Fort Lewis College and Brevard College top teams as Collegiate Mountain Bike Nationals end

Fort Lewis College and Brevard College successfully defended their Division II and II team omnium titles as the 2013 USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships concluded on Sunday with the team relay and dual slalom. competitions.

In an extremely tight competition for the Division I team omnium, it came down to the final points collected in Sunday’s final event – the dual slalom. After Fort Lewis College took the win in the women’s race and bronze in the men’s, the team confirmed its spot at the top of the final team omnium standings. Other results the Colorado school used toward its number-one ranking were gold in the women’s downhill, silver in the women’s short track, silver and bronze in the women’s cross-country, silver in the men’s downhill, and silver in the team relay. In the end, Fort Lewis beat out Marian University, 732 to 658 while Lees-McRae was third with 646 points.

For Brevard, the team was able to secure the top ranking with several important wins and podium finishes, including gold medals in the team relay, men’s cross-country, women’s downhill, women’s short track, men’s short track, and men’s dual slalom. With 835 points at the end of the day, Brevard took the coveted team omnium award over the riders of Western State Colorado University and Colorado Mesa University who accumulated 617 and 605 points respectively.

In the individual omniums, Kerry Werner (Lees-McRae College) and Sofia Gomez Villafane (Fort Lewis College) took the titles in Division I while Wesley Lamberson (Union College-KY) and Erica Zaveta (Brevard College) claimed the victories in Division II.

Click here for complete team omnium standings and click here for complete individual omnium standings.

TEAM RELAYS

Division II

In the first ever collegiate mountain bike team relay, Brevard College put in the fastest time of the day to win the Division II competition and also solidify their number one ranking in the Division II team omnium. The North Carolina school won the team event using the foursome of Lewis Gaffney, Sarah Hill, Zachary Valdez, and Erica Zaveta who posted a collective time of 14:47.72.

“We definitely had it in our sights ever since our first conference race and we just knew exactly what we had to do and we wanted to show everyone out there that it isn’t just about DI and DII. We wanted to be the fastest out here today,” Gaffney explained of his team’s thoughts going into the race. “The order came naturally. I’ve always had a good start. Zach’s always been one of the strongest guys on the team so we knew we needed him midway through the race. Then the girls just filled in the gaps where needed and it was amazing to have them.”

Finishing for the silver medal in Division II was Colorado Mesa University’s trio of Morgan Ryan, Jeffrey Sikes, and Alexis Skarda while the Mars Hill University threesome of Addyson Albershardt, Timothy Jenkins, and Michael Keith grabbed the bronze.

Division I

In Division I, Marian University won the team relay with riders Andrew Dillman, Allie Dragoo, Joshua Johnson, and Coryn Rivera. The squad posted a time of 14:50.73 to beat out the silver medal Fort Lewis College team of Lauren Catlin, Garrett Lundberg, and Payson McElveen. Collecting bronze in the DI team relay was Lees-McRae College with riders Erin Donohue, Emily Shields, Luke Vrouwenvelder, and Kerry Werner.

“It was fun because racing is almost over and it was good because it was only one lap,” said Dillman, a marketing major, after his team’s win. “We just knew to go out there and give it everything.”

DUAL SLALOM

Division I Men Dual Slalom

Joshua Patton (Lindsey Wilson College) outrode John Swanguen (Lindsey Wilson College) in the final of the men’s Division I dual slalom competition to take the top step of the podium while Phil Cowan (Fort Lewis College) beat out Cody Phillips (Lees-McRae College) in the race to bronze. Kerry Werner (Lees-McRae College) claimed the fifth step of the podium.

Division I Women Dual Slalom

In the Division I women’s contest, Brittany Clawson (Fort Lewis College) claimed an important victory for her team when she beat silver medalist Crystal Kalogris (Marian University) in the final. Shayona Glynn (Marian University) bested teammate Felicia Stancil (Marian University) for the bronze medal while Stephanie Caluag (Lindsey Wilson College) rounded out fifth.

