The St. Thomas Aquinas College Women's Triathlon team heads to the NCAA/USA Triathlon East Regional Qualifier on Saturday morning at Smith Mountain Lake State Park in Huddleston, Virginia. Events begin at 8am.

How They Got Here - In their second season, the Spartans fielded a roster of eight participants, and competed in four sanctioned events; the Hartford Marathon Foundation Women's Triathlon, the 7th Annual TYathlon Triathlon, the Rockaway Beach Triathlon and the Treasure Island Sprint Triathlon.

The Match-up - The Spartans will be going up against female triathletes in Divisions I, II and III. STAC will see first year participants, seasoned veterans of the sport and everyone in between.

The Event - Consists of a 750 Meter Lake Swim (0.46 Miles), a 20K Rolling Hills Bicycle Race (12.42 Miles) and a 5K Rolling Hills Run (3.10 Miles).

Pre-Regional Preparations - St. Thomas Aquinas College has had approximately three weeks between events, which has allowed for the team to adequately rest and recuperate from a busy preseason training regiment and a packed September schedule of competition. However, second year Head Coach George Erazo and his staff have kept the squad active with daily running, biking or swimming training sessions. All members of the team are healthy and ready to contribute at the East Region Qualifier

Athletes to Watch - Sylvie Bischof, Mary Dristle, Stefania Georgiou, Kristie Hanlon, Jennyfer Huerta, Tyiana Nunez, Georgina Thomatos and Jadyn Vargas will all makeup the team that will attempt to qualify for the NCAA/USA Triathlon National Championships for a second straight year.

What's at Stake - A chance to once again participate in the NCAA/USA Triathlon National Championships, which will take place in Tempe, Arizona on November 16th. In order to do so, participants must finish in the Top 5 of the Division (I, II or III) that they are representing.

To learn more about the NCAA/USA Women's Triathlon East Region Qualifier, or to find official results post event, click here.

To learn more about NCAA/USA Women's Triathlon, click here.