PHILADELPHIA – Sage Maaranen, who has spent the past two years as the assistant coach for the Queens University women's triathlon team, has been named the inaugural head coach of the La Salle women's triathlon program, Vice President for Athletics and Recreation Ashwin Puri announced on Monday, July 15.
"The addition of Sage to the La Salle community will enhance this new program from the start, and I am thrilled to have her on board," Puri said. "She brings extensive experience that will lead to developing a winning culture here at La Salle."
Maaranen is coming to La Salle after concluding yet another successful season at Queens University. Throughout the course of the 2023 season, Maaranen helped Queens to three first-place finishes in different meets, including winning the NCAA East Regionals en route to the program's second-place finish in the national championships.
In 2022, the Royals finished in second place at the national championships in the program's first year of Division I competition.
"I am thrilled to join La Salle as it launches its triathlon program and I want to thank Ash Puri and Associate Athletic Director Krystle Higgins for their trust in me to come aboard and lead the team," Maaranen said. "I look forward to the opportunity to create an elite training environment that will not only improve personal performance, but also help athletes gain the understanding of what it is to be a part of something larger. I consider myself incredibly lucky to join a group committed to bringing in these new opportunities for students at La Salle.
A 2010 graduate of the University of Missouri, she has built an extensive amount of experience over the last decade. Prior to her time at Queens University, Maaranen was the head cycling coach at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah. While at Westminster, she helped student-athletes qualify for the 2019 Mountain Bike National Championships.
From 2015-2022, Maaranen served as the head swim coach at Judge Memorial Catholic High School in Salt Lake City. While there she helped drive participation in the program drastically, finishing her time at Judge with almost five times the number of students on the roster from when she began.
Maaranen has been personal training in triathlon for nearly a decade. In 2015, she started her own LLC that helped develop her clients and allow them to compete in Ironman competitions.
