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USA Collegiate MTB National Championships - CN
Banner Elk, North Carolina, USA, October 26-28, 2007
Race 1 - October 26: Cross country
Collegiate cross country national champions crowned
Courtesy USA Cycling
The Blue Ridge Mountains were a fitting backdrop as nearly 200 collegians hit the trails for the opening of the USA Cycling collegiate mountain bike national championships on a mud-ridden cross country course on Friday. Traditional cycling powerhouses Fort Lewis College, Colorado College and Warren Wilson College took home first prize in the men's division I, men's division II and women's division II cross country races, while a star from the University of Arizona held on to the title in the women's division I contest.
After an extremely dry summer in the mountains of northwestern North Carolina, the area has been riddled with nearly a week of light, but steady rain, leaving the technical Lees-McRae College cross country course soaked for the start of the division I men's cross country contest. As soon as the gun was fired, world winter triathlon champion and Fort Lewis College undergraduate, Benjamin Sonntag (Durango, Colo.) flexed his muscles by opening up a significant lead through lap one, the only rider that was able to remain in striking distance of the 2006 NCAA Nordic skiing silver medalist was his Skyhawk teammate Adam Snyder (Westminister, Mass.) who was around two minutes back after three laps. Although Sonntag's times on the tough five-mile loops slowed a bit, his lead did not as he finished more than six minutes ahead of Snyder and Middlebury College's Spencer Paxson (Trout Lake, Wash.) who took second and third place in the DI race in commanding fashion. Northern Arizona University's Tim Allen (Flagstaff, Ariz.) and the University of Utah's Mitchell Peterson (Sandy, Utah) rounded out the top five, finishing in under 2 hours 25 minutes in the most highly contested race of the day.
"It was a beautiful course," Sonntag said of one of the country's only on-campus cross country mountain bike courses. "I am not a good technical rider so it was to my benefit today that I am an experienced runner."
In the division II men's race, which began only minutes later, riders faced the same challenges as their division I counterparts.Even with the technical, muddy conditions, another west-coaster, Colorado College's Colin Cares (Colorado Springs, Colo.) came out on top, finishing the race in 2:23:57.
"The course was challenging," said Cares, the experienced USA cycling national development team rider. "I just had to remember that everyone was in the same boat."
The USA Cycling U23 cross country mountain bike national champion, Chole Forsman (Tucson, Ariz./University of Arizona) was the heavy favourite entering the slightly-delayed 11:30 a.m. start of the three-lap division I women's cross country race. The Luna Chix professional rider did not disappoint, gaining speed as the race went on and riding to her second national championship win in as many years. Forsman was however faced with a pair of strong challengers in Colorado State University's Amanda Miller (Fort Collins, Colo.) and the University of Tenneseee-Chattanooga's Jamie Dinkins (Powell, Tenn.). Just behind Forsman, Miller and Dinkins gave the crowd the day's most exciting finish. Dinkins was able to ride past the running Miller on the final descent, but the CSU junior overtook Dinkins on the home stretch to earn the silver.
"She rode the downhill and I walked it because it was really muddy and I did not want to crash and take myself out of the race," explained Miller who was a last minute entry into the competition. "I am so thankful I was able to make it here. Collegiate cycling is great! It is so nice to have other women teammates to ride with and for."
Hometown favourite Carla Swart of Lees-McRae College (Buford, Ga.) and Teal Stetson-Lee of Durango, Colorado's Fort Lewis College finished fourth and fifth out of the 44 Division I women's entries.
In this hotbed of mountain biking, another local school, Warren Wilson College, fared well with southeastern collegiate cycling conference champion Kylie Krauss (Ashville, N.C.) taking home the commanding victory in the women's Division II race. Kate Chapman (Breckenridge, Colo.) of Western State College, Naticia Slusher (Fruita, Colo./Mesa State University), Karen Amundson (Lebanon, Tenn./Cumberland University) and Kay Sherwood (Ipswich, Mass./Colorado College) finished the cross country competition in second through fifth respectively in the women's 15-mile, Division II contest.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Went Knipe
- Benjamin Sonntag of Fort Lewis College adds a USA Cycling Collegiate Cross Country National Championship to his resume.
