After four days of fierce competition and stunning autumn weather, the 2023 USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships came to a close on Sunday afternoon. At the end of the event, Colorado Mesa University took the Varsity omnium title, while the Colorado School of Mines won the Club omnium title.
Racing kicked off with Dual Slalom qualifying on Thursday afternoon. After very smooth rides during the day, qualified riders went on to the final rounds in the evening. On the Women's Club side, the top-seeded rider, Avah Cherry (Knoxville, Tenn.; University of Tennessee - Knoxville), made it all the way to the finals to take gold. In the Women's Varsity race, Brevard College rider Nicole Bradbury (Brevard, N.C.) battled her way from her tenth-seeded position to earn the national title.
During the Men's Club Dual Slalom Finals, 2022 silver medalist George Poggemeyer (Littleton, Colo.; Colorado State University) was the best-seeded rider going into the tournament and won all of his rides to take the top step of the podium. Going three for three, Colorado Mesa University's Matt Sterling (San Jose, Calif.) earned his third consecutive Collegiate Dual Slalom Stars and Stripes sleeve.
1. Avah Cherry (Knoxville, Tenn.; University of Tennessee - Knoxville)
2. Sierra Young (Whately, Mass.; Plymouth State University)
3. Madeleine Wood (Temecula, Calif.; California Polytechnic University - San Luis Obispo)
1. Nicole Bradbury (Brevard, N.C.; Brevard College)
2. Breanna Winter (Antelope, Calif.; Marian University)
3. Jazlyn Smith (Breckenridge, Colo.; Colorado Mesa University)
1. George Poggemeyer (Littleton, Colo.; Colorado State University)
2. Eli Webster (Stow, Mass.; Colorado School of Mines)
3. Eli Gadbois (Bow, N.H.; University of New Hampshire)
1. Matt Sterling (San Jose, Calif.; Colorado Mesa University)
2. Dominic Mudry (North Royalton, Ohio; Lees-McRae College)
3. Ethan Bergdolt (Pagosa Springs, Colo.; Western Colorado University)
Over 225 endurance athletes took to the 2.2-mile Cross-Country course on Friday. The men's races each completed seven laps of the course, and the women's fields completed six. In the Varsity Men's race, Cole Punchard (Brevard, N.C.; Brevard College) attacked the field on his third lap and established a healthy lead for himself while also setting the fastest lap time of the day, an 11:30.1. Punchard finished in a time of 1:22:16, earning him the win. Colorado Mesa University athlete and national team member Jack Spranger (Sammamish, Wash.) took silver. Paul Vrouwenvelder (Chapel Hill, N.C.; Appalachian State University) won the Club Men's event in a time of 1:28:10.
The women's fields were the focus of the afternoon. Vrouwenvelder's teammate, Madison Maloney (Hudson, N.C.), dominated the Club Women's race, winning by over seven minutes. The Varsity Women's competition was a little closer, with Makena Kellerman (Escondido, Calif.; Colorado Mesa University) and Lina Dorscht (Banner Elk, N.C.; Lees-McRae College) riding together for the first several laps. After lap three, Kellerman pulled away from Dorscht and proceeded to win the event. Bailey Cioppa (Durango, Colo.; Fort Lewis College) earned silver.
1. Madison Maloney (Hudson, N.C.; Appalachian State University)
2. Avah Cherry (Knoxville, Tenn.; The University of Tennessee)
3. Isa Naschold (Laramie, Wyo.; Colorado State University)
1. Makena Kellerman (Escondido, Calif.; Colorado Mesa University)
2. Bailey Cioppa (Durango, Colo.; Fort Lewis College)
3. Lina Dorscht (Banner Elk, N.C.; Lees-McRae College)
1. Paul Vrouwenvelder (Chapel Hill, N.C.; Appalachian State University)
2. Justin Peck (Los Gatos, Calif.; University of California-Berkeley)
3. Oakley Griffin (Fayetteville, Ark.; Sewanee-The University of the South)
1. Cole Punchard (Brevard, N.C.; Brevard College)
2. Jack Spranger (Sammamish, Wash.; Colorado Mesa University)
3. Carson Beard (Middlesex, Vt.; Fort Lewis College)
Saturday's championship racing included the riders tackling the eight-tenths of a mile Short Track course. The 2023 Collegiate Club Road Race Champion, Owen Cole (Chapel Hill, N.C.; University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill), added another stars-and-stripes jersey to his closet, outsprinting Oakley Griffin (Fayetteville, Ark.; Sewanee - The University of the South) and winning the Club Men's Short Track. Friday's Cross-Country Champion for the Varsity Men, Punchard, also added another national title to his trophy case. He and Carson Beard (Middlesex, Vt.; Fort Lewis College) led the Varsity Men's race from the start, and Punchard won in the final sprint.
Also adding to their trophy case, Appalachian State's Maloney again dominated the Club Women's event, this time having an average lap speed 10 seconds faster than the rest of the field. Second in the Club Women's field was the winner of the Dual Slalom event for the group, Cherry. Michaela Thompson (Durango, Colo.; Fort Lewis College) pulled away from the Varsity Women's lead group of seven at lap five of six. She maintained her lead and secured her win. Jette Aelken (Germany, Savannah College of Art & Design - Savannah) beat out the rest of the lead group to earn the silver.
