4/21/08 -- MSU WINS 5 OF 6 CAT. A RACES AT TEXAS STATE Click here for PDF 4/14/08 -- MIDWESTERN STATE CYCLIST WINS MAJOR TEXAS STAGE RACE Click here for PDF 4/7/08 -- MSU RIDERS WIN EIGHT EVENTS AT UT COLLEGIATE RACE WEEKEND Click here for PDF 3/11/08 -- MSU CYCLISTS TAKE TOP THREE SPOTS IN FIRST COLLEGIATE RACE Click here for PDF 6/26/07 – TEAM HOTTER 'N HELL COMPETES AT TOUR OF OHIO A composite team of five riders wearing the Midwestern State jersey competed in the six-day Tour of Ohio stage race this past week at locations across Ohio.   Members of the team were MSU riders Mitch Comardo and Jarred Gilker, along with juniors Joe Kukolla (Indianapolis, Ind., ISCorp Junior Cycling Team), Zach Hockett (Columbia, Mo., Mesa Junior Cycling Team) and John Caldwell (Villa Ridge, Mo., ISCorp Junior Cycling Team).   (Members of the 2007 Team Hotter 'N Hell at the Tour of Ohio are, from left, Zach Hockett, Mitch Comardo, John Caldwell, Jarred Gilker, Joe Kukolla and team director Gary Achterberg.)   Kukolla was Team Hotter 'N Hell’s top rider in the overall results. He finished ninth in the entire race and had a top race placing of fourth in the second-stage, a rain-soaked road race. Kukolla finished the entire race in10 hours, 11 minutes and 7 seconds, which was 1:30 back from the winner.   The other HHH overall results: 28. Comardo, 2:59 back; 57. Gilker, 14 minutes back; 65. Hockett, 16:05 back; and 118. John Caldwell, 3 hours 15 minutes 22 second back.   The race consisted of three criteriums and three road races. The third stage was an epic day that included five significant climbs in the Hocking Hills region of Ohio. While the race was just 68 miles, the climbs challenged the entire field and provided the best opportunity for separation during the six-day-long event. Kukolla and Comardo both finished in the main group and Hockett finished in the first chase group.   HHH’s top finish on the week was Kukolla’s fourth-place finish in a road race in the vicinity of Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. The rainy conditions fostered lots of crashes, including one just prior to the finish that took out three of HHH’s five riders, including Kukolla. Gilker’s efforts to help lead Kukolla out in the subsequent sprint up the hill to the finish line were instrumental in the finish.   “The race was an excellent learning experience for everyone,” said MSU Cycling Coach Gary Achterberg, who directed the team at the race. “It was the first long stage race for Joe, Mitch and John. And, the event is a great lead-in for Joe and John who both are going to be competing in less than a month at the biggest junior stage race in North America.”   Le Tour de l’Abitibi, the only race on the UCI Junior World Cup calendar that takes place in North America, kicks off on Monday, July 19. The nine-stage race in Val-d’Or, Quebec, will feature 200 of the top 17- and 18-year-old male cyclists in the world. Achterberg also will be at the team directing the Arizona Select team.   The team’s appearance at the Tour of Ohio was made possible with support from Hotter 'N Hell. 12/4/06 -- TWO TOP RIDERS COMMIT TO MIDWESTERN CYCLING TEAM   Two of the nation’s top young cyclists plan to attend Midwestern State University starting in January.   Alex Boyd of Omaha, Neb., and Natalie Klemko of Bristol, Wis., both age 19, bring experience from racing with the U.S. National Team and top finishes in national championship events to the Mustangs. “Alex and Natalie will be excellent additions to our team,” said MSU Cycling Coach Gary Achterberg. “I’m confident that their skills and experience will be a great complement to the strong national-caliber riders already on our team.” Klemko has a background in both road and track cycling. She recently won the national championship for Under-23 women in the points race, a track event. She also won two junior national championships on the track and has represented the United States twice at the junior world championships. Klemko’s 2006 season also included winning two criteriums, a time trial and another elite track event. She also earned second-place finishes at several prestigious events, including two of the four criteriums run over Labor Day in the St. Louis area, and the Wisconsin road race championship. She also won the best young rider jersey at the San Dimas Stage Race, an event on the national calendar, early in 2006. Klemko also was featured on the cover of the June issue of “Chicago Athlete” magazine.   “MSU has increased its presence on the track this year with our two national championships and a total of five podium appearances at collegiate nationals this fall,” Achterberg said. “Natalie’s track experience – along with a most-impressive road background – make this a really great fit for both her and our program.” Klemko graduated from high school in spring and is just starting college. She is anticipating her move to Texas: "I am really looking forward to racing for one of the top collegiate cycling teams in the country while continuing my education at MSU." Boyd is transferring to MSU after studying for a semester at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. He will continue to also race for VMG Racing, a professional team that will be tied closely with the U.S. National Team in 2007. Boyd joined VMG at the start of the 2006 season after racing the previous year for Hot Tubes, the premier junior program in the United States.  