- Chloe Forsman (University of Arizona) wins the DI women's XC race.
- Number 13 Adam Snyder of Ft. Lewis College leads the DI men's start the 20-mile cross country contest on the Lees-McRae campus.
Results
Cross Country Division I Women 1 Chloe Forsman (University of Arizona) 2 Amanda Miller (CSU Rams Cycling) 3 Jamie Dinkins (University of Tennessee - Chat) 4 Carla Swart (Lees McRae Cycling Team) 5 Teal Stetson-Lee (Fort Lewis College) 6 Rose Long (UVM Cycling) 7 Eszter Horanyi (CU Cycling) 8 Sabina Kraushaar (Fort Lewis College) 9 Maureen Kunz (University of California-Berke) 10 Steph White (UNH) 11 Anne Craig-Pena (FSU Cycling) 12 Emma Millar (Fort Lewis College) 13 Ally Stacler (Lees McRae Cycling Team) 14 Jennifer Strasser (UConn Cycling) 15 Rachel Millsop (Lindsey Wilson College) 16 Jessica Lathrop (Fort Lewis College) 17 Corina Bigham (UC - Davis Cal Aggie Cyclists) 18 Sarah Rawley (CSU Rams Cycling) 19 Danae York (CU Cycling) 20 Caitlin Trahan (North Carolina State Universit) 21 Kristi Henne (Lees McRae Cycling Team) 22 Emma Worldpeace (University of California-Berke) 23 Rita Borelli (FSU Cycling) 24 Kimberly Fong (University of California-Berke) 25 Erin Collins (Lindsey Wilson College) 26 Jessica Kimball (UWYO Cycling Team) 27 Megan Cassidy (CSU Rams Cycling) 28 Kathryn Declercq (University of California-Berke) 29 Abigail Carroll (CU Cycling) 30 alexis Dabroski (University of Florida) 31 Sarah Lucas (Lindsey Wilson College) 32 Alexandra Vanderhoff (University of Nevada, Reno) 33 Kim Trenbath (CU Cycling) 34 Chole Jackson (Lees McRae Cycling Team) 35 Kate Blake (U of Nevada, Reno Cycling Team) 36 Gwynn Barrows (UWYO Cycling Team) 37 Kelli Williams (University of Florida) 38 Jean Schneider (Lindsey Wilson College) 39 Netana Hotimsky (UVM Cycling) 40 Jennifer Jordan (University of Nevada, Reno) 41 Lizzie Yarina (University of Michigan Cycling) 42 Kelli Michalk (Texas A&M) 43 Mairin Rooney (UC - Davis Cal Aggie Cyclists) DNF Margarete Jadamec (UC - Davis Cal Aggie Cyclists) Men 1 Benjamin Sonntag (Fort Lewis College) 2.11.16 2 Adam Snyder (Fort Lewis College) 6.07 3 Spencer Paxson (Middlebury College) 7.08 4 Tim Allen (NAU/VooDoo) 9.07 5 Mitchell Peterson (Uniersity of Utah) 11.58 6 Bryan Alders (CU Cycling) 14.00 7 Noah Singer (Fort Lewis College) 16.21 8 Scott Stewart (Less McRae) 17.00 9 Robert Giannini (University of Georgia) 18.01 10 Aaron Bradford (Lees McRae Cycling Team) 18.37 11 McConnell Franklin (Middlebury College) 19.50 12 Rick Wetherald (Fort Lewis College) 20.09 13 Evan Perrone (University of Pittsburgh) 21.58 14 Chris Hamlin (UVM Cycling) 22.29 15 Raney Laprare (Lees McRae Cycling Team) 23.50 16 Mike Anderson (Lees McRae Cycling Team) 24.09 17 Yuki Saito (Metro State College of Denver) 25.15 18 Nick Truitt (CSU Rams Cycling) 29.05 19 Kyle Colavito (University of Arizona Cycling) 29.37 20 Caley Fretz (CSU Rams Cycling) 31.18 21 luke Rozanski (FSU Cycling) 32.05 22 Benjamin Moore (UW-Madison) 32.25 23 Shawn Kane (North Carolina State Universit) 37.50 24 Chris Peterson (CU Cycling) 38.49 25 Michael Bartlett (University of Michigan) 40.02 26 Jon Vivolo (CSU Rams Cycling) 40.09 27 Evan Hyde (University of Arizona) 41.20 28 Blake Harlan (CU Cycling) 41.24 29 Matthew Goebel (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo) 42.30 30 eric Breckinridge (Texas State University) 42.51 31 Nic Magliocco (UVM Cycling) 44.08 32 Brian Firliet (UConn Cycling) 45.03 33 William Still (University of Nevada, Reno) 47.24 34 Tsering Alleyne (University of California-Berke) 49.54 35 James Brown (Lindsey Wilson College) 0.10 36 Christopher Belnap (University of California-Berke) 0.26 37 Dallas Fowler (UW Madison) 0.48 38 Daniel Stuart (UC - Davis Cal Aggie Cyclists) 1.18 39 Rob Dahl (University of California-Berke) 2.28 40 James Allen Ii (Penn State U Cycling) 3.37 41 Chris Farmer (UVM Cycling) 5.52 42 Andy Pace (Texas State University) 8.36 43 Ryan Smolko (Penn State U Cycling) 9.18 44 Mitchell Hall (University of Florida) 10.40 45 Tyler Hawes (Clemson University) 10.44 46 Daniel Valaperta (Texas State University Cycling) 11.18 47 Chris Hall (CSU Rams Cycling) 11.47 48 Stefan Swecker (Lindsey Wilson Colege) 13.19 49 Jake Mestre (University of Nevada, Reno) 14.38 50 Alex Luce (University of Arizona) 14.41 51 Benjamin Weatherly (Lindsey Wilson College) 16.25 52 Mattison Brady (University of Michigan) 16.35 53 Nitish Nag 18.08 54 Ross Berger (CU Cycling) 19.25 55 Brendan Benson (University of Michigan) 21.14 56 Nick Boswell (University of Michigan) 21.12 57 Geoff Pendry (University of North Carolina -) 24.23 58 Brian Mayer (Virginia Tech) 23.06 59 Maxwell Wheeler (Northern Arizona University) 26.35 60 Joseph Gracia (Texas State Cycling) 27.13 61 Sean Berry (UNH) 27.50 62 mason Manis (FSU Cycling) 28.21 63 Christopher Carroll (UWYO Cycling Team) 30.28 64 Jacob Arvizu (UWYO Cycling Team) 30.30 65 Peter Dempster (UC - Davis Cal Aggie Cyclists) 31.44 66 Konstantinos Charizanis (University of Florida) 32.59 67 Nicholas Reeves (North Carolina State Universit) 34.17 68 Brian Meyer (University of Arizona) 43.20 69 Chad Haga (Texas A&M) 44.36 70 Chet-mun Liew (West Virginia University) 45.35 71 Steven Nutt (West Virginia University) 49.09 72 John-Matthew Hattaway (Texas A&M) 8.50 73 Kip Spaude (Lindsey Wilson College) 1.18.44 DNF Leland O'connor (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo) DNF Michael Viertel (FSU Cycling) DNF Steven Garrett (University of Illinois) DNF Joshua Stamper (kansas state university cyclin) DNF Devin Carroll (Texas A&M) DNF Nicholas Dornik (University of Illinois) DNF Brendan Connors (UC - Davis Cal Aggie Cyclists) DNF Brendan Rogers (UConn Cycling) DNF Andrew Valestrino (University of Nevada, Reno) DNF Jon Jakupcak (UWYO Cycling Team) DNF David Altare (Virginia Tech) DNF Steven Gordon (Virginia Tech) DNF Juan Pedraza (North Carolina State Universit) DNF Charles Pendry (North Carolina State Universit) DNF Colin Sad (UNH) DNF Chris Janiszewski (University of Florida) Division II Women 1 Kylie Krauss (Warren Wilson College) 2 Kate Chapman (WSC