Navy Women’s Triathlon Sweeps Weekend With Back-to-Back Collegiate Cup Championships
The Navy women’s triathlon team put together a historic weekend, winning consecutive team championships at the Beaver County Collegiate Cup and Robious Landing Collegiate Cup on Sept. 19-20.
Navy opened the weekend by narrowly defeating host Duquesne in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, before traveling to Midlothian, Virginia, and winning again the following morning. The two victories represented a major milestone for a relatively young Navy varsity program that entered the weekend having won just one collegiate cup competition in program history.
Junior Natalie Wang led the Midshipmen in both races, placing third Saturday before finishing second Sunday. Navy also showed impressive depth throughout the weekend, particularly at Robious Landing, where five Midshipmen finished among the top 10.
Navy Edges Duquesne at Beaver County
The first championship came Saturday at the Beaver County Collegiate Cup, where Navy scored 485 points to defeat Duquesne by just four points. The Dukes finished with 481, while Lenoir-Rhyne placed third with 467. East Tennessee State finished fourth with 450, and Drury rounded out the top five with 402.
The victory was particularly impressive considering the size and quality of the field. A total of 106 competitors participated, and Navy received three top-eight performances to put itself in position to capture the championship.
Wang led the Midshipmen by completing the course in 1:03:33, good for third overall. Freshman Allison Heine followed only 12 seconds later, placing fourth in 1:03:45, while junior Dylan Cashin gave Navy another top-10 result by finishing eighth in 1:04:35.
Duquesne’s Daria Ermolova won the individual championship with a time of 1:02:25. East Tennessee State’s Taylor Walker finished second in 1:03:03, putting Wang just 30 seconds behind Walker and 1:08 behind the individual champion.
Navy’s depth became critical with the team championship decided by such a narrow margin. Allison Miller finished 22nd in 1:05:58, immediately followed by Leah Norton in 23rd at 1:06:00. Those performances completed Navy’s five scoring positions and helped provide the points necessary to hold off Duquesne.
Madelyn Berry finished 27th in 1:06:37, while Keira Wilkinson placed 30th with a time of 1:07:02. Julia Lisa finished 62nd in 1:13:56, and Ella Sims was 66th at 1:15:11. Team captain MC Kistler did not finish after being involved in a crash early in the race.
The result represented a significant improvement from Navy’s first trip to Beaver Falls this season. At the Aug. 30 Duquesne Collegiate Cup, the Midshipmen placed third behind defending national champion Arizona and Duquesne, scoring 215 points. Heine led Navy that day with a 15th-place finish in 1:04:00.
Three weeks later, Navy returned to the same area and left with a championship.
Midshipmen Do It Again at Robious Landing
There was little time for Navy to celebrate Saturday’s victory.
The Midshipmen traveled to Virginia for the Robious Landing Collegiate Cup on Sunday morning and produced an even more impressive team performance. Navy scored 146 points to defeat Queens, which finished second with 138. Delaware State placed third with 107 points, followed by Barton College, Gallaudet and Eastern Mennonite.
Once again, Wang led the way.
Rebecca Jansen won the individual race in 57:38, but Wang challenged her all the way to the finish. Wang completed the course in 57:49, finishing just 11 seconds behind Jansen and taking second place overall in the 41-athlete field.
The performance continued an excellent weekend for Wang, who finished third and second in races held on consecutive days. Her 57:49 at Robious Landing was also the second-fastest performance in Navy program history, and her weekend later earned her NAAA Athlete of the Week honors.
Cashin gave Navy another top-five performance Sunday, crossing the finish line fifth in 58:57. Berry and Norton then finished together at 59:37, with Berry officially taking sixth and Norton seventh.
Wilkinson completed Navy’s impressive group inside the top 10, finishing ninth in 1:00:09. That meant five of the first nine athletes across the finish line represented the Naval Academy.
The Midshipmen were hardly finished.
Miller placed 11th in 1:01:40, Heine finished 14th in 1:02:45 and Lisa took 15th with a time of 1:04:11. Sims finished 20th in 1:10:05, giving Navy nine athletes among the first 20 finishers.
