The Meet

South Dakota triathlon begins the 2021 season this Saturday morning at the Pleasant Prairie Regional Qualifier held at Rec Plex in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. The gun for the first race goes off at 8:30 a.m.
 

The Coyotes

South Dakota will send a limited squad to the season opener. The freshmen trio of Andrea Cernuda, Micah Poellet and Ella Perras will make their debuts in a Coyote singlet. Fourth-year junior Payton Ryz, third-year sophomore Ella Kubas and third-year sophomore Grace Johnson will join them in Wisconsin. The remainder of the team will continue to train in preparation for later races this fall. The Coyotes are two-time collegiate national runners-up entering the program's third collegiate season.
 

The History

South Dakota finished runner-up to Arizona State at the inaugural Pleasant Prairie Qualifier in 2019. Leah Drengenberg and Kubas paced the Yotes that day with fourth- and fifth-place finishes, respectively. Kubas was the All-Region Freshman from this meet two years ago.
 

One Last Thing

It has been 658 days since the Coyotes have raced in a collegiate triathlon competition due to the cancellation of the 2020 season. The sprint-distance triathlon consists of a 750-meter swim, a 20-kilometer draft-legal bike and 5-kilometer run.