The women’s triathlon team has fared well this season in Averi Lewis’ first year as head coach of the team. They are coming off a USA West Regional Title victory on Oct. 15, and their attention now turns to the USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championship.
Lewis believes that her first season at NCC has been very exciting. She said this is a very demanding sport from both a training and coaching perspective. But, because the team culture is strong, it has been rewarding to coach the student-athletes.
“It would honestly be incredibly exciting as a first-year head coach to win a national championship,” said Lewis.
In NCC’s final competition of the regular season, the Cardinals claimed the team title and crowned Hailey Poe, ‘25, as an individual champion at the USA Triathlon West Regional Qualifier.
Poe was the first participant to cross the finish line in one hour, eight minutes, three seconds. She completed the water portion in 10 minutes and 20 seconds before heading to the bike with a time of 35 minutes and 38 seconds. With her 20 minute and 16 second run, she finished two minutes ahead of the second place finisher.
Poe is looking forward to the possibility of NCC reclaiming the national championship title. In preparation for it, her biggest focus is utilizing visualization techniques to prepare herself for the race.
“I know that I have all the different components of training that I need to excel on November 12. It just comes down to being confident that I can bring it all together on that exact day. Visualization is a strategy that I use before every race. I also have an advantage going into nationals because I have raced on the course before,” said Poe.
Lewis said that the team has been training very hard physically and mentally. Last weekend, she had the team do some visualization exercises to help prepare them for the national championship.
“We worked on planning out and visualizing the race and having each of the girls write their own visualization script to help them visualize executing in an ideal race or even obstacles on race day,” said Lewis. The coach said that some of the student-athletes work on reflecting on their progress and journaling what they are doing successfully to help build confidence from practices and what they are doing on race day.
Poe strongly believes that visualization has been a game changer in her triathlon racing career. She said it has allowed her to feel like she has run the course before being on the starting line.
“When I visualize my race, I run through every little detail and imagine how different scenarios feel based on my past experiences. Most of the time, I visualize my perfect race. But it is also helpful to throw some wrenches in. Like having my goggles fog up on the swim or sliding off my bike seat while mounting, to work on becoming comfortable with the unpredictable,” Poe said.
Just recently, it was announced that four Cardinals earned All-Region accolades. Poe, Bethany Smeed, ’26, Scarlett Schuth, ’25 and Charlotte Kumler, ’25 were all recognized for their strong performances in the qualifier.
Smeed admits there have been some difficulties adjusting to the collegiate level but has enjoyed being part of the team. She earned the All-Region accolade as a freshman and is grateful to participate in triathlon at the collegiate level.
“My primary goal for this season was to push myself to the best of my ability, improving as an athlete and contributing to my team’s success. The credit cannot just fall on myself however, I am so thankful to have an amazing support system. My teammates, coaches, friends and family have always been by my side. I would not be in this position without them,” said Smeed.
Smeed chose NCC because it was one of the few schools with a triathlon team and an engineering program. She fell in love with the school and the fact she could still do track as well.
The Cardinals are looking to become a four-time USA Triathlon Division III National Champion on Nov. 12 in Tempe, Arizona.
