The 2022 USA Cycling Collegiate Track National Championships concluded on Saturday after three days of competition. Texas A&M University and Colorado Mesa University took home the coveted Team Omnium awards in their respective fields. Winning in the Varsity division, Colorado Mesa broke a sixteen-year streak held by collegiate powerhouse Marian University to win the omnium by a slim margin of fourteen points. Texas A&M started the weekend with a solid lead and proceeded to increase it as the event went on.
The competition began on Thursday with the sprint qualification event. Stephanie Lawrence (Colorado Springs, Colo.; Marian University) set the fast time for the women, stopping the clock at 12.321. With a 10.538, Evan Boone (Phoenix; Colorado Mesa University) showed a clear advantage over the rest of the field, with his closest competitor six-tenths of a second behind him. As the sprints progressed into Friday, Lawrence and Boone went through the tournament undefeated, eventually claiming their respective national titles. Boone's teammate Mia Deye (Geigertown, Pa.) gave Lawrence a run for the title, with their final sprints being determined by less than the width of a wheel.
Thursday's evening session saw the first national titles awarded, with the team pursuit taking the spotlight. The 4,000-meter, four-person event was held for women and men in a race to beat the clock. Marian University's women's squad of Alijah Beatty (Washington, Iowa), Autumn Caya (Shelby Township, Mich.), Arielle Coy (Miami), and Elizabeth Stevenson (Rochester Hills, Mich.) won in a time of 5:02.088. Colorado Mesa University's Lance Abshire (Baton Rouge, La.), Ian Anderson (San Antonio, Texas), Sindre Brein (Asker, Norway), and Torbjorn Roed (Asker, Norway) won the men's event in 4:18.896. The time broke a 20-year track record by a second.
The Scratch Races took to the track Friday evening, providing exciting mass start racing for the session. Brein of Colorado Mesa surged out of the field with three laps to go, ultimately winning the men's event. For the women, it was a three-up sprint coming out of the final turn between Beatty, Kate Seiler (Louisville, Ky.; Colorado Mesa University), and Makayla MacPherson (Corona, Calif.; Milligan University). Using a bike throw to outdistance her opponents, Seiler claimed the gold, with Beatty and MacPherson taking second and third, respectively.
Competing over 4,000-meters, the Men's Individual Pursuit had 44 riders on the start list. Colorado Mesa had three of their team pursuit riders sweeping the top-3 spots in the event. Anderson won the event with a 4:34.127. Abshire took the silver, his time six seconds behind the winner. Scratch race winner, Brein, placed third. The Women's Individual Pursuit ran for nine laps of the 333-meter track for 3,000-meters. Marian University's Stevenson and Beatty went one-two in the event, both going under four minutes. Stevenson won in a time of 3:56.333. Beatty, the silver medallist, was just 1.454 seconds behind her teammate.
Adding another jersey to her collection for the weekend, Stevenson proved fastest in the Women's 500-meter Time Trial with a time of 37.626 seconds. Olivia Cummins (Fort Collins, Colo.; Colorado Mesa University) took the silver. Boone of Colorado Mesa also added to his hardware haul, winning the Men's 1,000-meter Time Trial. His teammate, Anderson, was second in the event.
The Men's Points Race final was a thrilling, action-packed event, with seven of the 24 starters taking a lap on the field. In the end, Michael Hemmerlin (Mesa, Ariz.; Marian University) secured his win over Roed in the final points sprint, taking the top place and the gold medal. Natalie Quinn (Durango, Colo.; Fort Lewis College) took a commanding lead in the Women's Points Race, taking two laps on the rest of the field. Silver medallist Stevenson also had a dominant performance, placing in all sprints but two.
Colorado Mesa's squad of Anderson, Boone, Brein, Cummins, Deye, and Henry McAlvanagh (Madison, Wis.) threw down a time of 2:09.630 to earn their first title in the Co-Ed Team Sprint since 2017. In second was Marian University, whose team had 2:13.627.
The ultimate award at Collegiate Track National Championships is the Omnium awards. The omnium is the best all-around performance for individuals and teams, Varsity and Club. With wins in the Individual Pursuit, Time Trial, and a silver in Points Race, Marian University's Stevenson claimed the Women's Omnium title. Similarly, with his win in Individual Pursuit, second in the Time Trial, and fourth in the Sprints, Colorado Mesa's Anderson won the Men's Omnium. In the battle for the team omniums, Colorado Mesa and Marian duked it out in the Varsity category, with Colorado Mesa narrowly taking the win. Texas A&M University took an early lead in the Club category over Colorado State University and maintained the lead throughout.