Boyd’s accomplishments this past season include racing for the U.S. National Team in Belgium, finishing third in the Under-23 national championship criterium and winning the Best Young Rider jersey at the Nature Valley Grand Prix, a week-long stage race in Minnesota that is on the national racing calendar. Boyd also had numerous other top finishes in national-caliber events, including the International Tour de Toona stage race, the Superweek race series, the Commerce Bank Triple Crown, the Redlands Classic and the Univest Grand Prix. As a junior, Boyd earned podium positions in the national championships with his third-place in the 2004 road race and fifth-place in the 2005 road race. Both events were in Park City, Utah. He also competed on the Hot Tubes team at Le Tour de l’Abitibi in 2005. The seven-day-long stage race in Quebec is the only international Junior World Cup event conducted in North America. “Alex’s background and his enthusiasm will be welcome additions to our team,” Achterberg said. “I know that Alex is excited about going to college and competing in collegiate events. We’re very pleased to have him here at MSU.” "I've known about MSU's cycling program since I was in high school,” Boyd said. “I have decided to transfer to MSU to get a quality education while pursuing my career as a cyclist. I'm excited about attending a school that provides a good balance of cycling and education." The Mustangs begin their spring racing schedule in late February. In addition to racing in many of the large non-collegiate events in Texas, the team will work to win the collegiate conference cycling title for the ninth time. The team will travel to compete at the University of Texas, Texas A&M, Texas State University and Stephen F. Austin University. The Mustangs also will host a race weekend in late March in Wichita Falls. The collegiate national championships will be conducted in mid-May at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kan. In 2006, MSU riders got on the podium in all three women’s events and the team finished sixth out of 47 teams, for its best finish since 2003. 10/17/06 -- MSU CYCLIST WINS THREE TEXAS CHAMPIONSHIPS Midwestern State University cyclist Sheri Jordan won her third Texas USCF state title of the year this past Sunday at the skill-based state championship road race in Copperas Cove, Texas. While Jordan technically won the Women's Category 3 race on a rainy course, that race was combined with the Category 1-2 women's race. Jordan was in a two-rider breakaway and won the sprint at the end of the race. The victory comes one week after Jordan won the state title for women Under 23 in a separate state championship road race at Lake Bryan, Texas. Earlier this year, Jordan won the Category 3 women's state criterium title in Fort Worth. Her consistent, strong performance also has won her the season-long TXBRA title for Category 3 women. Jodan joined the MSU cycling team after competing as a soccer player on the high school, club and collegiate levels. 9/23/06 -- MIDWESTERN STATE CYCLIST WINS TWO NATIONAL TITLES   INDIANAPOLIS – Aaron Kacala, a freshman Midwestern State cyclist, won two national titles last week at the National Collegiate Track Cycling Championships in Indianapolis.   Kacala’s championships in the kilometer time trial and the match sprint are the 18th and 19th national champion jerseys won by Midwestern State since the collegiate cycling program started in the late 1980s.   Kacala, who is from Racine, Wis., left a resident athlete position at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., this spring because he wanted to attend school. Kacala, 20, is majoring in kinesiology at MSU working toward certification as a physical therapist.   These national championships are not Kacala’s first. He won the kilometer time trial twice – both when he was 17 and 18 – at USA Cycling’s Junior National Championships. He also has competed in cycling sprint events at the Junior World Championships in Moscow and at other world-class races, including the Pan Am Games and at events in Cuba, Ecuador and elsewhere.   “Aaron’s national championships are a great start to his collegiate career,” said MSU Cycling Coach Gary Achterberg. “Not only is Aaron a great athlete, he’s really a wonderful mentor for the other riders on our team. It’s also really gratifying to see that he’s having fun on the bike and also really embracing his responsibilities as a student.”   Kacala’s two wins were enough to earn fourth place in the individual overall competition, which tallied points from the three-day-long competition at the Major Taylor Velodrome.   Midwestern took three riders to track nationals  – all freshmen. The others were Matt Fox, 18, from Highland Park, Ill., and Kip Spaude, 19, from Watertown, Wis.   The three athletes earned a fourth-place podium spot in the team pursuit – an event normally run with four riders. The team rides together around the track, taking turns pulling at the front, for 12 laps or a total of 4 kilometers.   “We thought we had an outside chance at one of the five podium spots,” Achterberg said. “However, the three rode a very flawless race technically and Kip’s endurance definitely was the glue that held things together, considering that this race is a much longer track event than either Aaron or Matt normally would race.   “Clearly, everyone is thrilled with Aaron’s two national titles, but I know all three guys think that being able to combine to get a medal in an event that we really thought we were a long-shot in is really something special.”   In other results:   n      Fox, who won the Junior National Championship this summer in the kilometer time trial, earned the fourth-place medal in the event at Collegiate Nationals. Fox also finished tenth in the individual overall competition among approximately 70 men who competed in at least one event.  