Liberty University Club Sports Athletics
Triathletes gear up for spring season-opening races in Florida
3/1/2019 12:00:00 AM | Triathlon
A dozen members of Liberty University's triathlon team will open spring season competition this weekend at the Clermont (Fla.) Challenge, the only two-day draft-legal race in the United States.
The men's and women's U25 Elite Developmental and CamTri Challenge sprint races take place on a course that features a 750-meter swim, a 20-kilometer cycling stage, and a 5K run all within Louisa Lake State Park near Orlando.
They will serve as the primary preparation for the Flames and Lady Flames before qualifying team members compete in the April 5-6 USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championships in Tempe, Ariz.
First-year Head Coach Heather Gollnick limits her travel teams to those triathletes who make it through 85 percent of the two-a-day practice sessions.
"We practice early in the morning, in the evening, and on the weekend, and you're training in three sports so it is a big time commitment," Gollnick said. "Triathlon is a sport built on consistent training in the pool, on the bike, and running. I look at it as an honor to go to Florida and nationals in Tempe, Ariz."
Five of Liberty's top triathletes are also standouts on the Flames' and Lady Flames' cycling teams — senior Freddie Shashaty, graduate Giovanni Bianco, and freshman Max Galbraith on the men's side and senior Sarah Parker and junior Heather Ziebart among the women. A sixth, freshman Christian Brasher, is also a key contributor on the men's swimming team.
Liberty will enter six men (Shashaty, Bianco, Brasher, graduate Grant Merry, sophomore Chester Cooper, and spring semester recruit Trenton Covel) and six women (Parker, Ziebart, junior Laci Clark, sophomore Taylor Villani, freshman Carrington Erquiaga, and senior Shannon Wade) into this weekend's races.
With weather not conducive for outdoor training, the Flames and Lady Flames have been utilizing the Liberty Indoor Track Complex, Liberty Natatorium, and Liberty's Cycling/Triathlon Studio for the majority of their workouts.
"We're really fortunate to be able to consistently get that interval training in such nice facilities, including the triathlon studio where have trainers and can simulate what the course is going to be like," Gollnick said.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video by Patrick Strawn/Club Sports Assistant Director of Video & Media
