Schusler, Napoli descend fastest in Division I downhill

Racers also contested the downhill at the 2011 USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships on Saturday.

Division I

In the men's downhill race, Joey Schusler (University of Colorado-Boulder) qualified in the top spot and backed it up to secure his fourth downhill national title, recording a 7:46.45. Five seconds behind Schusler was David O'Day (Colorado State University), who earned the silver medal with a 7:51.63 and Michael Larsen (University of Colorado-Boulder) won the bronze medal with a 7:54.04 mark.

"There was a lot of pressure today," Schusler said. "With the ice at the top of the track, it was pretty intense. It was a fight all the way to the finish. I ended up crashing once in my run and then just pushing all the way to the end."

The women's downhill winner, Andrea Napoli (University of Nevada-Reno), was the first rider of the day to contest the course. The first-time national champion was 45 seconds faster than the silver medalist Brittany Clawson (Fort Lewis College). Daniell Griffo (University of Nevada-Reno) earned the bronze medal after finishing approximately five seconds faster than Jill Behlen (University of Wyoming), who finished fourth.

"I was trying to get down as fast as possible whether I was on my bike or sometimes off my bike," Napoli said. "The bottom part was just not hitting the brake and feeling like you're going to lose it left and right and somehow not. I took big fall at the bottom. I was able to run back up and grab my bike. The flat parts were challenging. It was so muddy the conditions made this the most challenging race I've ever done. It felt so good to do well."

Division II

Alex McAndrew (Clarkson University), who qualified in the top spot during Friday's seeding runs, opened the men's Division II competition with the best time of the day. After placing second in the downhill in 2010, McAndrew was not to be denied as he posted a 7:35.89, 10 seconds faster than the Division I winner. Owen Tulip (Western State College of Colorado) finished second with a mark of 8:10.61, which was six seconds faster than the bronze medalist Colin Pickett (Western State College of Colorado).

"Right out of the gate, first corner I blew it," McAndrew said. "It kinda set the pace. I had to chill out. I chilled out and nailed a couple of the lines right off the bat that I was worried about. There were some nasty ruts that were really muddy. I took them slow. I just stayed on the bike as best I could. I almost lost it in one spot. I got through to the traverse and started having fun with it."

The women's Division II downhill competition offered the most drama of the day. Kate Weisenfluh (Brevard College) qualified with the fastest time on Friday and was set to descend first. Weisenfluh was ready to race, but due to unforeseen circumstances, her bike did not meet her at the top of the descent. She was slotted to ride after the first group of men, which meant that, Coleen Pacurariu (US Air Force Academy), who posted a 10:42.74 during competition, had to wait longer to be sure of her final placing. Weisenfluh rode a 11:24.60 to finish second while Eva Wilson (Warren Wilson College) placed third.

Omnium

Kerry Werner (Lees-McRae College) leads the men's Division I individual omnium by 28 points over his teammate Bradford Perley (Lees-McRae College). Werner opened the event placing fifth in the cross country race, third in the short track before placing 20th in the downhill.

In the women's Division I omnium, on the strength of three top-four finishes, Behlen leads by 76 points over Clare Bensard (University of Colorado-Boulder).

After claiming the top two spots in the men's and women's short track races on Saturday, Fort Lewis College leads the Division I team omnium by 45 points over the University of Colorado-Boulder.

Matt Schiff (Humboldt State University) holds a 101-point lead on Eric Smith (Ripon College) in the men's Division II omnium. Schiff won the cross country race Friday before earning the silver medal in the short track race and placing 35th in the downhill.

Wilson leads the women's Division II omnium by 48 points over Elisa Otter (Union College-Kentucky). Wilson claimed a pair of bronze medals along with a sixth-place finish in the cross country race on Friday.

However, Otter's Union College-Kentucky holds a strong 184-point lead in the Division II team omnium over Western State College of Colorado.

The competition concludes Sunday after riders compete in the dual slalom.

Full Results