A strong finish allowed Alexis Hergenreter to emerge victorious in the 2023 USA Triathlon National Championships last week in Milwaukee, Wis.
Hergenreter, who will be a freshman at Ankeny in the fall, pulled away in the running portion of the event to win the Youth Development Women’s Draft-Legal Division (ages 13-15). Representing Team Z3 Triathlon, she completed the race in 32:50 to finish 9 seconds ahead of her teammate, Manuella Lima.
With clear skies and temperatures around 80 degrees, the Youth Development Women’s race saw Abby Poe exit the water first with Eve Frost right on her heels just 6 seconds behind in the 375m swim, 10k bike and 2.5k run event. By the middle of the bike, Hergenreter joined Frost, Lima and Amelia Avila in forming a gap over the rest of the field.
Avila and Frost were the first competitors out of Transition 2. However, the four leaders were back together by the end of the first kilometer.
In the end, Hergenreter pulled away to secure the win. Molly Garrison, who was in eighth place heading out of Transition 2, put in the fastest run time of the day, averaging 5:40 per mile to sprint ahead of Frost and secure third place–the final spot on the podium.