In addition to competing at Junior Nationals this summer, Fox also was selected to race for the U.S. National Team at the Junior World Championships in August in Ghent, Belgium. He also raced for the national team this summer in Trinidad and previously has raced for the national team in Venezuela.   n      In addition to getting on the podium in the team pursuit, Spaude finished tenth out of approximately 50 competitors in the individual pursuit, which is a 3 kilometer time trial, and 15th in the kilometer time trial out of approximately 55 competitors. Spaude’s strength is racing on the road. He raced on the track for the first time in June and spent a fair amount of time over the summer competing with Kacala and Fox at the velodrome in Kenosha, Wis.   n      Midwestern finished 11th among all of the teams who competed in Indianapolis. Achterberg said that is a very impressive showing for a three-person team without a rider entered in any of the full slate of women’s events.   “It’s really gratifying to have a team that’s active again with racing on the track,” Achterberg said. “While some of our previous national titles were won on the track, we’ve been in a hiatus for the past few years.   “I also would be remiss if I didn’t give a lot of credit to the folks at our ‘home velodrome,’ the Superdrome in Frisco, he said. “They’ve been absolutely wonderful about giving us all of the training opportunities and other support that we’ve needed as we’ve been getting ready to go to nationals. That just made a huge difference in how these guys performed.”   Midwestern State will begin a full spring of racing on the road – both in collegiate and other USA Cycling events – in mid-February as it prepares for the Collegiate Road Cycling National Championships, which will be conducted in mid-May in Lawrence, Kan.   This past year, the Mustangs finished sixth out of 47 teams at road nationals and got on the podium in all three women’s events – second in the team time trial, second in the criterium and third in the road race. 6/12/06 --TOP CYCLISTS COMMIT TO ATTEND MIDWESTERN STATE Four cyclists, including a three-time junior national champion, have committed to attend Midwestern State starting in the 2006-07 school year.   Three of the athletes will begin at Midwestern as freshmen in the fall. The fourth will begin work on a master’s degree in January.   “The riders who are coming to Midwestern this coming school year are a great investment in this program and its traditions,” said MSU Cycling Coach Gary Achterberg. “We’ve got some solid experience on the road that will help fill gaps left by graduation, and I’m also excited that we’re going to be getting more involved in track racing again.”   Midwestern State athletes have won 17 national championships and numerous other national awards during the 16-year history of the cycling program. Many of those championships and medals have been won on the velodrome – a banked four-turn track on which riders compete on fixed-gear bikes with no brakes.   The freshmen coming to MSU are: n  Matthew Fox, 18, of Highland Park, Ill. Fox has specialized in track events during his junior career. He earned four medals – including silvers in the 17-18 age group in both the kilometer and the team sprint – during the 2005 USA Cycling Junior National Track Championships. Fox also has won junior national championships in younger age groups earlier in his cycling career. He also has won multiple state championships on the track in Illinois as well as national championships held by American Bicycle Racing, a smaller cycling federation. Fox has attended numerous training camps at the U.S. Olympic Training Center and also has competed on the track as part of the U.S. Junior National Team. Fox is a 2006 graduate of Highland Park (Ill.) High School. n Aaron Kacala, 20, of Racine, Wis. Kacala, who also specializes in the track, has spent the last two years as a permanent resident at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. He moved from the OTC and started looking at colleges and collegiate cycling programs because he wanted to start working toward a college degree.” Kacala won three junior national championships in the 17-18 age group – the kilometer both years and the team sprint when he was 18. Kacala also has competed in numerous elite-level track competitions around the world, including the 2003 Junior Track World Championships in Moscow, where he finished 16th in the kilometer and fourth in the team sprint. He also has won the junior state road and criterium championships in Wisconsin. Kacala is a 2004 graduate of Racine Case High School in Wisconsin. n  Kip Spaude, 18, of Watertown, Wis. Spaude has established himself as one of the top junior cyclists in the Upper Midwest over the last two years. He has had top finishes in numerous junior and Category 3 races over the past few years. He also competed at Le Tour de l’Abitibi in 2004 and 2005. The race in Val-d’Or, Quebec, is the only international junior race that takes place in North America. Throughout his junior career and now in his first year of senior racing, Spaude is competes for the ISCorp Cycling Team, which has seen numerous riders move on to professional teams as well as to international competition in Europe as part of the U.S. National Team. Achterberg was the coach of the ISCorp Junior Cycling Team before he moved from Wisconsin to Wichita Falls in August 2003. Spaude also is a national-caliber cross-country ski racer. As he was considering colleges, Spaude also looked at several schools with cross-country ski programs. Nordic skiing is an NCAA sport. Spaude is a 2006 graduate of Watertown (Wis.) High School.     “These freshmen are a very solid foundation from which this team can grow,” Achterberg said. “We’ve got track talent in Aaron and Matt that will make us contenders at the Collegiate National Track Championships right away this fall.”   Spaude, whose strength is on the road, also is getting involved with track racing. He plans to spend time this summer developing his skills at the velodrome in Kenosha, Wis., with help from both Kacala and Fox, who also live in the vicinity.   In addition to the three freshmen, the current top cyclist from the South Central Collegiate Cycling Conference who is not already a student at Midwestern State plans to transfer to MSU in January to begin work on a master’s degree in kinesiology.   n   Colt Trant, 22, of Seguin, Texas, will graduate from Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, in December with a degree in economics. Trant finished third in the 2005-06 season-long collegiate conference competition behind MSU riders Brian Wyrick and Adam Biwan.   Trant has won several events this past season, including a road race stage in the biggest USA Cycling stage race in Texas, as well as a collegiate criterium. “Colt is going to be a great addition to our program. I’m really looking forward to him coming to campus in January,” Achterberg said. “He’s improved exponentially as a rider in the last year. He works hard. He’s eager to learn. And, he’s definitely a team player. He’ll fit right in.”   In addition to these scholarship riders, Achterberg said he expects several other top young riders from Texas to walk on to the team this fall.   “I’m also talking to several more out-of-state riders who just graduated from high school who are planning to visit the campus and who still could begin school here either this fall or in the spring,” he added.   “And, I’m in regular contact with a number of other promising juniors who still have one or two years of high school remaining,” Achterberg said. “One is spending a portion of the summer racing with the U.S. Junior National Team in Belgium and another young Canadian cyclist also is getting experience racing in Europe this summer.”   Midwestern State is one of a handful of schools across the nation that offer scholarships to cyclists. The program has attracted athletes from around the world. The Mustangs finished sixth in the nation and earned four medals during USA Cycling’s Collegiate National Road Championships this May in Lawrence, Kan. 5/15/06 -- MIDWESTERN STATE'S CYCLING TEAM IS SIXTH IN THE NATION LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Midwestern State University Cycling Team finished sixth out of 47 teams competing this past weekend at USA Cycling’s Collegiate National Championships at the University of Kansas.   The Mustangs’ top overall finish since 2003 was spearheaded by its women’s squad, which earned podium spots in all three events.   Jennifer Purcell, a third-year radiology student from Milwaukee, finished third in the overall women’s competition. She was second in Sunday’s criterium and third in Saturday’s road race.   MSU’s women’s team time trial squad – in which four riders rode a 24-kilometer course against the clock – also finished second on Friday. The members of that team were Purcell; Ivana Miucic, a kinesiology graduate student from Serbia; Sheri Jordan, a kinesiology undergraduate from Fort Worth; and Laura Whittle, a third-year engineering student from Belleville, Ill.   MSU’s top men’s finish was Adam Biwan’s 12th place finish in the road race. Biwan is a third-year education and math major from Sheboygan, Wis.   The University of California-Davis won the team competition. Also finishing ahead of MSU were Fort Lewis College, Colorado, Penn State and Indiana. Rounding out the top 10 behind MSU were Colorado State, Florida, Wisconsin and California-Berkeley.   “Our women had an awesome weekend and clearly were the key to our overall finish,” said MSU Cycling Coach Gary Achterberg. “The team time trial truly was a team effort and this was Jen’s best nationals – and she’s gotten on the podium each of the last two years.”   Purcell’s strong finish definitely was complimented by the experience of MSU’s other women, Achterberg said.   “Ivana’s back as MSU working on a master’s degree,” he said. “She was a part of several national championship team time trial teams when she was an undergrad. Her experience and strength are a huge boost. And, when you add Laura and Sheri, who both have grown a lot in the last year or so, and you have perhaps the best women’s squad in the country.”   Crashes played a big role in the women’s road race on Saturday. Purcell was the only one of MSU’s women to avoid them entirely. Whittle was in the front group of about 20 just several hundred yards from the finish line when she was taken out by a crash. She ultimately finished 35th. Jordan and Miucic also had good position in the field when they were involved in crashes earlier in the final 28-mile lap.   “We clearly would have had other riders toward the top of the road race results if it hadn’t been for the crashes,” Achterberg said. “But there are a lot of schools who also can say ‘would have’ or ‘could have’ after that race.”   In the men’s road race, Biwan finished just off the front of the field in 12th place. A group of six riders in a breakaway had gained about three minutes by the end of the race. Biwan and five others also managed to get some separation in the final miles of the race to finish in front of the field.   