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3/30/2009 Cyclists from MSU Gain Eight More Wins after another Collegiate Race Weekend San Marcos, TX –Texas State University hosted the second race weekend in the South Central Collegiate Cycling Conference (SCCCC) with three races over the course of two days. With twenty-one MSU riders total at the Bobcat Spring Classic, each category was guaranteed to be controlled by a Mustang. On March 28, Mindy Burns claimed MSU’s first victory in the hilly countryside of San Marcos at the uphill time trial. The course was just over a mile long, but emulated a wall. Mindy was able to tackle the climb 42 seconds faster than the 2nd place finisher. Inspired by Mindy’s win, Tiffany Stewart ascended the climb fourteen seconds faster than the competition to give her the winning title in the Women’s A race. Loren Eggenschwiler and Laura Whittle took 4th and 5th respectively. Tim Bannin exerted a valiant effort that was good for 5th place in the Men’s C race. The Men’s B race went very well for MSU with James Rowland, Sean Brown, and Reynolds Shaffer taking home the 6th, 7th, and 9th place spots respectively. Last but not least, the A Men tackled the climb and wound up with spectacular results. Jason Short rode the day’s fastest time, thus taking home the gold medal for the team. Chad Haga (TAMU) narrowly edged out Morten DØviken for second place. Colin Davis and Todd Elenz rounded out the top five. Also of note, Mclean Worsham muscled his way up the climb and took 9th place for the team. Later in the afternoon, the MSU bunch flooded the grounds of the Texas State University campus to contest the weekend’s criterium. Burns again demonstrated that cycling is not about being nice, by single-handedly obliterating the field in the Women’s B race and gaining at least one lap on every other competitor. Stewart valiantly continued the streak by winning the Women’s A criterium. Eggenschwiler rode hard for a bronze medal, with Whittle right behind for 4th. The Men’s C race saw more than 40 riders toe the line to partake in an all-out hammer fest. The uber-talented John Cope was a major help to Bannin early on in the race, keeping the pace high. Bannin navigated his way through the field and into the main group. Bannin used his impeccable bike handling skills to maneuver the esses much more efficiently than the others and was able to sprint to an excellent fourth place. Next up was the B Men’s race. The crowds lined the course upon word of the exciting energy created in the Men’s B criteriums. With criterium specialists like Tyler Mathies and Matt Sauls, the race was guaranteed to be fast and furious. Teammate Reynolds Shaffer strung the field out on the initial laps, keeping Sauls out of danger. Wattage cottage James Rowland threw down numerous nice attacks on the field, shattering legs by the dozens. After Rowland’s turn at the front, time trial phenom Sean Brown took a respectable turn at breaking the weakest links. With less than half the race to go, the field was whittled down to a select group of riders. Sauls showed why he’s nicknamed “The Boss”, and took charge. He tried his hand at a solo breakaway, but it just wasn’t in the cards for him to stay away. The small field finished off with a drag race to the line. Sauls lead home the Mustang stampede with a very good 4th place finish that was followed by Brown, Mathies, and Shaffer for the 5th through 8th places. The Men’s A race was executed to perfection. The team took no prisoners. From the gun, the Mustangs trampled the other competitors. Short rolled off the front and was not to be seen again. Haga put in a valiant effort to catch Jason’s wheel, but was left in no man’s land. Elenz was in full pursuit of Haga, but ended up running out of time to catch him. Davis, Michael Lalla, and Worsham took 4th through 6th respectively. Sunday’s race was in another beautiful part of San Marcos, and was a prime location for the road race. All groups rolled out in five minute increments. The B women finished their race first after completing a tough 38 miles. Mindy Burns ended up taking home the silver medal to top off a successful weekend. The next group to roll across the finish line was the Men’s B and Women’s A groups, which rode together over the course of 50 miles. Sean Brown won the field sprint for second place with Shaffer in 4th and Suals taking 5th. Loren Eggenschwiler put forth an impressive effort and came across the finish line still intact with the Men’s B field, the only female racer on the day to accomplish that feat. Tiffany Stewart was able to keep the rest of the field at bay and out-sprint the competition to take the 2nd place on the podium with Laura Whittle rounding out the top 5. The MSU A Men rode in utter unity like a well-lubed machine and took everyone else for ransom. Fidel Goytia was able to prove his nickname “Jalapeno Popper” isn’t always fitting by successfully throwing the first punch on the race’s toughest climbing section. From here, Elenz and Doviken were able to break free and gain an authoritative lead. McLean Worsham and Davis successfully bridged up to the breakaway, resulting in an all-out MSU team time trial. Peter Boyd was able to help heavy hitters Michael Lalla and Short manhandle the remains of the field. Short was able to ride away from the field to solo to the finish. The end result saw Elenz come across the line first followed by Davis, Worsham, DØviken, and Short. Goytia and Matt Fox rounded out the top ten by taking 9th and 10th places. The Bobcat Spring Classic race weekend was an absolute success for the MSU / Hotter ‘N Hell Hundred team. Thanks to the awesome support from team director Julie Carter and team manager Michael Baldwin, each rider was able to ride to their fullest potential, and contribute their all to the benefit of the team. The MSU Mustangs have displayed their winning formula for the second race weekend in a row. The MSU team will attempt to carry on the success at the next SCCCC event on their home turf at the MSU Stage Race in Wichita Falls on April 18th and 19th. |
