Swanguen and Clawson claim collegiate downhill titles

The 2012 USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships continued Saturday at the Angel Fire Resort in Angel Fire, New Mexico, with the short track and downhill competitions.

Division I men downhill finals

John Swanguen (Lindsey Wilson College) earned the last starting position after qualifying with the best time (2:42.17) on Friday. He improved on that time to secure the Division I men's downhill national championship with a time of 2:38.46 on Saturday. He needed to improve his time to earn the first national championship of his career because Adam Digby (Fort Lewis College) posted a time of 2:38.65 to earn the silver medal and defending national champion, Joey Schusler (University of Colorado-Boulder), registered 2:39.73 to place third.

"This feels really great," Swanguen said. "This is my first year racing collegiate at Lindsey Wilson. I didn't know what to expect. I couldn't ask too much. I'm definitely stoked with my performance today. I put down a solid run and handled it."

Division I women downhill finals

Brittany Clawson (Fort Lewis College) was the last rider down the mountain in the women's Division I race and she posted the fastest time of 3:17.99, over 10 seconds better than runner-up Madison Pitts (Lindenwood University), who recorded a time of 3:28.85.

"It was really fast and hard," a jubilant Clawson said at the end of her run. "It's the fastest I've ever gone. We had such a solid girls team this year, it's so exciting to be a part of it. It was really cool to have five girls racing downhill. That's unbelievable. Our team is so awesome."

Division II men downhill finals

The defending collegiate dual slalom national champion, Paul Mayes (Michigan Technological University), grabbed the Division II men's downhill national title after posting a time of 2:45.60, edging out Owen Tulip (Western State Colorado University) by three seconds.

"It was a lot of fun," said Mayes of his run. "I was sliding everywhere but I held on. It was awesome."

Division II women downhill finals

Ariana Altier (California State University-Chico) registered an astounding time of 3:11.32 to win the Division II women's downhill competition. Each of the last three riders to descend the course improved the standard set by the previous contestant. Erica Zaveta (Brevard College) lowered the mark by eight seconds after registering a time of 3:46.35 to temporarily occupy the hot seat. The penultimate rider of the competition, Essence Barton (California Lutheran University), lowered the mark by 16 seconds with a seemingly unbeatable mark of 3:29.78. Altier bettered Barton's mark by 18 seconds to earn the first national championship of her career.

"This feels pretty good," Altier said of winning her first national championship. "I'm probably going to celebrate by going to the hot tub and write a paper that's due on Monday."

Omnium update after day 3 (including short track and downhill finals)

Fort Lewis tops the Division I team omnium standings with 564 points. The Skyhawks have recorded the maximum number of points in each of the six competitions through two days of competition. The University of Colorado-Boulder holds second place with 488 points. The University of Wyoming sits in third place with 359 points, while Lees-McRae College is holding fourth place, only 12 points out of third. Colorado State University rounds out the top five with 295 points.

Brevard College tops the Division II team omnium standings heading into the final day of competition. The Tornados have amassed 490 points, 60 more than the second-place Union College-Ky. Sitting in third place, 103 points behind Union College-Ky., is Western State Colorado University. Colorado Mesa University is only nine points out of third place with 318 points. The fifth-place team through three contests is Warren Wilson College with 259 points.

Rotem Ishay (Fort Lewis College) holds the top spot of the Division I men's omnium with 325 points. Joey Schusler (University of Colorado-Boulder) is in second place with 218 points, 11 points ahead of Kerry Werner (Lees-McRae College). Erik Nelson (Northern Arizona University) is currently in fourth place with 123 while his teammate, Scott Countryman, rounds out the top five with 111 points.

After three of four contests are complete, Jill Behlen (University of Wyoming) has a significant lead in the Division I women's omnium. Behlen, who reached the podium in each of the three events, thus far, has accumulated 348 points. Her teammate, Linnea Dixson (University of Wyoming), is in second place with 230 points. Emily Paxson (University of Vermont) sits in third place with 198 points. Eva Wilson (Colorado State University), who topped the Division II women's omnium in 2011, is in fourth place with 198 points. Kaila Hart (Fort Lewis College) rounds out the top five with 196 points.

After his strong performance in the Division II men's short track, Wesley Lamberson (Union College-Ky.) holds the top spot of the Division II men's omnium standings. Bobby Zidek (University of California-Chico) is in second place, trailing Lamberson by 64 points, but he also holds a slim five-point advantage on Timothy Jenkinson (Mars Hill College). Justin Graves (Humboldt State University) is in fourth place with 133 points and Daniel Ennis (Brevard College) is in fifth place with 108 points.

In the tightest individual omnium competition through three events this year, Erica Zaveta (Brevard College) holds a 12-point cushion on Essence Barton (California Lutheran University) atop the Division II women's omnium standings. Zaveta, who reached the podium in each of the three events this weekend, has 390 points while Barton, who also finished in the top five of each competition, has 378 points. Elisa Otter (Union College-Ky.) sits in third place, only 64 points behind Barton and 107 points ahead of the fourth-place rider, Allison Jones (Warren Wilson College). Otter's teammate, Kara Uhl, rounds out the top five with 201 points, only six behind Jones.

