Fort Lewis tops Division I standings at collegiate nationals

In the team omnium competitions, Fort Lewis College topped Division I with 644 points. The University of Colorado-Boulder surged in the gravity events on Saturday and Sunday, but fell only eight points short. Union College-Kentucky topped the Division II team omnium after collecting 677 points throughout the competition. Warren Wilson College finished in second place, 316 points behind.

"The kids work so hard on it, all year," Fort Lewis College Team Director Dave Hagen said. "I have to hand it to them because they ride their hearts out all conference season long. Then they come here and there's a lot of pressure. There's a lot of work for a lot of the kids. I have to hand it to them. They give it everything they have."

Kerry Werner (Lees-McRae College), who competed in each of the four events, topped the men's individual omnium competition with 291 points. His teammate Bradford Perley finished 37 points behind in third place.

"It feels pretty good," Werner said. "It was definitely one of my goals when I came here was to take the omnium. I wasn't too sure about the cross-country and the endurance events. I knew I wasn't the fastest at the gravity events. I figured I had a good shot at an all-around. It feels good for sure."

Jill Behlen (University of Wyoming) topped the women's individual omnium after earning a spot on the podium in three of four competitions, including two third-place finishes and a fourth-place result in the downhill. Two riders from the University of Colorado-Boulder, Deidre York (Indio, Calif.) and Claire Bensard (Denver, Colo.) placed second and third, respectively.

Matt Schiff (Humboldt State University), who won Friday's cross country race and placed second in the short track race, earned the men's individual Division II omnium with 370 points. The second-place finisher in the downhill race Saturday, Owen Tulip (Western State College of Colorado) finished second in the omnium with 255 points.

Eva Wilson (Warren Wilson College) earned a pair of bronze medals and found the podium three times to collect 458 points and win the women's individual Division II omnium. Essence Barton, who paired a bronze medal in the cross country race Friday with her dual slalom win Sunday, placed second 48 points behind Wilson.

Results