SPRINGFIELD, Mo.-- The Drury University triathlon program and Heartland Racing Company have been awarded a bid to host a regional qualifying race for the NCAA Championship in the fall of 2020. 
 
The event will be held on Sept. 27, 2020, at Moonshine Beach in Branson. The regional qualifying event will be a part of the Missouri Multi-Sport Weekend event on Sept. 26 and 27 and will include an Open Water Swim, Collegiate Triathlon, and Age Group Triathlon. The regional will have women's teams competing in a 750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike race, and a 5-kilometer run.
 
"This will be the first-ever time a USA Triathlon event and also an NCAA Women's Triathlon event has ever come to Missouri, and we hope to keep it," said Keaton Garrett, CEO of Heartland Racing. "The NCAA Women's Triathlon Regional Qualifier will have up to 120 Collegiate Athletes competing at a spot for nationals. These women are fast and talented; watching them race draft-legal style is an exciting thrill!"
 
The Panthers will be in their third year of fielding a full team in the fall of 2020 and will be in their second season under head coach Doug Fredrick. The Panthers won the Central Regional in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, last fall finishing first among NCAA-II programs. Next season, teams advancing past the regional qualifier will head to the NCAA Championship in Tempe, Arizona.  
 
"The Midwest has always been a hotspot for incredible multisport events, and our goal is to continually add to this love and passion for triathlon through the First Annual Missouri Multisport Weekend," added Garrett. "The Missouri Triathlon is the explosive end to the weekend on Sunday morning. Age-Groupers competing in the Missouri Triathlon will race the same course and distances that the collegiate women did immediately before them. This event is a great opportunity to dip your toes into the Triathlon world, or we dare you to try to beat some of the top women's triathletes times!" 
 
Deemed an NCAA Emerging Sport for Women in 2014, triathlon has a 10-year window to demonstrate sustainability as an NCAA Championship sport by recruiting at least 40 varsity programs by 2024. To date, 34 schools offer triathlon at the varsity level for women, including seven at the NCAA Division I level, 13 in Division II, and 14 in Division III. 
 
To follow the event, or to register to compete, visit their webpage. 
 
 
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