Contact: Sam Fretto, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, sjfretto@noctrl.edu
 
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Jan. 22, 2025)- The North Central College women's triathlon team was honored with a proclamation by the City of Naperville and Mayor Scott Wehrli, a 1991 graduate of North Central, Tuesday at the Naperville Municipal Center. 
 
This is the third time the team has been honored with a proclamation by the City of Naperville. The Cardinals won the USA Triathlon Division III Collegiate National Championship Nov. 9 at Lake Louisa State Park in Clermont, Florida, winning their third straight national title and sixth overall since the program's introduction in 2016. 
 
Hailey Poe won her fourth straight individual national championship, becoming the first North Central student-athlete in any women's sport (and just the second in any sport) to do so. Charlotte Kumler, Bethany Smeed, Keeley Mick, Sydney Sprayberry, Abigail Anderson and Taylin Lemke joined Poe as USA Triathlon All-Americans. 
 
Below is the proclamation that was read into the record at Tuesday's meeting, reproduced in its entrety.
 
 "WHEREAS,       The City of Naperville honors the North Central College women's triathlon team for its 2024 USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championship, the fifth national title in program history; and

WHEREAS,          Senior Hailey Poe captured her fourth consecutive individual national championship, leading the first team in the event's history to have all seven competitors earn All-America honors; and

WHEREAS,          North Central College ranks among the top 10 of all collegiate institutions nationwide with 46 team national championships and 154 individual national championships; and

WHEREAS,          North Central College was one of the first NCAA institutions to adopt women's triathlon as a team sport and has played a leading role in the sport's growth to a current total of 42 institutions from all divisons and regions of the country; and

WHEREAS,          The City of Naperville applauds the North Central College women's triathlon team for its national prominence and for enriching the College and local communities through outstanding scholarship, leadership and citizenship; and

WHEREAS,          The combined success of these women in the competitive and academic arenas showcases the best attributes of the NCAA Division III philosophy of using athletics to enrich the collegiate experience; and

WHEREAS,          We applaud North Central College for its ongoing commitment to providing rewarding and educational competitive athletic experiences for women and hope to see women and girls throughout Naperville continue to look to these female student-athletes as inspirational figures.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Scott Wehrli, Mayor of the City of Naperville, do hereby present this proclamation to
HEAD COACH TYLER WOODWARD AND THE NORTH CENTRAL COLLEGE CARDINALS
In celebration of the 2024 USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championship

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the City of Naperville this twenty-first day of January, 2025."
 
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