1. Madison Maloney (Hudson, N.C.; Appalachian State University)
2. Avah Cherry (Knoxville, Tenn.; The University of Tennessee)
3. Isa Naschold (Laramie, Wyo.; Colorado State University)
1. Michaela Thompson (Durango, Colo.; Fort Lewis College)
2. Jette Aelken (Germany; Savannah College of Art and Design - Savannah)
3. Bailey Cioppa (Durango, Colo.; Fort Lewis College)
1. Owen Cole (Chapel Hill, N.C.; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
2. Oakley Griffin (Fayetteville, Ark.; Sewanee -The University of the South)
3. Justin Peck (Los Gatos, Calif.; University of California-Berkeley)
1. Cole Punchard (Brevard, N.C.; Brevard College)
2. Carson Beard (Middlesex, Vt.; Fort Lewis College)
3. Ivan Sippy (Durango, Colo.; Colorado Mesa University)
The Downhill event took place over two days, with the seeding events running on Saturday and the finals on Sunday. The three-quarter mile track had everything a downhill rider could hope for: gap jumps, triples, berms, and a rock garden. Course conditions changed from qualifying to finals due to rain received on Friday night. Three of the four categories were settled, with less than a second determining gold and silver.
The Club Men field was 54 riders deep, and Ben McKenzie (Golden, Colo.; Colorado School of Mines) came out on top, stopping the clock at 2:09.90. Six-tenths of a second behind McKenzie was Eli Gadbois (Bow, N.H.; University of New Hampshire). Cameron Mader (Brevard, N.C.; Brevard College) won the Varsity Men's race with his time of 2:04.10, also setting the track fast time for the day. In second was Matt Sterling (San Jose, Calif.; Colorado Mesa University), who won Thursday's Varsity Men's Dual Slalom competition. Sterling was 0.3 seconds off of Mader's time.
For the Varsity Women, Colorado Mesa University went 1-2, with Erin Bixler (Auburn, Calif.) and Jazlyn Smith (Breckenridge, Colo.) earning gold and silver, respectively. Bixler finished in 2:30.37, and Smith stopped the clock with a time of 2:30.86. Amanda Vansant (Holderness, N.H.; St. Lawrence University) finished the course in 2:41.44, winning her the Club Women's division. Avah Cherry (Knoxville, Tenn.; University of Tennessee - Knoxville) took that division's second step on the podium.
1. Amanda Vansant (Holderness, N.H.; St. Lawrence University)
2. Avah Cherry (Knoxville, Tenn.; University of Tennessee - Knoxville)
3. Sage Davis (Boulder, Colo.; University of Colorado Boulder)
1. Erin Bixler (Auburn, Calif.; Colorado Mesa University)
2. Jazlyn Smith (Breckenridge, Colo.; Colorado Mesa University)
3. Madelyn Roberson (Gardendale, Ala.; Fort Lewis College)
1. Ben McKenzie (Golden, Colo.; Colorado School of Mines)
2. Eli Gadbois (Bow, N.H.; University of New Hampshire)
3. George Poggemeyer (Littleton, Colo.; Colorado State University)
1. Cameron Mader (Brevard, N.C.; Brevard College)
2. Matt Sterling (San Jose, Calif.; Colorado Mesa University)
3. Jack Brown (Bishop, Ga.; Brevard College)
The final event of the weekend was the always-exciting team relay. In this event, schools field teams of up to four riders, with at least one rider of each gender on the team. One rider from each team is on the course at a time and tags their teammates in for the next lap, with each school completing four laps in total of a modified Cross-Country course. The Club division had a total of 11 teams competing. Appalachian State University, fielding a three-person team made up of two National Champions from earlier in the week, dominated the event. Colorado School of Mines and their four-person team were a close second. Fort Lewis College finished in the top spot for the Varsity teams, with Colorado Mesa University in second.
1. Appalachian State University
2. Colorado School of Mines
3. University of Colorado - Boulder
1. Fort Lewis College
2. Colorado Mesa University
3. Brevard College
Student-athletes who participate in at least one of the endurance events (Cross-Country or Short Track) and one of the gravity events (Dual Slalom or Downhill) also compete for the Individual Omnium. The rider's best three placings over the four events determine their overall finish in the omnium. It was a tight race this year, with half of the titles being earned by less than a 10-point difference.
1. Paul Vrouwenvelder (Appalachian State University) - 137 Points
2. Ian Schwing (Mount St. Mary's University) - 136 Points
3. Philip Coyle (California Polytechnic University - San Luis Obispo) - 118 Points
1. Jack Spranger (Colorado Mesa University) - 196 Points
2. Carson Beard (Fort Lewis College) - 175 Points
3. Matthew Leliveld (Brevard College) - 172 Points
1. Avah Cherry (University of Tennessee - Knoxville) - 224 Points
2. Margaret Griggs (University of Georgia) - 138 Points
3. Lilly Magnus (Clarkson University) - 97 Points
1. Nicole Bradbury (Brevard College) - 156 Points
2. Tai-Lee Smith (Colorado Mesa University) - 149 Points
3. Kiara Lylyk (Brevard College) - 134 Points
After a long weekend, the Team Omniums were finally decided. Colorado Mesa University successfully defended their Varsity title, finishing the event with 672 points. In the club division, the Colorado School of Mines grabbed their first-ever Team Omnium national title, earning a total of 522 points.
1. Colorado Mesa University - 672 Points
2. Brevard College - 634 Points
3. Fort Lewis College - 626 Points
1. Colorado School of Mines - 522 Points
2. University of Vermont - 499 Points
3. University of Colorado Boulder - 482 Points
It was a great weekend of racing for all of the colleges. Next up on the Collegiate National Championship calendar is Cyclocross Nationals, December 5-10 in Louisville, Ky.
Photos By: Cameron Creative
Videos By: Nick Robertson
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