Brian Wyrick, who won the South Central Collegiate Cycling Conference championships in Austin, Texas, earlier this month, finished in 34th place in the middle of the field sprint. The senior from Quitman, Texas, spent this past summer racing in Belgium at the Cycling Center, an elite U.S. amateur program. Dominic Van Nielen, a senior from Kingwood, Texas, was involved in a crash in the final miles of the race and finished just off the back of the field. Van Nielen is spending two months of this summer racing in the same program in Belgium. MSU’s fourth men’s rider, Jarred Gilker, a freshman from Fort Smith, Ark., did not finish the race due to mechanical problems.   In the women’s criterium, a fast initial pace narrowed the field to a lead group of 23 and a second group of about 15 riders. The top 30 finishers scored points toward the team title. MSU was the only school with all three of its starters in the front group. Purcell’s second-place finish landed her on the podium again. Miucic finished 16th and Whittle was 19th.   The men’s criterium field stayed together and came down to a bunch sprint. Van Nielen finished in the points with a 27th-place finish and Wyrick was 42nd. Biwan rolled in at the back of the field to avoid crashes after realizing he was out of the points. 4/30/06 -- MIDWESTERN STATE REPEATS AS CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS AUSTIN, Texas – The Midwestern State University Cycling Team won the South Central Collegiate Cycling Championship for the fifth year in a row on Sunday.   The final event in the year-long competition was hosted by the University of Texas in Austin on Saturday and Sunday. MSU riders won all events during the weekend in both the men’s and women’s Category A.   Winning the conference title earns MSU a return trip to the collegiate national championships, which begin a week from Friday in Lawrence, Kan.   In addition to winning the team title over second-place University of Texas and third-place Texas A&M, the Mustangs dominated the top spots in both the Mens A and Womens A categories.   Brian Wyrick, a fourth-year student from Quitman, Texas, won the season-long Category A mens title as well as both the road race and the criterium at this weekend’s competition. Teammate Adam Biwan, a junior from Sheboygan, Wis., finished second in the season-long competition.   MSU riders also finished fourth, fifth and eighth in the men’s competition. Dominic Van Nielen, a senior from Kingwood, Texas, was fourth; Jarred Gilker, a freshman from Fort Smith, Ark., fifth; and Todd Campbell of the Kansas City area, eighth.   Midwestern State’s women also dominated Category A. Ivana Miucic, a graduate student from Serbia, captured the season title. She was followed by two other Mustangs: Laura Whittle, a junior from Belleville, Ill., was second; Sheri Jordan of Fort Worth, Texas, third.   “I’m really proud of the results that our riders achieved in a conference that has become significantly more competitive in the last year,” said MSU Cycling Coach Gary Achterberg. “We’ve got a number of athletes, particularly on the men’s side, who are capping off successful collegiate cycling careers – and it’s great for them to be able to add one more conference championship to their achievements.”   Competition in Austin over the weekend included a road race and a team time trial – in which teams of four riders from each school covered a 20-kilometer (12.2-mile) course together against the clock – on Saturday. Riders on Sunday raced in criteriums on a one-mile closed course on the streets circling the football stadium on the University of Texas campus.   MSU swept the top four spots in the women’s road race. Jennifer Purcell, a third-year rider from Milwaukee, won the event. Purcell has medaled at the collegiate national championships the last two years but has struggled with tendonitis in a knee for much of this season. Whittle was second in the road race, Jordan was third and Miucic, fourth.   In addition to Wyrick’s win in the men’s road race, MSU’s Biwan finished fourth.   In the team time trials Saturday afternoon, MSU’s men and women won their respective races by large margins. Both team time trial squads are the same teams that the Mustangs will field at the national championships.   In Sunday’s criteriums, Wyrick and Chris Case, a University of Texas rider, got into an early breakaway that stayed away with help from teammates who worked to slow down the field. The two gained a lap on the course by about the mid-point of the 70-minute criterium. Wyrick got off the front of the field again later in the race to ensure his win over Case. Biwan finished fourth.   In the women’s criterium, Miucic won. Tiffany Stewart, who is from El Paso, was fourth.   The final event on the collegiate calendar is the national championships at the University of Kansas. MSU will field a men’s and women’s team time trial team as well as full squads of four riders in the men’s and women’s road race and three riders in the men’s and women’s criterium. 4/2/06 -- MIDWESTERN STATE CYCLISTS DOMINATE HOME TURF The Midwestern State University Cycling Team dominated the top categories at a three-event collegiate stage race the team hosted in Wichita Falls over the weekend.   Brian Wyrick won two of the three events to take the top spot on the podium in Mens Category A. Ivana Miucic also won two of the three women’s events and helped a teammate win the third event on her way to the overall title in Womens Category A.   