Contact: Emily Zadny, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-5302  

Nov. 2, 2017 - As she began looking at colleges and thinking about what activities she wanted to pursue, Jennifer Hufnagle was sure she would be playing softball as she had for the past 11 years. Now a junior at North Central College, it is safe to say she did not think she would be a member of the first ever women's triathlon team, especially since the three components of the sport were not her strong suits. 

"When I showed up on the first day of practice, I couldn't even run a mile," said Hufnagle. "I had never been on a road bike which was so much different than a regular bike and even though I knew how to swim, I had never done open water it in open water!  

"But I knew they were looking for girls to join the team, so I thought I would go for it! Good thing we practice everything a lot," she added with a laugh. 

Now a year later, Hufnagle has mastered each of the skills and even admits that she loves biking, although her triathlon experience did not begin that way. She attributes much of her success to the help from her coaches Jenny Garrison and Kurt Woodward. 

"My coaches are super dedicated and talented athletes," said Hufnagle. "They are my motivation through everything. It's hard not to run fast when you hear Jenny screaming for you!" 

Help from coaches has helped her become the triathlete she is today, having already improved on her times and confidence. Last season, as a member of the inaugural team, Hufnagle competed in four races and posted a season-best 1:20:27.3 time at the Tri the Illini Triathlon. 

Hufnagle had the opportunity to compete at the USA Triathlon National Championship last season as one of the first North Central triathletes to do so. The experience was one she will never forget for both its high and low moments. 

"We were so excited to go—we were going to New Orleans and had never traveled that far," said Hufnagle. "The swim went great and then two minutes into the bike, I hit the wheel of the girl in front of me. I went down really hard, but I told myself I had to keep going—we needed three girls to score and we only had three competing, so I had to finish. We had come all this way not to! It was the most amazing feeling to finish with teammates." 

Hufnagle was able to finish 42nd overall despite the fall and turned in a time 1:21:47, less than two seconds off of her best time. This season, she has dropped nearly ten seconds off of her time, posting her season-best of 1:11:48.2 at the Central Region Qualifier on Sept. 2 in Naperville. 

It appears going out on a limb and trying something new worked in favor for the Bolingbrook native, both in her athletic and academic involvement. Hufnagle had always known about North Central and considered it growing up because of its proximity to home and after scheduling a campus visit, the college proved to be the right fit. The only thing she was not set on was a major, but with her sense of adventure and willingness to try new things helped kindle her passion for the sciences. 

"I came in undecided, but I knew I wanted to do something science related and was leaning towards chemistry," she said. "One of my friends told me the college was making neuroscience a major so I took a class just to see what it was and I loved it. That was how I knew it was what I wanted to do. I also am majoring in Psychology, so I hope to work in neuropsychology one day." 

Though there is not much time left in the day for free-time between the rigor of a science major and practice, Hufnagle makes sure to make room for her priorities, including Netflix, reading and catching some beloved z's. 

"Is it okay to say I would probably sleep?" said Hufnagle on how she would spend a free day. "I sleep a lot and my teammates always make fun of me for it. We swim at 6 a.m and then I come back to my room and sleep for three hours. I'll go to class and practice again, then go back to sleep before I do some homework and go to bed. Somewhere in there I also eat."  

There is not much time for rest in the coming days as Hufnagle, along with teammates Naomi Hill, Grace Miller, and Katherine Canfield, prepare to travel to Tempe, Arizona on Nov. 5 to compete at the 2017 USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championship. The race is set to begin at 10:30 a.m. (MST) and live coverage can be found at USAtriathlon.org.