COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. September 15, 2018 - The 2018 USA Cycling Collegiate Track National Championships drew to a conclusion after three days of racing. Racers competed over 5 individual events and 2 team events in were both individual and team omnium were tabulated. In the end Marian University and the U.S. Air Force Academy walked away with the coveted team omnium trophies.
Marian University won the varsity division of the team omnium, besting second and third placed teams, Colorado Mesa University and Fort Lewis College. This is Marian’s twelfth year in a row taking home the team omnium title from Collegiate Track National Championships.
Said head coach Dean Peterson on how the school has maintained it’s winning streak, “Our program has track roots that go back to it's beginning in 1992. The program started due to the Major Taylor Velodrome’s location right next to the Marian campus. The convenience of the track being so close coupled with our commitment to use it as a tool to develop rider skills, team connection and race craft has always been essential to our overall cycling program.”
The U.S. Air Force Academy took home the team omnium for the club division, this is the first time the team has brought home a team omnium title. Colorado State University took home silver and Colorado College was third.
In the individual omniums, Olivia Ray (Aukland, NZL/Savannah College of Art & Design - Atlanta) amassed 474 points by winning both the sprints and scratch race and coming in second in the 500-meter time trial, which upgraded her silver medal from last year to take home the gold. Alijah Beatty (Washington, Iowa/Marian University) was second with 458 points. Erica Allar (Demorest, Ga./Piedmont College) rounded out the top 3 with 422 points.
Like Ray, Cade Bickmore (Longmont, Colo./Marian University) had two wins (scratch race and 1,000-meter time trial) and a second (4-kilometer individual pursuit) to garner him the stars-and-stripes jersey in the individual omnium event. Bickmore’s teammate Hayden Strong (Invercargill, NZL) captured silver with his 390-point total. Noah Granigan (Cape May Court House, N.J./University of Colorado - Boulder) took the third step of the podium with 385 points.
Day three of the event started off with the men’s team pursuit event. Defending champions in this event, Marian University, took the win again with a time of 4:21.100. Colorado Mesa University took second in a time of 4:26.508. Fort Lewis College rounded out the podium with a time of 4:32.256.
Next in the schedule were the women’s 500-meter time trials. Hannah McDade (Tigard, Ore./Marian University) put in a solid time of 36.945 seconds, which garnered her the win. Ray clocked a 37.127, which was fast enough for second. Allar took home the bronze in a time of 37.538 seconds.
In the men’s 1,000-meter time trial, Bickmore defended his title with his time of 1:03.052. Granigan would come in second with a time of 1:04.679, and Strong would round out the top 3 with a time of 1:04.991.
The evening session started out with a very fast women’s scratch race. The race averaged over 46 kilometers per hour. Ray would take the win in this event. Stephanie Nave (Erwin, Tenn./Milligan College) would earn the silver, and Beatty would come in third.
The men’s scratch race was no slouch either, averaging just over 50 kilometers per hour. Bickmore would take his second title of the day in the event. James Hilyer (Durango, Colo./Fort Lewis College) took the second step of the podium, and Strong would earn bronze.
In the final competition of this year’s national championship — the coed team sprint – Marian University earned the bragging rights ahead of Piedmont College and Colorado Mesa University.