Cycling) 3 Naticia Slusher (Mesa State Cycling) 4 Karen Amundson (Cumberland University) 5 Kay Sherwood (Colorado College) 6 Melissa Marts (Colorado School of Mines) 7 Lauren Parker (Warren Wilson College) 8 Iris Tomlinson (Colorado School of Mines) 9 Amy Krull (Colorado College) 10 Tallulah Winquist (Warren Wilson College) 11 Camille Prevost (Warren Wilson College) 12 Lisa Spreitzer (Michigan Tech Copper Country) 13 Morgan Moore (Mesa State Cycling) 14 Johanna Tuttle (Brevard College) 15 Christina Moon (Mesa State Cycling) 16 Mary Craighead (Emory University) 17 Nan Pugh (Brevard College) 18 Cathrine Watkins (Emory) 19 Amy Russell (Union College) 20 Myra Dyer (Colorado School of Mines) 21 Karen Caldwell (Union College) Men 1 Colin Cares (Colorado College) 2.23.57 2 Tristan Cowie (Brevard College) 4.38 3 Andrew Freye (University of Southern Maine) 9.36 4 Christopher Parrish (WWU Cycling) 11.21 5 Robert Jameson (Appalachian State U Cycling) 11.55 6 Lewis Hannah (Appalachian State U Cycling) 12.13 7 Mitchell Hoke (Colorado College) 13.03 8 Gregy Gibson (Union College) 13.54 9 Patrick Means (WWU Cycling) 14.25 10 Logan Wetzel (WWU Cycling) 18.21 11 Tim Drankus (UW-Sheboygan) 18.24 12 Taylor Shelden (University of Denver) 21.41 13 Alejandro Padilla (Cumberland University) 22.35 14 Matt St Marie (Brevard College) 25.19 15 Jerid Gooding (Appalachian State U Cycling) 25.47 16 Nate Keck (Mesa State Cycling) 26.02 17 Kyle Mcgilvray (WWU Cycling) 27.32 18 Harrison Precourt (Colorado College) 27.41 19 Peter Fairbanks (Cumberland University) 30.23 20 Matthew Williams (Warren Wilson College) 30.28 21 Zak Grabowski (Colorado School of Mines) 32.06 22 Matt Googe (Baylor Cycling) 32.30 23 Ryan Labar (Michigan Tech Copper County) 32.58 24 Justin Varaljay (WSC Cycling) 33.40 25 Jonathan Turner (Union College) 34.09 26 David Forkner (Appalachian State U Cycling) 35.43 27 patrick Hurley (warren wilson college) 38.43 28 Duncan Oliver (West Virginia Wesleyan College) 39.37 29 Chip Wiegand (WSC Cycling) 40.29 30 Isaiah Smith (Mesa State Cycling) 41.20 31 Andrew Hanson (Northern Michigan Cycling Club) 46.44 32 Zachary Ramras (Colorado College) 47.03 33 Garrett Martin (WSC Cycling) 38.05 34 Topher Hurley (Colorado School of Mines) 47.06 35 linden Blaisus (warren wilson college) 47.09 36 Shaun Higgins (Colorado School of Mines) 47.11 37 Jeremy Chambers (Cumberland University) 47.16 38 Zachary Winn (Union College) 55.26 39 Joe Schneider (Colorado School of Mines) 56.10 40 Alex Ohman (East Tennessee State University) 58.35 41 Katriel Statman (Bard College) 3.57 42 Mark Fraser (USAFA) 4.20 43 Zac Moore (Union College) 4.22 44 Whitney Stanbrough (Cumberland University) 6.49 45 Gattis Tyler (Brevard College) 7.46 46 Steven Spiewak (Mesa State Cycling) 9.06 47 Ryan Morra (warren wilson college) 10.01 48 Kyle Bordeau (Michigan Tech Copper Country) 10.28 49 Preston Moon (USAFA) 16.22 50 Andrew Kramer (Bulter U Cycling) 22.47 DNS Brandon Moscho (Michigan Tech Copper Country) DNS Phil Ott (Northern Michigan Cycling Club)
