Collegiate Mountain Bike Nationals open with cross country races
Rotem Ishay successfully defended his title in the Division I Men's Cross Country contest.
The first day of racing saw the student-athletes battle it out for individual titles in the cross country competitions.
In the Division I men’s contest, Rotem Ishay (Fort Lewis College) successfully defended his title from a year ago. Although the Israeli National led the race in its entirety, he consistently found himself fighting off attacks from Lees-Mcrae rider Brad Perley, California Polytech rider Menso Dejong, and Colorado State’s Nicholas Enjalbert. The men went for four laps of the 6.5-mile course for a total of 26 miles. Ishay completed the test in two hours and nine minutes, four minutes and 45 seconds ahead of Enjalbert who claimed the silver medal. DeJong crossed the line in third while Perley and Jack Hinkens (Fort Lewis College) were fourth and fifth.
Erica Zaveta (Lees McRae College) was the victor in the women’s Division I competition. Although Fort Lewis strong woman Sage Wilderman led the first two laps of the three-lap contest by 20-30 seconds, Zaveta passed her on the first climb of the final lap, gained 2.5 minutes on the former leader, and crossed the line solo for the Stars-and-Stripes jersey after one hour and 57 minutes of racing. Making the bronze medal effort on Friday was Erin Alders (UC Davis) while the University of Colorado pair of Katie Sodergren and Deidre York claimed the final two spots on the podium.
Division II men’s racing saw 17-year-old Howard Grotts (Colorado School of Mines) break out of a select group of five after the first of four laps. Despite his young age, the Colorado rider went off by himself for the final three laps and won the race by five minutes. Second place went to Brevard College’s Tristan Cowie while Macky Franklin (Middlebury College) had the bronze medal ride. Crossing the line in fourth and fifth were Zach Guy (Montana State University) and Scott Hoffner (Brevard College).
The Division II women’s race saw Lydia Tanner (Montana State University) dominate the field. The defending champion led the entire race, not only gaining a large gap on her Division II competitors, but also passing all but seven of the Division I women who started their wave 6.5 minutes before she toed the line. Rachel Milsop (Union College) was the silver medalist in the Division II event, finishing the three laps not far behind Tanner. The gold and silver medal pair had eight minutes on their nearest threats. Essence Barton (California Lutheran University) crossed the line for the bronze medal while Caroline Descosimo (Brevard College) and Amy Hale (Western State College of Colorad) were fourth and fifth respectively.
The 2010 USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships will continue on Saturday with short track cross country races, as well as the four-cross events. Also on tap for day two is the awards banquet which will feature the podium presentations for Friday’s and Saturday’s winners. Racing will wrap up on Sunday with the downhill competitions and the presentation of the coveted overall team omniums.
Stay up-to-date on all the action from Northstar on Twitter by following the tag #collnats or stay tuned to www.usacycling.org for nightly reports on all the racing.
For more information about the USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships, please click here to visit the event’s official webpage.
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2010 USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships
Northstar at Tahoe, Truckee, Calif.
October 15-17, 2010
Division I Men’s Cross Country
1. Rotem Ishay (Fort Lewis College)
2. Nicholas Enjalbert (Colorado State University)
3. Menso de Jong (California Polytechnic)
4. Brad Perley (Lees-McRae College)
5. Jack Hinkens (Fort Lewis College)
Division I Women’s Cross Country
1. Erica Zaveta (Lees-McRae College)
2. Sage Wilderman (Fort Lewis College)
3. Erin Alders (University of California – Davis)
4. Katie Sodergren (University of Colorado)
5. Deidre York (University of Colorado)
Division II Men’s Cross Country
1. Howard Grotts (Colorado School of Mines)
2. Tristan Cowie (Brevard College)
3. Macky Franklin (Middlebury College)
4. Zach Guy (Montana State University)
5. Scott Hoffner (Brevard College)
Division II Women’s Cross Country
1. Lydia Tanner (Montana State University)
2. Rachel Milsop (Union College)
3. Essence Barton (California Lutheran University)
4. Caroline Descosimo (Brevard College)
5. Amy Hale (Western State College of Colorado)
This Article Published October 15, 2010 For more information contact:
