'It's only going to get better' for Arizona triathlon after winning national championship

When Wesley Johnson was hired to lead Arizona’s first-ever women’s triathlon team, a recent addition to UA athletics, his timeline to assemble a team for the inaugural season was six months.

Nearly two years after Johnson was hired, the Wildcats are national champions, winning the USA Triathlon title in Clermont, Florida, on Nov. 9. In the process, Arizona dethroned rival Arizona State, which won the previous six women’s triathlon national championships.

“It’s been wild,” said the UA triathlon coach. “It’s the first time experiencing anything like this, so it’s been pretty incredible.”

Arizona had four Wildcats place in the top 10: junior and New Mexico native Kelly Lynn Wetteland (59 minutes, 20 seconds), Slovakian freshman Margareta Vrablova (59:24), Canadian junior Molly Lakustiak (59:50) and sophomore and Czech Republic native Dana Prikrylová (01:00:09).

Pennsylvania product Ellison Wolfe finished 13th (01:00:32); she had the fastest bike time (30:11) at the event. Senior Lydia Russell, a Pennsylvania native and New Mexico transfer, was the only triathlon athlete to have a sub-17-minute run time (16:59); she finished 21st overall.

A majority of Arizona’s roster — and the top finishers at the national championship — hail from international countries; nine of Arizona’s triathlon athletes are foreign prospects. Recruiting abroad was a key component to Johnson’s roster-building objective before the first season.

“I went international and everywhere to find the best group and really invest the time into knowing who I was recruiting, because I knew that first year was going to be crucial to our foundation for this team,” Johnson said. “We went all-in on finding the right people. That first year, the No. 1 focus and priority was to build the right culture and that foundation.

“Going into Year 2, it was all about recruiting that next class that would add to our first year’s success and culture that we established. We knew, from Day 1, that winning teams come from winning cultures and championship teams come from championship cultures. That was the top priority over everything.”

Johnson recently joined ESPN Tucson’s “Spears and Ali” to discuss Arizona’s rise to the national championship, a potential Olympian at the UA and how a national title propels the program.

How important was the international market for building your roster?

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A: “In Europe, it’s a mainstream sport. Cycling and triathlon are huge. The last two years, I’ve gone to the junior world championships out there, last year was in Hamburg, Germany, and this year was in Spain, and both locations had half a million spectators on the street that know the sport. It’s a much bigger sport (in Europe) and they grow up doing it. ... The U.S. is coming along well. ... We’re finding these unique unicorns and athletes in the US, as well. The junior program in the US is progressing, but it’s up to us to help it progress, and the NCAA system should help the U. raise its standards and level, like we see in Europe and where the rest of the world is.”

One of those Americans on your roster is Wetteland, who was the top finisher. What’s her story, and how she came to the UA?

A: “She was a swimmer growing up and signed to swim for the University of Arizona. In high school, she ran track and cross country, but she didn’t have a focus on running. She didn’t train it, they just had her run track meets here and there, and she ended up being the New Mexico state champion for cross country and was also one of the best swimmers out of New Mexico, as well. She was a year into swimming at the U of A and approached us, saying, ‘I think triathlon fits me well.’ We pursued it. ... She’s quite the athlete, for sure. She’s also someone I think can be an athlete in the L.A. Olympics, and she didn’t even know what triathlon was two years ago.”

How does winning a national championship help the program land top recruits or even highly-touted athletes in the transfer portal?

A: “I know there are some interested from other schools. I’m obviously not able to talk to them until they’re officially in the transfer portal, but you hear things. I like really developing athletes and starting them as freshmen. ... We’ve got so much depth already. We’re not looking to take any juniors and seniors, we want to take them as freshmen and develop through four years.”

How does the team look for next season?

A: “We have just one senior, Lydia, who graduates this year, but six of the seven athletes who competed at nationals are all coming back. We also have some insanely fast recruits coming in. It’s only going to get better.”

Take us through the moment when you realized Arizona won a national championship in the program’s second season.

A: “Fortunately, I wasn’t at the finish line. I was out on the course, giving them splits and telling them where they were. We had two girls who were third and fourth when I saw them on the course, but the girl in front of them was holding her stomach, and I could tell she was hurting — and she also had a penalty, so she had to stop for 10 seconds in the penalty box. I told them out there, ‘She has a penalty, and she’s hurting. Go run after her!’ It was good that I was out on the course and not on the finish line.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see the finish line or be there when they finished, but it was crucial that I was out there. I was walking back knowing that we won. I was all alone and I was emotional realizing what had happened. ... I got to the finish line and saw the athletes, saw my family and it was just a huge celebration. We’ve been celebrating ever since.”