THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING »

Get the VeloNews Email Newsletter FREE

  Learn More | Archive
Home » Top Stories » Road »

Collegiate Nationals: A Casey Gibson Gallery

Published: May. 9, 2008
Air Force's team silhouetted against the sky.
Air Force's team silhouetted against the sky.
Photo: Casey B. Gibson

The USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships started Friday with the team time trial in northern Colorado. Photographer Casey Gibson was there.

With traditional powerhouses shining in Division I and some impressive underdog performances in the Division II race, the University of California-Davis and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology took the lead in the overall team standings.

After Lees-McRae College took an early commanding lead, the men's UC-Davis squad of Tyler Dibble, Paul Mach, Philip Mooney and Shawn Rosenthal posted the day's best time of 23:18.490 to win the DI crown despite a late-race head wind into the finish. Last year's team time trial runner-up, University of Colorado-Boulder, once again scored a near miss, only nine seconds behind the Aggies of Davis. Lees-McRae's time of 24:00.980 held up to earn third place.

"With four freshmen in the contest, we're very pleased with our result," said Lees-McRae head coach Doug Owen. "Brian (Sheedy), our assistant coach, got them together as a team and had them mentally prepared."

Earlier in the day the Division I women got things started off with Stanford University's Arwen Bradley, Audrey Brown, Rae Brownsberger and Alicia Cooperman posting the winning time of 27:46.720 on the same 20km out-and-back course. The Cardinals bested last year's TTT winner, Colorado's Fort Lewis College, which rode into second place with a time of 28:08.460 over the Wildcats of the University of Arizona.

The UC-Davis women pulled off a fourth-place finish, which, when combined with the men's win, gave the team a 19-point lead in the overall standings. Fort Lewis (139) and Stanford (132) sit in second and third place leading into Saturday's road race and Sunday's criterium.

Late arrivals to the start by several DII squads left the competition wide open and Furman University of Greenville, South Carolina, took full advantage, earning an impressive time of 24:08.320. Spencer Beamer, Todd McClure, Chris Butler and Craig McKinney teamed up to post the fifth best time of the day and take the DII crown for the Paladins. After going off first in the start order, the Colorado School of Mines' 24:35.830 ride held up for second place while the University of Denver finished third.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology team of Martha Buckley, Sonya Cates, Yuri Matsumoto and Zuzana Trnovcova took the win in the women's DII race over last year's runner-up, Western Washington University. Dartmouth College finished third with a time of 30:45.890.

The MIT men's squad's fourth-place finish, combined with the women's victory, allowed the Engineers to move into the top spot overall in DII. The Colorado School of Mines (139) is currently in second place while last year's overall champion, Western Washington University (132), occupies the third spot.

Eighteen national titles are up for grabs throughout the weekend, none of them more important than the overall team titles that will be determined on Sunday. Points scored by the men's and women's squads in each division will result in an overall Division I and Division II champion. Stanford University is the defending Division I champion, while Western Washington University captured the Division II crown in 2007 in Lawrence, Kansas.

On Saturday the first individual national champions will be crowned in the road race. The DI and DII women will race 50 miles and the DI and DII men 70 miles. All four divisions will start and finish at Colorado State University's Hughes Stadium.

Related

Photo Gallery