Arizona triathlete Molly Lakustiak didn’t even think twice about competing in a cross country meet a few weeks ago — even though she is in the midst of her triathlon season.
Running is, after all, at the center of both sports.
Lakustiak not only participated in New Mexico State’s Lori Fitzgerald Open, she led the way for the Wildcats, finishing fifth individually to help the UA women to a second-place team finish after running the 5k-course in under 18 minutes.
She’s not the only triathlete who crosses over and competes for both programs during the same season. Many of her triathlon teammates do the same thing. Three of the top four Arizona finishers at the NMSU meet — Lakustiak, Mia Wentzy and Ellison Wolfe — are also triathletes.
“It’s so cool to be part of two teams,” Lakustiak said. “You get to see how different groups work, get to meet a lot of new people. It’s super nice to have both coaching (staffs) work together, and they’re very supportive.
Arizona’s Molly Lakustiak competes at the New Mexico State Lori Fitzgerald Open in Las Cruces, New Mexico, on Aug 31. Lakustiak, a member of both the UA triathlon and cross country teams, was the first Wildcat to finish that day, taking fifth individually as Arizona ended up second overall as a team.
“Half our team went to South Dakota and raced their triathlon, and then half of us went to cross country. It helps that we’re both on the same schedule.”
While Lakustiak and others, including freshman Ruth Pardy, were competing at NMSU, their teammates finished fourth at the Southern Hills Collegiate Cup. Kelly Wetteland took the top spot in a time of 32:20 and Laura Holánszky (32:57) finished in fifth place. Both Wetteland and Holánszky ran cross country last season. Wetteland also competed for UA’s women’s swimming team in the winter.
This weekend, all the triathletes are in Tucson together as they will participate in the program’s first Red-Blue Intrasquad event Saturday morning starting at 7 a.m. starting right outside McKale Center. Fans can park in the Cherry Avenue garage.
The cross country team, meanwhile, competed at the Cougar Classic at Washington State on Friday night.
UA triathlon coach Wes Johnson said he’s seen the growth from the Wildcats who participate in more than one sport. He said they get stronger in the different disciplines, become better racers and learn how to “really push yourself to limit all the way to the finish line.”
Arizona junior Molly Lakustiak, left, and freshman Ruth Pardy are two of a number of UA triathletes who are doubling-up as members of the school’s cross country program. With distance running a key component of triathlon competition, the overlap has been good for the athletes, while the teams have benefitted as well.
Johnson’s triathlon team, which is in its second year as a UA sport, entered 2024-25 ranked No. 2 in the nation.
There are a number of other Wildcats who are dual-sport athletes. That’s notable on the women’s side, specifically, with volleyball player and track and field jumper Sydnie Vanek and javelin thrower and basketball player Erin Tack leading the way.
But this triathlon-cross country overlap seems different, for several reasons.
Arizona triathlon head coach Wes Johnson encourages his team during a recent early-morning practice at the Hillenbrand Aquatic Center. Johnson and UA cross country coach Bernard Lagat both speak highly of having athletes compete in both sports (even in the same season).
The biggest takeaway is that both sports share one of the same disciplines: running. The triathletes essentially are cross training — swimming, biking and running — every day.
“What we know is that most triathlon athletes, in high school or even before, ran cross country,” UA cross country coach Bernard Lagat said. “When they take on triathlon, the fact remains that these athletes are still long-distance runners.
Arizona cross country coach Bernard Lagat gives runner (and UA triathlete) Mia Wentzy a high five at the New Mexico State Lori Fitzgerald Open in Las Cruces, New Mexico, on Aug 31. Lagat and triathlon coach Wes Johnson both speak highly of having athletes compete in both sports (even in the same season).
“They are fast,” he added. “These athletes are very well-conditioned. When they get into (our) races, they do an amazing job.”
Lagat said he welcomes the triathlon athletes to his team whenever they are available to race. But with their meets overlapping, the next time a few triathletes can compete for cross country most likely won’t be until the end of the season.
Not only are these athletes fast and mentally tough, but they also help with the culture. Lagat said they are relaxed when they race, positive and, most importantly, compete as a team.
“They are together,” Lagat said. “They run as a team, even when they’re competing, they are still a team. They can cheer on their fellow teammates wearing ‘Block A’ while they were racing. I could see one of them turning and telling Sara (Crociani, who is also a triathlete), ‘Come on, let’s go.’ Sara was just gaining on other athletes in front of them, and they were just telling them, ‘Let’s go, Sara.’ And it’s unbelievable you see them run; you see them cheering. It’s something different.”
Arizona multi-sport athletes (from left) Mia Wentzy, Ellison Wolfe and Ruth Pardy are Wildcat triathletes and cross country distance runners. The trio were among the multifaceted Wildcats competing Aug. 31 at the New Mexico State Lori Fitzgerald Open in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Running cross country also helps their individual growth. According to Johnson, Arizona may be one of the only, if not the only, school in the country where athletes compete regularly in both sports.
He said the idea came to him during his interview process as he talked to Lagat. The two formed a close bond after Johnson was hired, and the idea blossomed during their many conversations.
“We just got thinking, like, ‘Yeah, we could collaborate in a really cool way,’” Johnson said. “With triathlon, it’s always won in the run. It can be lost in swim or bike. We need them to be able to run fast and run well. Putting them against even higher level competition on running, having that running-only focus, a few times, that is really beneficial to us.
“Within a season, seeing how they run in a standalone 5K, seeing how they run after biking, gives us a pretty good sense of how they’re doing, what their strengths and weaknesses are, what we need to work on.”
Purdy knew when she was recruited to Arizona for triathlon that there was this opportunity to also compete in cross country. She said that it’s cool to compete and learn from Lagat, who is “one of the greatest American distance runners.”
Arizona junior triathlete Molly Lakustiak begins a round of laps with her teammates at Hillenbrand Aquatic Center earlier this week, but it was on her feet where Lakustiak led the Arizona women’s cross country team to a second-place finish on Aug. 31 at the New Mexico State Lori Fitzgerald Open. Lakustiak is one of many UA triathletes also competing in cross country this fall.
For Lakustiak, the race at New Mexico State had more meaning as she is coming off an injury. This was her first competition of any kind at the collegiate level in quite a while.
Nearly a year ago her bike tire got caught in a streetcar track in downtown Tucson. While she said she was “not being smart” on that right, which ended up with a hairline fracture in her arm and some issues with a joint in her wrist, she turned the situation into a positive. After rehabbing for up to five months, she started working on her fitness level and more development training.
That approach “all paid off,” Johnson said.
“Now we can see it — how that translated into this cross country race, and how strong she is,” Johnson said. “She’s definitely on another level than she’d ever been on running.”
Lakustiak added, “I just did my thing, I guess. I tried to do the best that I could.
“I was super happy.”
