By Rich Winter

605 Sports

BRANDON —- Judging by Mia Wentzy’s success in track and cross-country it’s hard to imagine that running isn’t even her favorite sport.

A triathlon competitor since the age of seven, Wentzy’s collegiate sport of choice took an unexpected twist when triathlon was recently added as a collegiate sport.

“I always thought I would go to college for running,” she said. “When they introduced triathlon as a collegiate sport I knew that was the direction I wanted to go.”

Wentzy fell in love with the sport of triathlon early and said the sport is very different from track and cross-country. She likes the smaller community and the support that those in that community offer. 

“The feeling of finishing a triathlon is just special,” she said. “You put in so much time and effort, and do three sports and it takes over an hour to finish so it is very different.” 

Wentzy has been an elite-level triathlete for several years now. She is coming off one of her best summers ever in which she won two races and finished second in the nation in Junior Elite Cup Series (ages 16-19) this summer. 

That finish at the national championships qualified Wentzy for the World Junior Elite Cup Series in October in Spain. 

On Saturday, Wentzy begins the next chapter in her life as she departs for Tucson, Arizona, where she will be part of the triathlon team while studying business accounting. 

“I really liked the coaches at Arizona and felt like it was the best place for me to be,” she said. “They have a beautiful pool and after getting settled in for a few days the triathlon team will go on a camping excursion.”

The collegiate triathlon season begins in the fall and Wentzy noted she still has one more year left in the Junior Elite series. 

Wentzy has been coached in high school by Kathy Grady. While the rest of South Dakota might just be finding out about Wentzy’s prowess in triathlon, Wentzy’s love of triathlon was readily apparent to the neighbors in Brandon. 

“I used to sit in my driveway as a little kid and practice my transitions over and over,” she said.

Last fall, Wentzy finished third in the Class AA cross-country race (18:12) helping lead Brandon Valley to the team title. In May 2024, Wentzy helped lead the Brandon Valley girls to a Class AA state track and field team title. 

Wentzy’s decorated track career was highlighted by state records in the 3,200-meter relay (8:59.50) and 1,600-meter sprint medley relay (4:01.38). Wentzy also holds school records in the 800-meter run (2:11.00), 1,600-meter run (4:57.07) and 3,200-meter run (10:55.72). 

The two state records meant a great deal to Wentzy. 

“Those two records are something we’ve had our eye on and they were both huge goals,” she said. “Relays are special. You can have one great person break an individual record but it takes four really good athletes to break relay records.” 

Brandon Valley's Mia Wentzy helped the Lynx set state records in the 3,200-meter relay and 1,600-meter medley relay - Ryan Deal/605 Sports

Wentzy is also part of the Sioux Falls swim team and during the school year usually makes her way to swim practice on Tuesday and Thursday before school even starts. After track practice she sometimes hits the pool again and on the weekends she can be found riding her bike or lifting. 

“It’s kind of a lot but you just keep up with the schedule and keep progressing,” she said. 

With so many practices and even spring triathlons to compete in, there were some scheduling conflicts along the way. 

“I had to miss the Howard Wood Dakota Relays several times because of triathlons,” she said. “The coaches were super encouraging and they knew my passion for triathlon and I tried to respect the track schedule as much as I could.”

Of the three triathlon disciples, swimming, biking and running, Wentzy feels like the bike is probably her weakest event. Unable to ride much in the winter or spring, Wentzy feels like the bike race gets stronger as the summer progresses. 

One of Wentzy’s goals this season was to qualify for the World Championships in Spain. In her first year of collegiate competition Wentzy wants to ease her way into the next level and just get into racing. 

Wentzy gives credit to her success to the Sioux Falls triathlon coaches and athletes pushing her to be her best. One of those teammates, recently graduated Sioux Falls O’Gorman athlete Ruth Pardy will be joining Wentzy on the Arizona triathlon team this fall.