Tomorrow, the event cruises into its final day as competitors will contest the dual slalom. Additionally, the individual and team omnium winners will be awarded at the conclusion of the day's races.

Full Results

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Division 1 men downhill finals
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1John Swanguen (Lindsey Wilson College)0:02:38.46
2Adam Digby (Fort Lewis College)0:00:00.19
3Joey Schusler (University of Colorado-Boulder)0:00:01.27
4Taylor Borucki (Fort Lewis College)0:00:03.63
5Phil Cowan (Fort Lewis College)0:00:04.97
6Zach Graveson (Fort Lewis College)0:00:06.45
7Scott Countryman (Northern Arizona University)0:00:07.21
8Weston Walker (University of Wyoming)0:00:08.10
9Riley Mueller (Northern Arizona University)0:00:08.85
10Tanner Stephens (University of Colorado-Boulder)0:00:09.69
11Erik Nelson (Northern Arizona University)0:00:09.92
12Adam Gagne (University of Massachusetts-Amherst)0:00:10.20
13Wiley Kaupas (University of Colorado-Boulder)0:00:10.44
14Lucas Cowan (Northern Arizona University)0:00:10.68
15Casey Coffman (University of Nevada-Reno)0:00:10.92
16Jason Blodgett (Marian University)0:00:11.51
17Rowan Bateman (Cornell University)0:00:11.77
18Nick Caron (University of Colorado-Boulder)0:00:12.32
19Kevin Feeney-Mosier (University of Colorado-Boulder)0:00:12.50
20Dan Oconnor (University of Connecticut)0:00:12.55
21Brian Jorgensen (Lees-McRae College)0:00:14.00
22Michael Bateman (University of Vermont)0:00:14.07
23Bryce Hocking (Marian University)0:00:14.10
24Logan Collins (Lindsey Wilson College)0:00:15.24
25Dustin Foudray (Colorado State University)0:00:15.62
26Christian Parker (University of Nevada-Reno)0:00:16.51
27Joshua Patton (Lindsey Wilson College)0:00:16.67
28Ace Savarese (Lindsey Wilson College)0:00:19.47
29Eric Bercume (Lees-McRae College)0:00:19.56
30Ian Supple (University of New Mexico)0:00:19.94
31Daniel Caluag (Lindsey Wilson College)0:00:20.06
32Kerry Werner (Lees-McRae College)0:00:20.25
33Justin Posey (Marian University)0:00:20.95
34David Miller (California Polytechnic-San Luis Obispo)0:00:22.12
35James Lucchesi (University of California-Santa Barbara)0:00:22.86
36Rotem Ishay (Fort Lewis College)0:00:23.66
37Tanner Hurst (Cumberland University)0:00:23.77
38Logan Walker (University of Wyoming)0:00:24.52
39Max Ramos (California Polytechnic-San Luis Obispo)0:00:24.99
40Kyle Missaggia (University of Massachusetts-Amherst)0:00:25.60
41Nik Benko (University of California-Santa Barbara)0:00:25.82
42William Czaja (University of Connecticut)0:00:26.52
43Ben Jones (University of Nevada-Reno)0:00:26.75
44Garrett Mcgurk (University of California-Santa Barbara)0:00:26.83
45Oakley Erickson (University of Nevada-Reno)0:00:27.68
46Cody Phillips (Lees-McRae College)0:00:28.48
47Jarrod Adcock (Northern Illinois University)0:00:29.35
48Carter Luck (Lees-McRae College)0:00:30.14
48Chase Hines (Marian University)Row 48 - Cell 2
50Trevor Thomassen (University of Nevada-Reno)0:00:31.03
51Adam Looney (University of Wyoming)0:00:31.78
52Ryan Quinn (University of California-Santa Barbara)0:00:33.14
53Cooper Vanvranken (University of Vermont)0:00:33.65
54Evan Smiley (University of Connecticut)0:00:36.15
55Jean Charles Lebeau (Florida State University)0:00:36.94
56Kevin Neidorf (Florida State University)0:00:40.53
57Marc Schneider (University of Connecticut)0:00:42.39
58Logan Luker (Cumberland University)0:00:43.17
59Taylor Ladd (Lindsey Wilson College)0:00:48.90
60Santiago Franco (Florida State University)0:00:53.01
DNSVictor Alber (University of Florida)Row 60 - Cell 2
DNFJohn Nichols (Northern Arizona University)Row 61 - Cell 2
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Division 1 women downhill finals
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Brittany Clawson (Fort Lewis College)0:03:17.99
2Madison Pitts (Lindenwood University)0:00:10.86
3Meghan Kane (Fort Lewis College)0:00:11.28
4Jill Behlen (University of Wyoming)0:00:12.33
5Terah Blake (University of New Mexico)0:00:13.24
6Crystal Kalogris (Marian University)0:00:14.05