More than 60 collegiate riders from across Texas competed in the event. The stage race started off on Saturday morning with a road race west of the city. That afternoon, riders competed in an 8-mile individual time trial on a course just east of town. Competition moved onto campus on Sunday morning as the riders competed in criteriums. The overall winner in each category was the rider with the lowest combined time.   “We performed well in the top categories, and it’s another sign that we’re on track in our preparations for collegiate nationals, which now are just over a month away,” said MSU Cycling Coach Gary Achterberg.    “It’s really nice to see Brian in top form, and all of the women had a great weekend,” he added. “Ivana especially really stepped up to the plate both with her strong individual rides and the work she did for her teammates.”   Wyrick is in his final full year at MSU. He won the road race and criterium at the MSU race. The previous weekend, Wyrick won both events at collegiate races hosted by Stephen F. Austin University in Cleburne. He spent the entire summer of 2005 competing as part of the elite U.S. amateur Cycling Center program in Belgium.   In the Mens Category A race, Adam Biwan, a junior from Wisconsin, finshed second in the overall results. Biwan had strong rides all three days. He and Wyrick were in a breakaway in the road race along with a rider from Texas State University, who finished third in that race. Biwan finished third in the time trial and won the criterium.   Midwestern State’s women dominated their Category A race. Laura Whittle, a third-year rider from Illinois, won the criterium and finished just one second behind Miucic in the time trial. She was second in the road race. Sheri Jordan finished third in all three events, behind Miucic and Whittle, and earned the third-place position in the overall competition.   Midwestern State also had a number of riders competing in the Mens Category C event. Top finishers in the overall were Joseph Solis, 4th, Tyler Henderson, 6th; Stephen Triche, 10th, and Bryan Zurlo, 11th. Solis took second place in the time trial.   “This was a great event that helps showcase MSU Cycling on the campus and in the entire community,” Achterberg said. “Our team put a lot of work into making this happen. I really appreciate their efforts, as well as those of many others on the campus and in the community who volunteered to help us put on a safe and well-run event.”   The MSU Cycling Team’s next collegiate competition takes place on April 29-30 when the University of Texas hosts the conference championships in Austin. The Mustangs then head to the Collegiate National Championships in Lawrence, Kan., on May 12-14. 3/7/06 -- MSU CYCLISTS DOMINATE TEXAS STATE RACE WEEKEND SAN MARCOS, Texas – Midwestern State’s cycling team dominated the top categories at a collegiate race weekend sponsored by Texas State University on March 4-5.   Three Mustangs won three overall titles for their combined finishes between Saturday’s criterium and Sunday’s road race. Brian Wyrick won the men’s Category A competition, Jennifer Purcell took the women’s Category A title and Tiffany Stewart was the top rider in the Women’s B races.   “This was our first weekend of collegiate racing for the spring and our results reflect the hard work that our riders have been putting in over the winter,” said MSU Cycling Coach Gary Achterberg. “This bodes well for the rest of the spring as we hope to repeat as conference champions and also improve on our results at nationals in May.”   In Saturday’s criterium, riders completed multiple laps on a 1.3-mile course outside of town.   The Category A men raced for an hour. A breakaway with two MSU riders – Wyrick and Adam Biwan – got away about half-way through the race. A third Texas State rider bridged up to the group. Toward the end of the race, Wyrick got away from that group and eventually won the race. The Texas State rider was second; Biwan finished third.   The Category A women raced for 45 minutes. Purcell won the race and was off the front by herself for the final laps of the race. MSU dominated the women’s field. Ivana Miucic was second, Laura Whittle finished third, Sheri Jordan was fifth and Malinda Michaud was seventh.   “We have a really solid group of women this season,” Achterberg said. “Jen has won medals at collegiate nationals the last two years and she’s now being joined by Ivana -- who is returning to MSU as a grad student and was part of a national championship team time trial squad – and also Laura, who has been a key contributor to the team for three years, and Sheri, who really has developed nicely as a cyclist over the last year.   “This strength really boosts us as we get closer to nationals,” he added. “If we work well together as a team, I think that medals at nationals are a definite possibility.”   Tiffany Stewart, who also runs cross country for MSU, won the Women’s B criterium on Saturday and was second in Sunday’s 30-mile road race for her category.   “We’re really pleased to have Tiffany racing with us and she’s showing a lot of potential as a cyclist,” Achterberg said. “I also truly appreciate the flexibility of cross country to give her to opportunity to compete in both sports.”   MSU also had six riders competing in the Men’s Category C race, which typically is one of the biggest fields at any collegiate race weekend. MSU took a total of 17 riders on the road.   “I was especially happy with the results of some of our new riders who were racing for the first time ever this past weekend,” Achterberg said. “With a little more training and experience, I’m hoping we have several riders ready to move up to Category B as we get further into the season.”   