VERMILLION, S.D. — Four members of the South Dakota women's triathlon team have earned College Triathlon Coaches Association (CTCA) Scholar All-America honors for 2019.
 
Sophomores Leah Drengenberg and Payton Ryz along with freshmen Ella Kubas and Cass Dalbec were all recognized following the program's second season.
 
Drengenberg, who was third at the USA Triathlon National Championships to become South Dakota's first-ever All-American, carried a 4.0 GPA this fall as a medical biology major. She is a repeat scholar All-American.
 
Ryz, ninth at the national meet, is also a repeat scholar All-American and had a 3.8 GPA this fall as a medical biology major.
 
Kubas, seventh at the national meet, had a 4.0 GPA as a business major while Dalbec, 10^th at the national meet, had a 4.0 GPA as a psychology major.
 
To qualify for CTCA Scholar All-America status, a student-athlete must finish in the top 20 in the national championship meet and have maintained a 3.5 grade-point average for the fall semester. The quartet of Coyotes were among 41 student-athletes who qualified for the honor.
 
South Dakota placed second at the 2019 USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championship in November to cap off the program's second season.