Player of the Pack: Brook Benes

Senior Brook Benes competed on the cross country and track teams before competing in triathlon last fall. Benes is a human resource management major from Lincoln, Neb.

Bailey Zubke: What is your favorite part of competing in triathlon?

Brook Benes: My favorite part of competing in the triathlon was being able to mentor the freshman coming into the program and USD because freshman year as an athlete can be so tough. Especially when you are joining a first-year team at a D1 college. I am excited to see the progress of this program and am grateful to be able to say that I was apart of the inaugural year of triathlon at USD. I also enjoyed being able to travel to some fun places throughout the season!

BZ: Was it difficult to prepare for triathlon when it hasn’t been a sport at USD until this year?

BB: Yes, it was very difficult as I had never competitively swam or biked before. I was previously on the cross country and track team here at USD and still have eligibility for outdoor track, so running was not a problem for me. But I had to learn how to properly swim with a correct stroke and form as well as breathe correctly, which took a lot of time in the summer and I kept progressing throughout the season. However, I took on the bike pretty well as I had been injured a decent amount of my years here at USD running so I have cross-trained on the bike before. But getting on and off the bike in the transition area took some time to learn.

BZ: What are your plans after school?

BB: I am currently looking for a full-time job as I finish up with my MBA with a specialization in health care administration this May.

BZ: What drove you to compete in triathon?

BB: I didn’t have eligibility for cross country, so in order to get ready for track I was just going to train with the cross country team throughout the fall and winter until outdoor started. This can be difficult without having the opportunity to race and once my coach and I heard about triathlon I knew that it could be a really great opportunity for me to get in great aerobic shape while doing low impact training as well as being able to compete in a historical season as a USD Coyote. I also love to do new things so I was up for it and when Kyle, the triathlon coach met with me I was excited to be able to start training once the outdoor conference meet was over.

BZ: How does it feel to only get one year of college triathlon?

BB: It is a little frustrating because I feel like I could have significantly improved, but the current and recruited triathletes at USD are amazing and honestly if I had another year left of eligibility I would have been blown out of the water… literally. But honestly, I am really grateful for the opportunity and I can always sign up for races as an age grouper in the future if I want to continue to compete!