In Sunday’s road race, Wyrick and freshman Jarred Gilker stayed away in a breakaway that Gilker initiated just after the start of the 60-mile event on a hilly course near Seguin. The two gained more than three minutes on the rest of the field as the race progressed. Gilker won the race and Wyrick was second.   The rest MSU’s men also performed well in the sprint at the end of the race, Achterberg said. Biwan finished fourth and Dominic Van Nielen was seventh.   In the women’s race, MSU swept the three podium positions. Jordan won, Purcell was second and Whittle was third. Miucic finished fifth.   Many of MSU’s riders will be competing in non-collegiate events over the weekends on either side of spring break. Major events on the Texas calendar are planned for Lago Vista and Fayetteville, both basically in the Austin area.   The Mustangs return to collegiate racing on March 25 with a road race and five-mile uphill time trial being hosted by Stephen F. Austin University. The following weekend, MSU plays host to the conference with a road race and time trial on Saturday, April 1, and a morning full of criteriums on campus on Sunday, April 2.   The season culminates in mid-May with the Collegiate National Championships in Lawrence, Kan. 12/1/05 - MSU CYCLIST TO COMPETE IN BELGIUM NEXT SUMMER Dominic Van Nielen, a senior majoring in kinesiology and a fourth-year member of the Midwestern State University Cycling Team has been accepted to the Cycling Center, a program that gives elite U.S. amateur racers the opportuntity to live, train and compete in Belgium. Van Nielen, who is from Kingwood, Texas, will be in Belgium from mid-June to mid-August. He is among about 40 cyclists selected from more than 200 applicants for the program that is based in Hertsberge, a small town in the Flanders region of Belgium. "The Cycling Center will challenge Dom as a cyclist in ways that just aren't possible in the United States," said MSU Cycling Coach Gary Achterberg. "Belgium is the center of the cycling universe. The opportunities to race and the level of competition will really help Dom grow as an athlete." 11/7/05 - HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER FEATURES MSU RIDER QUITMAN, Texas -- The Wood County Democrat this week ran a lengthy feature article and interview with MSU rider Brian Wyrick, who is from Quitman in Wood County. In the inteview Brian discussed how he got involved with cycling, what goes into training and his goals for the future. The article also discussed the three months that Brian spent racing in Belgium this summer as part of the Cycling Center, as well as his racing plans for the 2006 season. The article also quoted his father, Ray Wyrick. 10/24/05 - MSU CYCLING COACH ATTENDS SEMINAR AT U.S. OLYMPIC TRAINING CENTER COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- MSU Cycling Coach Gary Achterberg attended a weekend-long seminar on Nutrition for the Endurance Athlete from Oct. 21-23 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Speakers addressed topics that included: periodization of nutrition for maximum performance; minerals, antioxidants and vitamins, ergogenic aids, including bars, gels and energy drinks; being a critical consumer; putting a nutrition plan together, and eating disorders. "This was one of a number of excellent conferences that USA Cycling puts on for its coaches," Achterberg said. "I was particularly excited about the information presented on periodizing nutrition. This is cutting-edge stuff, and I think that it's something that a number of athletes on the team will find interesting and helpful." 10/16/05 - MSU CYCLING TEAM DOMINATES BAYLOR RACE WEEKEND   WACO, Texas -- Midwestern State University cyclists dominated the competition at three races sponsored by Baylor University last weekend.   Sheri Jordan won all three events in the Women's Category B competition as well as the overall title in that category. Bryan Zurlo won two individual events and finished second in another as he captured the overall title in Men's Category C.   Midwestern's Category A Men's team put five riders in the top eight spots in the overall competition in that category. Junior Adam Biwan was second, freshman Jarred Gilker was third, senior Dominic Van Nielen was fourth, senior Todd Campbell was seventh and senior Brian Wyrick finished eighth.   In the women's field, Ivana Miucic, who returned to MSU this fall to pursue a master's degree in biology, finished second overall and was second in each of the three individual races. Miucic was part of two national championship team time trial teams while she was an undergraduate here. Several of MSU's other women did not compete in the Baylor races due to injuries.   "I'm very pleased at the depth that we showed in the Men's Category A race, even though we didn't win the overall title," said Coach Gary Achterberg. "We worked well together as a team, particularly in the last race where we mounted an aggressive effort to move Dominic up in the overall standings.   "I'm also extremely proud of the effort and results that our riders displyed in the entry-level categories," he added. "Sheri and Bryan have been training very hard -- and the results show that their work has paid off."   More than 100 riders from universities across Texas competed in the three-race weekend, which started with a road race Saturday morning in Clifton. That afternoon, riders competed in a 13-mile time trial in Crawford. Sunday's competition was a second road race, this time outside of Moody.   "This is the best turnout of riders for the Category A men that I've seen in my three seasons here," Achterberg said. "While it definitely forces our athletes to rise to the occasion, I'm glad to see the activity and interest in collegiate racing at other schools. It makes the competition better and more fun for everybody."   The other MSU riders who competed last weekend were: Allison Furini, Chris Strader, David Van Akkeren, Greg Saxon, Joseph Solis and Jared Teel.   This was the only road competition on the fall collegiate schedule. The spring promises a full travel schedule, including a number of collegiate events. MSU will sponsor a three-race weekend in the Wichita Falls area, probably sometime in April. 9/21/05 - MIDWESTERN COACH, ATHLETE INVOLVED WITH BELGIUM'S CYCLING CENTER Midwestern State University cyclist Brian Wyrick and coach Gary Achterberg both were involved with a program in Belgium for elite amateur cyclists this summer. Wyrick left for Belgium just days after the Collegiate National Road Championships in Lawrence, Kansas, and raced with the Cycling Center-Bioracer team until late August. He competed in local kermesses throughout the Flanders region of Belgium as well as one-day UCI races in both Belgium and in France. Achterberg also spent three weeks at the Cycling Center in Hertsberge, Belgium, working as an assistant coach. In his role, he directed teams at local kermesses and also assisted with all aspects of team support at UCI events, including a five-day-long Category 2.1 stage race. "The Cycling Center is an incredible learning experience on many different levels for athletes who are ready for the challenge," Achterberg said. "I'm proud of the association that our team and school have developed with Bernard Moerman and his program. I'm looking forward to many more of our athletes having the opportunity to live, train and race in Belgium in future years." After returning from Belgium, Achterberg wrote a series of articles for the dailypeloton.com cycling Web site about his experience as well as the athletes and staff who are involved with it: Ground Zero of Amateur Cycling Vlaams-Brabant Stage Race Athlete Profiles, Part 1 Athlete Profiles, Part 2 Staff Profiles How to Apply 5/02/05 - MIDWESTERN ATHLETES WIN USCF STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS Two riders from Midwestern State University won a total of three USA Cycling state championship jerseys in competitions held over the past weekend. Jennifer Purcell won the 19-29 age category in both the age-based state championship road race, held Saturday in Forestburg TX, and the age-based state championship criterium, held Sunday in Richardson TX. Brian Wyrick won the Under 23 state champion's jersey -- and the entire 19-29 race as well -- in the criterium in Richardson. Stefan Rothe was second behind Wyrick. "I'm very encouraged by these results, which are happening just over a week before we leave for the Collegiate National Road Championships in Lawrence, Kan.," said MSU Cycling Coach Gary Achterberg. "Our entire nationals team is riding really well -- and they're working well as a unit. Brian's victory, especially, came with a lot of support from his teammates." 4/11/05 - MIDWESTERN STATE WINS CONFERENCE CYCLING TITLE The Midwestern State University Cycling Team won the South Central Collegiate Cycling Conference title for the fifth consecutive year on Sunday as the season ended with the conference championships in Wichita Falls. Team Arrow won the title with more than 7,000 points accumulated at collegiate races since the school year started last September. The University of Texas was second with just over 2,000 points, narrowly beating out Texas A&M. The top two teams in the conference qualify for the national championships, which will be held in about a month in Lawrence, Kan.   Riders from MSU won the season-long competition in four of the five categories:   -- In the top men's division, Category A, MSU riders captured the top six spots. Dominic Van Nielen, a junior from Kingwood, Texas, won.  -- In Womens Category A, MSU took the top two spots; Jennifer Purcell, a sophomore from Milwaukee, won.  -- In Men's Category B, MSU also took the top two spots. David Van Akkeren, a sophomore from Houston, won.  -- The top riders in Womens Category B also are from MSU. Malinda Michaud, a sophomore from Wichita Falls, won.   "I'm really proud of our team for riding consistently all season," said MSU Cycling Coach Gary Achterberg. "From our elite riders to women who came to our team from other sports because they wanted to try bike racing, we've had a lot of athletes who have been working very hard to get better."   This past weekend's conference championships started on Saturday morning with road races of varying distances on a rural course east of Wichita Falls. The race distances ranged from 77 miles for the Category A men to38.5 miles for the entry-level men's and women's racers. MSU riders won four of the five races.   On Saturday afternoon, schools assembled teams ranging from two to four riders to race a team time trial over a 20-kilometer (12.4-mile) course on Lower Charley Road. MSU won every category. Its two elite mens teams finished first and third.   The weekend's competition concluded on Sunday with criteriums on the Midwestern State campus. MSU riders won four of the five categories. 12/16/2004 - MSU IS NATIONAL CLUB OF THE YEAR The Midwestern State University Cycling Team was named the top collegiate cycling team in the nation on Thursday. Read more here.