Depth Makes the Difference
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from Navy’s weekend was the number of athletes capable of contributing near the front of a collegiate field.
Wang was Navy’s top finisher in both races, but the Midshipmen did not need to depend entirely on one athlete. Heine finished fourth Saturday, Cashin posted top-eight finishes in both events, and Berry, Norton and Wilkinson all moved into the top 10 Sunday.
That depth proved particularly important at Beaver County, where only four points separated Navy and Duquesne. Miller and Norton finishing back-to-back in 22nd and 23rd provided Navy with the depth necessary to complete its scoring lineup and secure the championship.
The following morning showed just how deep the roster can be when everything comes together. Navy placed five athletes inside the top nine, six inside the top 11 and eight inside the top 15.
It was a considerable statement from a team that had opened the season by finishing third at the Duquesne Collegiate Cup. Navy was behind both Arizona and Duquesne in that competition, but its return to Beaver Falls produced a victory against a much larger 13-school field.
Historic Weekend for Navy Triathlon
The two championships carry additional significance because of where Navy’s program stood entering the weekend.
Before Saturday, the Midshipmen had captured only one collegiate cup championship in program history. By Sunday afternoon, they had tripled that total.
Head coach Billy Edwards credited his team’s ability to respond to adversity and the leadership provided by Navy’s veterans. Saturday included Kistler’s crash, yet the Midshipmen still found enough performances throughout the lineup to defeat Duquesne.
The weekend also provided evidence of Navy’s progression since its 2025 national championship appearance. The Midshipmen finished 13th among 36 programs at the 2025 Collegiate Triathlon National Championship, with Cashin leading Navy in 49th place.
Now the 2026 team is beginning to build momentum as the most important portion of the schedule approaches.
Wang Continues Strong Junior Season
Wang’s weekend deserves particular attention.
She finished third among 106 athletes Saturday and second among 41 competitors Sunday, giving Navy its leading performance in both championships. Her combined results were later recognized when she was named the NAAA Athlete of the Week.
Her Robious Landing performance was especially notable. Wang’s 57:49 was only 11 seconds away from the individual victory and represented the second-fastest time in Navy program history.
Still, Navy’s championship weekend was not simply about Wang. Cashin was eighth Saturday and fifth Sunday, Heine gave the Midshipmen a fourth-place finish Saturday, and Navy received major contributions throughout the lineup.
That combination of a front-running athlete and considerable depth behind her could become increasingly important as Navy moves toward championship competition later this fall.
Navy Returns Home
The Midshipmen will now get an opportunity to race in Annapolis.
Navy is scheduled to conclude its regular season Sunday, Oct. 4, by hosting the inaugural Navy Collegiate Cup. It will be the first home competition in program history and gives the Midshipmen an opportunity to build on one of the most successful weekends the program has produced.
Navy entered the Beaver County and Robious Landing weekend looking to continue building after its third-place performance in the season opener. The Midshipmen left with two championships, several outstanding individual performances and considerably more momentum heading into October.
MSB Take
Navy women’s triathlon could not have asked for much more from this weekend. Winning two races on consecutive days is impressive by itself, but doing it with different challenges showed just how much depth this roster possesses.
Saturday required Navy to grind out a four-point victory against Duquesne in a 13-team field. Sunday showed what the Midshipmen can look like when their lineup takes control of a race, with five athletes finishing inside the top nine.
Wang is establishing herself as one of Navy’s top athletes, but the most encouraging development might be what is happening behind her. Cashin, Heine, Berry, Norton, Wilkinson and Miller have all demonstrated that Navy can receive important performances from numerous places in its lineup.
The Midshipmen entered the weekend with one collegiate cup championship in program history and exited with three. Now Navy gets to bring that momentum back to Annapolis for the inaugural Navy Collegiate Cup on Oct. 4.
For a developing varsity program, this was more than just a successful weekend. It was another significant step forward.
