Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team

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Women's Triathlon 9/16/2018 6:13:00 PM By Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for External Operations & Communications

Custodi Leads Women's Triathlon At Central Regional Qualifier

FULL RESULTS

WATAUGA, Tenn. - Redshirt sophomore Amber Custodi (Ransomville, N.Y.) placed fourth out of 43 total competitors to lead the Daemen College women's triathlon team at the Central Regional Qualifier hosted by East Tennessee State University at Watauga Dam. It marked the first competition of the 2018-19 season for Daemen, and the race featured 350 meters of swimming, 10 kilometers of cycling and 2.5 kilometers of running. The course was shortened due to weather complications from Tropical Storm Florence.

Custodi, who placed 15th at last season's Central Region Qualifier, completed today's race in 40:38.0. She came out of the swimming portion in 26th place, but was able to make up ground during the cycling portion which she completed in 21:38.0, the third fastest time among all competitors. She followed that up by completing the running portion in 9:55.0 which ranked fourth among all competitors.

In addition to placing fourth overall, Custodi was the second finisher among all participants from NCAA Division II programs which qualifies her for the Women's Collegiate Triathlon National Championship which is set for November 4 in Tempe, Arizona. Custodi qualified and competed in last season's National Championship, placing 44th out of 81 competitors.

The Wildcats also got solid efforts from freshman Nicole Schmidt (Vienna, Va.) and redshirt sophomore Jordan Hardie (Attica, N.Y.) who each made their collegiate debut. Schmidt placed 18th with a time of 48:49.0, while Hardie came in 23rd with a time of 52:43.0.

Elizabeth Moore from Transylvania University paced the field today, finishing first with a time of 38:32.0. She was followed by ETSU's Lane McDonald (39:12.0) and Marilena Swidrak from Queens University of Charlotte (39:27.0).

The sport of triathlon, which combines swimming, biking and running into a race-style event, was termed an Emerging Sport For Women by the NCAA in January of 2014, establishing a 10-year window for the formation of 40 intercollegiate programs. At present, according to USA Triathlon which oversees intercollegiate competitions, Daemen is one of 25 schools in the country (10 affiliated with NCAA Division II) to sponsor a varsity triathlon program for women.

The Wildcats return to competition next Sunday, September 23 at the West Regional Qualifier in Longmont, Colorado.

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Players Mentioned

Amber Custodi: 5' 7"; Redshirt Sophomore

Nicole Schmidt: 5' 5"; Freshman

Jordan Hardie: 5' 9"; Redshirt Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Amber Custodi
: 5' 7"; Redshirt Sophomore

Nicole Schmidt
: 5' 5"; Freshman

Jordan Hardie
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Sophomore