MIDWESTERN STATE CYCLING IS NATIONAL CLUB OF THE YEAR
The Midwestern State University Cycling Team was named the top collegiate cycling team in the nation for 2004 in December 2004.
The selection for this award by USA Cycling, the national governing body for the sport, is "a tribute to every rider on this team from our national-caliber athletes to the students who are giving bike racing a try for the first time and giving it their all," said MSU Cycling Coach Gary Achterberg.
The application for the award took many factors into account, including the team's performance. In addition to leading in four of the five categories in the South Central Collegiate Cycling Conference, Achterberg said that he also stressed the support that the team receives from individuals and community organizations, such as the Hotter 'N Hell Hundred.
"There are many in the community who share this recognition," Achterberg said. "This team would not be where it is today without the vision of people like Dr. Bob Clark at MSU and Roby Christie, Ken Webb and many others who are associated with the Hotter 'N Hell Hundred."
MSU currently holds the top six conference spots in the men's Category A, first and third in women's Category A, first and second in both the men's and women's Category B fields and also has several riders near the stop of the standings in men's Category C. MSU riders also earned medals in four events at the collegiate track nationals last September and finished second in the overall women's standings in the collegiate road national championships last May. MSU althletes have won 17 national championships in the 15-year history of the program.
Midwestern is one of six schools in the nation to offer scholarships to cyclists. That has helped attract top riders from around the nation to Wichita Falls, Achterberg said. The current roster includes athletes from Germany, Wisconsin, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. There have been several Canadians involved in past teams, as well as riders from Serbia and Israel. Scholarship support comes from the school, Hotter 'N Hell, the Southwest and North Rotary Clubs of Wichita Falls and also Dr. Brian Hull.
The MSU cycling team also works closely with the school's Department of Kinesiology and has implemented a program of regular performance testing. "We've worked science into our program in a way that few if any other collegiate programs in the nation have," Achterberg said. "A lot of the credit for that should go to Dr. Greg Haff, who just left MSU as the chair of the kinesiology department to take a job at the University of West Virginia.
"I also believe we also were recognized because we're trying to look beyond collegiate cycling to other cycling opportunities that will allow our riders to develop," Achterberg said. "I'm also working to attract some of the best high school talent in the state and nation to MSU," Achterberg said.
For example, MSU has:
n Built ties with a program for elite American cyclists who get an opportunity to spend a substantial portion of the season racing in Belgium. Brian Wyrick, a junior from Quitman, Texas, will race with the Cycling Center in Hertsberge, Belgium, from mid-May to late August of this year.
n Worked to find national-level racing opportunities for Jennifer Purcell, the MSU rider who finished second among women at the collegiate road nationals in Madison, Wis., last May. Purcell won the women's Texas state championships in both the criterium and road race this year. Those races included all riders, not just collegiate athletes.
n Started hosting one of USA Cycling's junior regional camps this past season. "This camp is attended by the best high school-age cyclists in the region," Achterberg said. "It's a great opportunity for me to see the talent that's out there and expose these athletes to MSU's program at the same time."
n Been involved with taking a team of junior selected at that camp to the most competitive junior event held in North America. Achterberg coached a team of six juniors. who were provided with team clothing by Hotter 'N Hell, at the eight-day-long Le Tour de l'Abitibi stage race in Quebec in July.
In recent years, teams recognized as the top collegiate program of the year include Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colo., the University of California at Berkeley and Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo.
Achterberg has been at MSU since August 2003. He previously worked as a volunteer coach with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Cycling Team and directed an elite junior team. He previously has led trips of junior athletes to races in Canada, Germany and throughout the United States.
"I'm thrilled by this award, but the recognition really needs to go to my riders and also to everyone in the community who has had a vision for this team," Achterberg said. "They have bent over backward on many occasions to do what it's taken to get here.
"One of my riders said in an e-mail to the team right after this award was announced Thursday that this puts the pressure on us as we look toward nationals this coming May,'' Achterberg said."I couldn't agree more. This is great, but let's keep looking forward."
