Liberty High graduate Amy Darlington saw the end of her collegiate career approaching last winter. In May, she was to graduate with a degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania’s prestigious Wharton School and conclude a record-setting athletic career that included captaining the university’s women’s cross country and outdoor track teams.
Always on the lookout for opportunities and new challenges, Darlington decided practically on a whim to go approximately 2,300 miles away from her hometown of Bethlehem to Arizona State University in Tempe, Ariz. There she’d compete on a national level in a sport in which she had slightly more than zero previous experience, a sport that combines a 750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike ride and a 5-kilometer run in rapid succession.
Last month, Darlington and her teammates on the ASU women’s triathlon team celebrated winning the team title at the Women’s Collegiate Triathlon National Championship in New Orleans, La. In less than eight months, Darlington went from a novice, at best, triathlete to fifth place in the nation. She’s also on her way to earning a master’s degree from ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.
“I’ve been competing in sports my whole life and I couldn’t really imagine not continuing to do them,” Darlington said. “I mean, I like running, but I don’t love running enough that I would have continued to compete in running after college, so I guess I just decided that triathlon was just another sport and it was different, and I wasn’t going to go and do a team sport now.”
Darlington, 22, competed in cross country, swimming, indoor track and outdoor track in high school. She won three consecutive District 11 outdoor track championships in the mile run as well as back-to-back 2-mile titles. She then ran for the Penn cross country, indoor and outdoor track teams, and set Penn’s school record in the steeplechase (10:28.16).
Darlington’s only triathlon experience prior to going to ASU came in the summer of 2014, following her sophomore year at Penn. She decided to compete in the New Jersey State Triathlon “just for fun” while doing her summer training for cross country season.
She biked no more than five times and swam no more than five times in preparation. Darlington’s mother, Eileen, recalled the bike her daughter used in that first marathon being something they found at a yard sale.
Darlington placed first in her age group in a time of 1:07:04.3.
Darlington’s family tends to embrace athletic challenges that others might find daunting. Her brother, Tommy, is one year her senior. The summer after he finished seventh grade, he announced to his mother that he intended to run a half-marathon.
Tommy completed a half-marathon at the age of 13. He went on to run cross country, indoor track and outdoor track — he also competed in the steeplechase — at Monmouth University. In October 2015, he ran in a 50-mile ultra marathon, and he completed a 100-kilometer race in May.
Eileen, who started running when Tommy when he was in middle school, has now run multiple marathons. Given that genetic backdrop, Darlington’s venture into triathlons probably should not have been a shock.
“I knew she had potential, and I think she enjoyed that experience enough that it didn’t surprise me that she would pursue that later,” Eileen said.
Last fall, Cliff English took over as head coach of ASU’s upstart program after 15 years as a coach on the elite level, including a four-year stint the coach of the USA Triathlon Elite National Team. He began putting together the first women’s triathlon team in a Power 5 conference school last November. English had done most of his recruiting when Darlington contacted him in March.
English, who enjoys what he calls “special projects,” liked the idea of adding someone with Darlington’s athletic background even if it was a bit of a “roll of the dice.” He put together a partial scholarship offer and Darlington signed in April.
“I knew she would definitely push the level on the run,” English said. “I knew she would bring four years of experience running at Division I. She was a team captain. That’s all what I was looking for as well.”
Along with Darlington, this year’s roster included five freshmen, one sophomore and one junior. Each had previous triathlon experience. While English said he sometimes wonders how good Darlington could be already if he’d got to work with her earlier, he has been impressed with the progress she has made.
“I couldn’t be more pleased,” English said. “Her being my second-place scorer at nationals, fifth as an individual. She did what we wanted her to do. She performed. She has been awesome for the group as well, being someone who is incredibly positive, always having a laugh but at the same time being someone you always know is going to be working hard. She’s made me look like a great recruiter.”
In January 2014, the NCAA recognized triathlon is an emerging sport. For the sport to gain NCAA championship status as a team sport at the Division I levels, there must be a minimum of 40 varsity NCAA programs in that sport. As an emerging sport triathlon has until 2024 to earn NCAA championship status or show enough progress to retain emerging sport status.
Athletes from at least 23 teams ranging from Divisions I through III participated in this November’s collegiate national championships. The NCAA has approved women’s triathlon programs to award the equivalent of 5 1/2 athletic scholarships for the 2016-17 academic year and the equivalent of 6 1/2 scholarships for the 2017-18 academic year.
Darlington, who has expressed interest in eventually coaching collegiate triathletes, serves as an example of how college programs can help foster the growth of the sport. Now, even Darlington laughs about her initial foray into the sport two years ago in New Jersey.
“Honestly, I tell people about that race I did and we just laugh about it,” Darlington said. “I think I put my biking shoes on and then ran out on the bike with my shoes and tried to get on. They were clanking on the ground because the middle part was sticking out, the clips. It’s just funny because I don’t think I did anything right, but it didn’t really matter at the time.
“I just had no idea there were so many things to learn about triathlons. I think it’s pretty difficult to figure all those things out on your own. That’s why I’m so grateful to be at ASU to have a coach and a team that have taught me all those things over the semester. I’m sure I still have a lot more to learn, honestly.”
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TRIPLE THREAT
Amy Darlington’s results this fall as a member of the Arizona State University women’s triathlon team
Oct. 2: East Regional Qualifier, Greensboro, N.C., 1:10:35.9, sixth overall
Oct. 8: West Regional Qualifier, Berkeley, Calif., 1:07:38.6, third overall
Nov. 5: National Championship, New Orleans, La., 1:03:21, fifth overall