Division II Men Dual Slalom

Senior rider Daniel Ennis (Brevard College) won the men’s Division II dual slalom by outracing teammate Mac Banner (Brevard College) in the final.

“I’m really really excited,” Ennis said afterwards. “We’ve been training, all our teammates, together, all summer. This was number one for me. This is my senior year and was my last collegiate race.”

Winning the race for third was Robert Rimmer (Virginia Intermont College) while Wesley Lamberson (Union College-KY) claimed fourth and Andrew Slowey (Front Range Community College) took fifth.

Division II Women Dual Slalom

In the Division II women’s contest, Essence Barton (California Lutheran University) bested rival Coleen Pacurariu (US Air Force Academy) for the gold medal while Christen Boyer (Colorado School of Mines) beat out strongwoman Erica Zaveta (Brevard College) for bronze. Ali Osgood (Humboldt State University) rode to the podium’s final step.

And that’s a wrap! The 2013 USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships are in the books! If you just can’t get enough, more info is available by visiting the event webpage, or clicking on the links below.

PHOTO GALLERY – COMPLETE RESULTS

USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships

Beech Mountain, N.C.

October 25-27, 2013

Division I Team Omnium

1. Fort Lewis College
2. Marian University
3. Lees-McRae College
4. Lindsey Wilson College
5. Colorado State University

Division II Team Omnium

1. Brevard College
2. Western State Colorado University
3. Colorado Mesa University
4. Warren Wilson College
5. Mars Hill University

Division I Men Omnium

1. Kerry Werner (Lees-McRae College)
2. Andrew Dillman (Marian University)
3. Cody Phillips (Lees-McRae College)
4. Michael Sampson (Fort Lewis College)
5. Gunnar Bergey (Lees-McRae College)

Division I Women Omnium

1. Sofia Gomez Villafane (Fort Lewis College)
2. Brittany Clawson (Fort Lewis College)
3. Linnea Dixson (University of Wyoming)
4. Hailey Sarausky (Lees-McRae College)
5. Jill Behlen (University of Wyoming)

Division II Men Omnium

1. Wesley Lamberson (Union College-KY)
2. Robert Rimmer (Virginia Intermont College)
3. Timothy Jenkinson (Mars Hill State University)
4. Steven Pearl (Humboldt State University)
5. Justin Graves (Humboldt State University

Division II Women Omnium

1. Erica Zaveta (Brevard College)
2. Essence Barton (California Lutheran University)
3. Sarah Hill (Brevard College)
4. Kara Uhl (Union College-KY)
5. Allison Jones (Warren Wilson College)

Division I Team Relay

1. Marian University
2. Fort Lewis College
3. Lees-McRae College
4. Cumberland University
5. Georgia Institute of Technology

Division II Team Relay

1. Brevard College
2. Colorado Mesa University
3. Mars Hill University
4. Warren Wilson College
5. Ripon College

Division I Men Dual Slalom

1. Joshua Patton (Lindsey Wilson College)
2. John Swanguen (Lindsey Wilson College)
3. Phil Cowan (Fort Lewis College)
4. Cody Phillips (Lees-McRae College)
5. Kerry Werner (Lees-McRae College)

Division I Women Dual Slalom

1. Brittany Clawson (Fort Lewis College)
2. Crystal Kalogris (Marian University)
3. Shayona Glynn (Marian University)
4. Felicia Stancil (Marian University)
5. Stephanie Caluag (Lindsey Wilson College)

Division II Men Dual Slalom

1. Daniel Ennis (Brevard College)
2. Mac Banner (Brevard College)
3. Robert Rimmer (Virginia Intermont College)
4. Wesley Lamberson (Union College-KY)
5. Andrew Slowey (Front Range Community College)

Division II Women Dual Slalom

1. Essence Barton (California Lutheran University)
2. Coleen Pacurariu (US Air Force Academy)
3. Christen Boyer (Colorado School of Mines)
4. Erica Zaveta (Brevard College)
5. Ali Osgood (Humboldt State University)