Y.

For continuing coverage of the Daemen women's triathlon team throughout the season, follow @DaemenAthletics and @DaemenTriathlon on Twitter.