2023 TCU Women’s Triathlon Recap

The Horned Frogs finished in the top 10 in their first year as a program.

TCU Triathlon had an incredible inaugural season, winning two races and having a great showing in the National Championship race in Tempe, Arizona.

The Frogs started their season off with a bang, winning their first-ever competition in the DeGray Lake Triathlon in Caddo Valley, Arkansas on Sept. 10. The top six finishers in the race were all Horned Frogs with Maria Coral taking the top spot thanks to a great time of 1:04:14.30. Sara Gimena and Jenna Buchanan finished in second and third behind Coral thanks to excellent times of 1:04:43.50 and 1:04:46.20 respectively. Amanda Moro and Elena Viejo rounded out the top five finishing in fourth and fifth place with times of 1:05:06.60 and 1:05:34.00 respectively.

TCU made it back-to-back victories in their next race, the Battle in the Fort, which they hosted in Fort Worth. The Frogs won with a team total of 170 points, two points ahead of the second-place Arizona State Sun Devils. Four Frogs finished in the top ten with Buchanan leading her team with a fifth-place finish thanks to a great time of 1:08.50. Coral finished right behind Buchanan in sixth place with a very solid time of 1:09.06. Ana Veltcheva was the third Frog in the top ten overall finishers with a time of 1:09.37 that landed her in eighth place. Gimena finished one spot behind Veltcheva in ninth place overall thanks to a strong time of 1:09.43.

The Frogs next competed in their first postseason as a program and earned an invite to the NCAA National Championship race thanks to a third-place finish at the USAT West Regional in Springfield, Missouri. TCU was led by Gimena who earned a top-ten finish overall with a time of 1:05:55.66 that landed her in ninth place. Viejo finished just a couple of spots back of Gimena in 12th place thanks to a time of 1:05:24.48. Veltcheva finished right behind Viejo in 13th place with a very good time of 1:05:28.21. Moro was the final Frog in the top 20 with a solid time of 1:06:16.91 that earned her 20th overall.

The NCAA National Championship race took place in Tempe, Arizona where Arizona State would take home the championship. The Frogs had a great first Nationals appearance, finishing in sixth place as a team. Coral was the top finisher for the Frogs with a time of 1:05:10.90 which earned her 12th place overall. Gimena joined Coral in the top fifteen with a time of 1:05:24.50 that landed her in 15th place overall. Moro was the third Frog in the top 30 with a strong time of 1:06:07.60 which was good for 26th place overall.

The Frogs had an incredibly successful first year as a program and look to build on their early momentum in 2024 when they will start their season on Aug. 31 in Spearfish, South Dakota at the Southern Hills Triathlon. They will also host the Battle in the Fort Triathlon on Sept. 29 in Fort Worth at Marine Creek Course.