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Midwestern State University’s Cycling Team has become one of the strongest collegiate cycling programs in the nation since it started in 1989. Midwestern State athletes have won 21 national collegiate cycling championships on the road and track.
The Mustangs compete in Division 1 at National Collegiate Cycling Association events even though the team could compete in Division 2 due to its size. MSU is a 6,500-student public university in Wichita Falls, Texas – roughly a two-hour drive from both the Dallas-Fort Worth area and Oklahoma City.
Midwestern State competes in regional collegiate events as part of the South Central Collegiate Cycling Conference. It has won the overall-season conference title in 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. The other active schools in the conference include the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University, Baylor University, Texas State University, the University of Houston, the University of North Texas, Stephen F. Austin University, St. Edwards University and the University of Texas at Arlington.
MSU received the Collegiate Club of the Year Award in 2004 from USA Cycling.
Most recently, the Mustangs finished fourth out of 45 schools competing in Division 1 at the 2007 Collegiate Road National Championships in Lawrence, Kan. Two freshmen won national titles. Alex Boyd won the road race for MSU for the first time since 1994, and the next day Natalie Klemko rode off the front of the field to win the women's criterium. MSU last won that race in 2003. During the fall of 2007, Klemko made three podium appearances at the Collegiate Track Cycling National Championships in San Diego, Calif. She finished third overall among Division 1 women with a second place in the points race, fourth place in the match sprint and a fourth in the 500-meter time trial. Aaron Kacala also made a podium appearance with a fifth-place finish in the match sprint.
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The Mustang cycling program also has helped give several riders the opportunity to race in Europe during the summer. MSU riders have spent portions of the 2005, 2006 and 2007 summer at the Cycling Center, a program for elite amateurs, in Hertsberge, Belgium. The current MSU men's squad includes four riders with significant experience racing in Europe.
MSU is one of a handful of universities in the United States to offer cycling scholarships. That is made possible through the support of Hotter 'N Hell Hundred, the school and other supporters in the community. Hotter 'N Hell is the largest organized one-day century ride in the nation. This year it attracted more than 11,000 participants. |