7Katherine Lund (Stanford University)0:00:16.04
8Eva Wilson (Colorado State University)0:00:24.62
9Leila Carrillo (Fort Lewis College)0:00:26.59
10Linnea Dixson (University of Wyoming)0:00:27.64
11Brooke Crum (Lindsey Wilson College)0:00:28.21
12Kathleen Kramer (University of Colorado-Boulder)0:00:31.59
13Ashlee Wilson (University of Colorado-Boulder)0:00:32.96
14Brittany Bates (Marian University)0:00:37.99
15Ellie Atkins (University of Colorado-Boulder)0:00:42.17
16Heidi Nakaoka (Fort Lewis College)0:00:43.23
17Hailey Sarausky (Lees-McRae College)0:00:43.28
18Stephanie Caluag (Lindsey Wilson College)0:00:44.24
19Brittany Engleking (University of Colorado-Boulder)0:00:45.51
20Kaila Hart (Fort Lewis College)0:00:46.88
21Emily Paxson (University of Vermont)0:00:50.15
22Kristy Peck (University of Nevada-Reno)0:00:53.88
23Kyrstin Bluhm (Cumberland University)0:01:27.36
24Nora Richards (University of Colorado-Boulder)0:01:36.05
25Mackenzie Filippi (Lees-McRae College)0:02:44.20
26Sarah Hill (Lees-McRae College)0:18:50.33
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Division 2 men downhill finals
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Paul Mayes (Michigan Technological University)0:02:45.60
2Owen Tulip (Western State Colorado University)0:00:02.97
3Matthew Callahan (Wentworth Institute of Technology)0:00:05.39
4Alex Pfiffner (Duke University)0:00:07.67
5Caleb Woodworth (Western State Colorado University)0:00:07.97
6Justin Graves (Humboldt State University)0:00:08.30
7Daniel Ennis (Brevard College)0:00:09.82
8Taylor Pfohl (Colorado School of Mines)0:00:11.03
9Bobby Zidek (California State University-Chico)0:00:15.36
10Ian Bloomfield (Colorado School of Mines)0:00:15.76
11Chris Hale (Colorado Mesa University)0:00:16.18
12Scott Hoenisch (US Air Force Academy)0:00:16.62
13Coty Vanlannen (Michigan Technological University)0:00:16.76
14Mac Banner (Brevard College)0:00:17.67
15Cody Scott (Western State Colorado University)0:00:18.54
16Kyle Greene (Ripon College)0:00:21.46
17Asher Blackmore (Brevard College)0:00:22.82
18Thomas Bommarito (Western State Colorado University)0:00:23.02
19Devin Mcpherson (California State University-Chico)0:00:23.36
20Joshua Christen (US Air Force Academy)0:00:23.71
21Taylor Biner (Colorado Mesa University)0:00:24.11
22Mitchell Collins (Wake Forest University)0:00:28.73
23Wesley Lamberson (Union College-KY)0:00:29.24
24Timothy Jenkinson (Mars Hill College)0:00:29.58
25Kody Adams (Brevard College)0:00:31.82
26Derek Maiden (East Tennessee State University)0:00:34.91
27Corey Davis (Mars Hill College)0:00:35.50
28Marley Reed (Warren Wilson College)0:00:41.05
29Elias Grant (Warren Wilson College)0:00:41.42
30Tyler Hutchinson (Mars Hill College)0:00:50.95
31Alan Hudson (Mars Hill College)0:00:58.52
32Michael Flynn (Warren Wilson College)0:00:59.97
33Ethan Quisenberry (Milligan College)0:01:03.22
34Ray Dangelmaier (Union College-KY)0:01:03.25
DNSPeter Haile (Union College-KY)Row 34 - Cell 2
DNSJoel Parritt (US Air Force Academy)Row 35 - Cell 2
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Division 2 women downhill finals
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Ariana Altier (California State University-Chico)0:03:11.32
2Essence Barton (California Lutheran University)0:00:18.46
3Erica Zaveta (Brevard College)0:00:35.03
4Elisa Otter (Union College-KY)0:00:42.82
5Catherine Harnden (Mars Hill College)0:00:53.34
6Sarah Godish (US Air Force Academy)0:00:57.82
7Kara Uhl (Union College-KY)0:00:59.81
8Nicole Miranda (Brevard College)0:01:06.21
9Laura Rice (Mars Hill College)0:01:21.53
10Allison Jones (Warren Wilson College)0:01:22.03
11Ruthanna Hart (Union College-KY)0:02:05.00
12Alessia Faverio (Warren Wilson College)0:03:21.03
DNSMary Martinez (Union College-KY)Row 12 - Cell 2

Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*

Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets

After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59

Join now for unlimited access

Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Latest on Cyclingnews