MISSOULA, MONT. — Day 2 of the 2018 USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships saw the beginnings of the downhill competition, the always exciting short track cross-country, and the conclusion of the dual slalom race.
In the Varsity Men’s event Friday’s cross-country winner, Cole Paton (Cashmere, Wash./Fort Lewis College) would take home another stars-and-stripes jersey, after winning a three-up bunch sprint. Paton would just eek out the victory over Tyler Orschel (Brevard, N.C./Brevard College) and Caleb Swartz (Madison, Wis./Marian University), who would take second and third respectively. Paton’s teammates Nash Dory (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Henry Nadell (Carbondale, Colo.) would round out the podium.
Like Paton, the Club Men’s cross-country winner, Alexander Sugarman (Santa Rosa, Calif./University of Colorado - Boulder) would also repeat his victory in the short track event. Nicholas Lando (Ringwood, N.J./University of Vermont) would also duplicate his efforts from Friday, garnering another silver. Zach Calton (Bountiful, Utah/University of Utah) would narrowly miss the silver, ending up in third. Matthew Behrens (Park City, Utah/California Polytechnic Institute – San Luis Obispo) would come in fourth and Caleb Reese (Golden, Colo./Colorado School of Mines) would place fifth.
Salvia Blunk (Inverness, Calif./Fort Lewis College) would move up one spot from her silver medal ride on Friday, to take the title for the Varsity Women’s short track cross-country race. Blunk would beat a field of 50-riders, one of the largest women’s fields for this event in recent years. Gwendalyn Gibson (Ramona, Calif./Colorado Mesa University) would finish second, reversing her place from Friday with Blunk. Madeline Bemis (Corona, Calif./Milligan University) took home the bronze. Emma Swartz (Madison, Wis./Marian University) and Ellen Campbell (Durango, Colo./Fort Lewis College) would place fourth and fifth respectively.
Another repeat performance from Friday came in the Club Women’s short track race, where University of Colorado - Boulder teammates Alana Faller (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) and Harper Powell (Boulder, Colo.) would go one-two again. In third was Katharine Ogden (Landgrove, Vt./Dartmouth College). Kathryn Lawrence (Boulder, Colo./Massachusetts Institute of Technology) would podium again after Friday’s bronze, coming in fourth in the short track. Korissa Straub (Arvada, Colo./Colorado State University) completed the podium.
After racing this morning’s seeding run for the downhill event, Mazie Hayden (Pittsfield, Vt./ University of Vermont) would also show her dominance in the Club Women’s dual Slalom event. Lia Westermann (Salt Lake City, Utah/University of Utah), who placed fourth in Friday’s cross country event, would take home the silver. Serious individual omnium contender, MIT’s Lawrence would take home another bronze, marking her third podium appearance of the week. Ashley Berton (Merrill, Wis./Michigan Technological University) and Sierra Sims (Knoxville, Tenn./University of Tennessee) would place fourth and fifth respectively.
Veronica Laughton (Lancaster, Calif./Lees-McRae College) would take home the gold in the Varsity Women’s event, beating out 32 other women. Adrian Sanders (Leawood, Ks./Lindsey Wilson College) would take the second step of the podium. Marian University’s Bailee Enlow (Grand Forks, Mich.), Olivia Armstrong (Bend, Ore.), and Felicia Stencil (Lake Villa, Ill.) would round out the podium.
In the Club Men’s race Owen Witcher (Woodstock, Ga./Kennesaw State University) would come out the champion after 5 rounds of racing. After Witcher it was a quartet of Colorado-based riders that would complete the podium. Christian Atkins (Arvada, Colo./Colorado State University) earned the silver, Dylan Crane (Carbondale, Colo./University of Colorado) would take bronze, Andrew Eibling (Conifer, Colo./Colorado State University) and Ian Blythe (Sedalia, Colo./Colorado School of Mines) would both podium.
A trio of riders from Colorado Mesa University would take the top steps of the podium. Cameron Joyce (Temecula, Calif.) would eventually take the title, with teammates Collin Hudson (Longmont, Colo.) and Quintin Kurtz (Evergreen, Colo.) would take second and third. Angelo Loskota (Lancaster, Calif./Lindsey Wilson College) and Alec Bob (Plano, Texas/Marian University) would round out the podium.
Colorado Mesa University staked their claim in the Varsity Men’s event, with rider’s Kurtz, Andras Simon (Foothills Ranch, Calif.), and Trevor McCutcheon (Temecula, Calif.), clocking the three fastest times. For the Club Men’s rides, Atkins of Colorado State, Crane of CU - Boulder, and Ross Soriano (Littleton, Colo./Colorado State University) posted the three fastest times.
On the women’s side of things, Fort Lewis clocked the fastest two times for the Varsity division, with their riders McCauley Smith (Boulder, Colo.) and Lacey Andersen (Durango, Colo.). Laughton of Lees-McRae was the next fastest rider. For the Club Women, dual slalom winner Mazie was the fastest rider of the day. Alicia Leggett (Kentfield, Calif./University of Montana) and Westermann were second and third fastest in the division.
Tomorrow’s racing picks up with final runs for the downhill races, and the ever popular team relay race. You can follow the action on USA Cycling’s @USACCollegiate Twitter account as well as the @usacycling Instagram account, and follow along with others posts by using the hashtag #CollNats .
