In just its third year of existence, the Arizona Triathlon team brought a second straight national championship to Tucson. Back in November, the Wildcats beat out rival ASU and Big 12 foe TCU with 927 total points.
Kelly Wetteland finished as the individual national champion with a time of 01:02:09, and right behind her was Margareta Vrablova with a time of 01:02:19.
Today the team raised another banner on National Championship Drive, right behind the previous year’s banner.
Here is what head coach
Wes Johnson, Wetteland, and Vrablova had to say after raising another banner:
Johnson on winning a second straight national championship: “Just amazing, all the work we did paid off. There was lots of highs and even more lows, and so to see that, that’s what makes it even more rewarding. Just the journey and what it leads to and to see that happen on the right day at the right time. It’s unbelievable.”
On what kind of leader Wetteland is: “There’s some things that are natural with who she is, but the sport, it took a lot of vulnerability from her to learn a completely new sport. I think the swimming came along pretty easily and but the cycling that was, that was a big learning curve, and she just fully embraced it. That’s rare, that is very rare for somebody to learn something so new, so quick and just so proud. A lot of that comes down to just who she is and willing to embrace that, you know, vulnerability and discomfort.”
On the standard of ‘Invest, Commit, Repeat’ for the program: “With, invest, commit, repeat, that came after our first our second year. The majority of our team, it was the same team as our second year. So instead of going out and recruiting this big class, we wanted to invest in the same group we had, our financial resources, our time, our energy, all in the same, pretty much the same group. That’s where the invest part came from. Invest in them, invest in those relationships. They invest in each other’s relationships. Then committing every single day to that process. Commitment is, you know, highest level commitment to high performance. It takes a lot, and it’s hard, but then repeating that day in, day out is possibly the hardest part, and they did.”
On if a second straight championship was the goal going into this past season: “Yes, this team is absolutely incredible. We definitely knew it was a possibility, the pressure we felt after the first year definitely made things a little more challenging. It created some challenges we didn’t expect, but that’s the process, the journey they’re on, they’re learning how to handle that pressure, and pressure is a privilege, and they’re learning how to handle it. So that’s not gonna end either.”
On what it will take to win a third straight national championship: “It is very much possible. No one is done from this team next year. So it is the same team, plus a new athlete, so definitely it is possible. What it’s going to take for sustained excellence is focusing on who we’re becoming in the process. If that is secure inside all of us, that’s what leads to this commitment, day in, day out. That has to be more important than ever. If we’re obsessed about winning next year, we’re going to forget about the daily process of what it takes for us to be our best every single day. That’s what’s going to lead to winning, to getting to the Olympics, to all those things, is to what we’re doing tomorrow. That’s all we’re focused on, is what we’re going to do tomorrow.”
Wetteland on what it felt like crossing the finish line first: “It was surreal. I can’t honestly remember, I saw the videos, and I can’t believe I did that. It just all went together that day, but when I turned around and saw Margaret, I mean, our top five was in the top 10, so we knew pretty quickly that we had won. It was just so fulfilling to see all that hard work really pay off and in the best way possible.”
On the standard that Johnson has set for the program: “I think standard is the best way to put it, you know, we’re a new sport, pretty much in the NCAA, and so there’s a lot of different influences and other things that we’ve been trying to emulate. I think, honestly, we’re at a point where we can set the standard with our program, and I think Wes sets the standard by how he shows up and how he just pours so much of his life and his love into this sport.”
On how the team sets itself apart from its competition: “God, I can speak about them all day. I think they’re probably the most inspiring, the most hard working people I’ve ever met, and I came into the sport pretty new, and so I learned pretty much everything I know about the sport from them. We’re all from different places, and we all have different, like, pieces of the puzzle. When you put us all together, it just is kind of perfect. I think our greatest strength comes from embracing our differences.”
On what it would mean to win a third straight national championship: “We’re really excited, we race for our countries in the spring, so we have another season before we get to the NCAA season again. Just keeping our nose on the grindstone, recruiting really well. This will be my last year, and I think three others on the team are going into their last year. So it means a little more, I would say. We just want to leave our team and leave our legacy in the best way we can.”
On how hard it will be to repeat as the individual national champion: “Oh, so hard are you kidding me? You just talked with my biggest competition right now. Margaret is just an honor to be around, an honor to train with. I think we both are going to push ourselves and push triathlon to new limits by chasing that dream.”
Vrablova on placing second in the national championship meet: “It feels amazing. Our goal is to get better and better day to day and just focus on our process. This was such a good outcome. So it was, it’s very special.”
On what the program as a whole means to her: “So I come from a very small country, and I used to train alone with my dad, so coming here was a huge change culturally. Basically, it flipped my whole world over, and it was amazing. It took some time to adjust, but I love it, and so I feel like I can really tell how special it is to train with a team, and on top of that, with a team where we can lean on each other and believe in each other. So this team is very special.”
On how selfless the team is: “I think the one good thing about our team is that we are very few members. So I feel like each and every one of us can contribute with every special thing, and that is the thing that makes our team special. It’s more variety and at the same time, like we all contribute something special.”
On what it will take to win a third straight national championship: “I would say it’s going to take focus day to day, what we are doing and to become the best version of ourselves. As our coach Wes Johnson likes to say, to get one person better every day. So we are trying to focus on these important things and nailing them every day. If we are able to pull it off for the third year, it’s amazing, if not, we know that we did everything we could to get better and better.”
On if she has a goal to beat out Wetteland in next year’s championship: “I wouldn’t say that’s the goal. The goal is to get better for all of us and to achieve our dreams.”
