JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Aug. 30, 2024) – Behind a stellar showing by freshman
Julia Visgueiro, the Buccaneer women's triathlon team made it a clean sweep at the ETSU Aquathlon, which was held on Friday evening on ETSU's campus.
The Bucs, who hosted this event for a third straight year, edged out two-time defending Division II national champion Lenoir-Rhyne for the team title. ETSU totaled 147 points, while Lenoir-Rhyne finished with 146 and King placed third ahead of Northern Kentucky with 64. Hampton was the fifth team to participate in the season opener and ended with 45 points.
With the race featuring a 500-yard swim and 2-mile run, Visgueiro clocked in at 18:12, which was 42 seconds faster than the second-place finisher. Lenoir-Rhyne's Zoila Sicilia finished runner-up in 18:54.
"It felt good to open the season and earn a pair of wins on our home course," said head coach
Allie Nicosia. "I know this wasn't Lenoir-Rhyne's "A" Team, but we had a good showing, and the girls look strong this early in the season. We have a young team, and I saw some exciting things today. We look to build upon this as we prepare for the remainder of the season and our first triathlon in just over two weeks!"
Visgueiro was the second straight Buccaneer to win the event as
Josi Seerig won gold in her collegiate debut a year ago.
Overall, ETSU – who won the team event for the first time – had seven Bucs place in the top-11.
Emily Coonce,
Abby Church and
Sarah Plant finished fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively. Coonce crossed the line in 19:04, Church ended in 19:09 and Plant finished in 19:35.
Taylor Walker (20:26),
Izi Belogay (20:44) and
Mia Remorca (20:50) wrapped up the Bucs finishing in the top-11.
All 10 of ETSU's student-athletes were in competition on Friday.
The Bucs gear up for their first triathlon which will be held on Sept. 15 when ETSU competes at the Lake Davidson Sprint Triathlon in Davidson, N.C.
For more information on Buccaneer women's triathlon, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women's triathlon tab.
