TRUCKEE, Calif. (10/19/10) – Joey Schusler won his third straight downhill title on Sunday and the University of Colorado cycling team finished second at the 2010 Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships at the Northstar at Tahoe Resort.
Fort Lewis College of Durango, Colo. won the overall team title for the fourth straight year with 663 points. CU finished with 579 points.
Rounding out the top five in the division I team competition was Lees-McRae College in third, California Polytechnic in fourth and Lindsey Wilson College in fifth.
Fort Lewis and Colorado also finished one-two at last year’s mountain bike nationals.
Colorado had 14 riders finish in the top ten in the four events of cross country, short track cross country, four cross and the downhill. CU also had six riders finish in top five in those races.
The Buffs finished nationals strong with a good showing on Sunday with Schusler leading the way with his victory in the men’s downhill. Also in the men’s race, Michael Larsen cracked the top five in fourth while Nick Caron sneaked into the top ten. Diedre York had a good final day as well in the women’s race placing third while Brittany Engleking finished 16th.
CU began the national championships on Friday with a solid outing in men’s cross country with Braden Kappius and Blake Harlan each picking up top ten finishes in seventh and ninth respectively. Russell Finsterwald finished 18th while team president Matt Wiebe finished 23rd in a race that featured 73 riders.
Katie Sodergren and York finished inside the top five in women’s cross country at four and five while Claire Bensard and Ellen Patten barely missed the top ten with Bensard finishing 11th and Patten finishing 12th.
On Saturday morning in short track cross country, Kappius bettered his performance from the day earlier with a second place finish behind winner Rotem Ishay of Fort Lewis, who also won the long race on Friday. Wiebe cracked the top ten in seventh and Harlan finished in 15th.
In women’s short track, the Buffs had three riders in the top ten with Sodergren barely missing the top five in sixth, York in eighth and Bensard in ninth. Patten finished in the middle of the pack at 17th.
CU’s gravity squad got their first action of the weekend on Saturday afternoon in four cross with Schusler having the best race of the Colorado riders with a sixth place finish. Larsen and Caron still had good runs for the men with both riders finishing in the top half of the standings with Larsen at 15th and Caron at 21st.
York finished 11th in women’s four cross while Engleking finished 23rd.
Jack Kelly of the men’s gravity squad finished 44th in four cross and 21st in the downhill.
York was the only CU rider to compete in all four events at the national championships. She placed fourth in the women’s individual omnium competition thanks in part to her not finishing lower than 11th in any of her four races.
Colorado Results
Men’s Cross Country
7. Braden Kappius – 2:19:13
9. Blake Harlan – 2:19:55
18. Russell Finsterwald – 2:29:07
23. Matt Wiebe – 2:30:21
Women’s Cross Country
4. Katie Sodergren – 2:07:32
5. Deidre York – 2:07:59
11. Claire Bensard – 2:18:06
12. Ellen Patten – 2:22:08
Men’s Short Track Cross Country
2. Braden Kappius
7. Matt Wiebe
15. Blake Harlan
DNF. Russell Finsterwald
Women’s Short Track Cross Country
6. Katie Sodergren
8. Deidre York
9. Claire Bensard
17. Ellen Patten
Men’s Four Cross
6. Joey Schusler
15. Michael Larsen
21. Nick Caron
44. Jack Kelly
Women’s Four Cross
11. Diedre York
23. Brittany Engleking
Men’s Downhill
1. Joey Schusler – 4:01.9
4. Michael Larsen – 4:08.0
10. Nick Caron – 4:12.5
21. Jack Kelly – 4:19.5
Women’s Downhill
3. Diedre York – 5:09.47
16. Brittany Engleking – 6:07.70
Overall Results
Division I Team Omnium
1. Fort Lewis College
2. University of Colorado
3. Lees-McRae College
4. California Polytechnic
5. Lindsey Wilson College
Division II Team Omnium
1. Brevard College
2. Union College
3. Warren Wilson College
4. Colorado School of Mines
5. Montana State University
Division I Women’s Omnium
1. Sage Wilderman (Fort Lewis College)
2. Erica Zaveta (Lees-McRae College)
3. Jill Behlen (University of Wyoming)
4. Deidre York (University of Colorado)
5. Kaila Hart (Fort Lewis College)
Division I Men’s Omnium
1. Nicholas Enjalbert (Colorado State University)
2. Menso De Jong (California Polytechnic)
3. Nate Byrom (Fort Lewis College)
4. Nitish Nag (University of California)
5. Kerry Werner (Lees-McRae)
Division II Women’s Omnium
1. Rachel Milsop (Union College)
2. Christen Boyer (Colorado School of Mines)
3. Caroline Decosimo (Brevard College)
4. Elisa Otter (Warren Wilson College)
5. Eva Wilson (Warren Wilson College)
Division II Men’s Omnium
1. Tristan Cowie (Brevard College)
2. Wesley Lamberson (Union College)
3. Joe Schneider (Colorado School of Mines)
4. Zach Winn (Union College)
5. Brad Nelson (Union College)
1. Fort Lewis College
2. University of Colorado
3. Lees-McRae College
4. California Polytechnic
5. Lindsey Wilson College
Division II Team Omnium
1. Brevard College
2. Union College
3. Warren Wilson College
4. Colorado School of Mines
5. Montana State University
Division I Women’s Omnium
1. Sage Wilderman (Fort Lewis College)
2. Erica Zaveta (Lees-McRae College)
3. Jill Behlen (University of Wyoming)
4. Deidre York (University of Colorado)
5. Kaila Hart (Fort Lewis College)
Division I Men’s Omnium
1. Nicholas Enjalbert (Colorado State University)
2. Menso De Jong (California Polytechnic)
3. Nate Byrom (Fort Lewis College)
4. Nitish Nag (University of California)
5. Kerry Werner (Lees-McRae)
Division II Women’s Omnium
1. Rachel Milsop (Union College)
2. Christen Boyer (Colorado School of Mines)
3. Caroline Decosimo (Brevard College)
4. Elisa Otter (Warren Wilson College)
5. Eva Wilson (Warren Wilson College)
Division II Men’s Omnium
1. Tristan Cowie (Brevard College)
2. Wesley Lamberson (Union College)
3. Joe Schneider (Colorado School of Mines)
4. Zach Winn (Union College)
5. Brad Nelson (Union College)
