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Bobcats Finish Strong at Nationals Behind Warner, Welsh

The Bobcats (left) will look to build on their success at last year's championships this weekend. Photo courtesy of Lees-McRae College's website

May 7, 2012. OGDEN, Utah — Rachel Warner (Luray, Va.) finished fourth in the women’s road race, and Joseph Welsh (Cordova, Tenn.) placed eighth in the men’s competition to propel Lees-McRae College to a strong performance on Sunday en route to a sixth-place showing at the USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships.

Marian University won the team omnium title for the second year in a row, posting 500 points to edge the University of Colorado at Boulder (470). Fort Lewis College was third with 424 markers, followed by University of California – Davis (289) and Lindenwood University (260). Lees-McRae had 251 points.

Warner kicked off the day with a strong performance in the women’s road race, placing fourth with a time of 2:58:06 to edge Fort Lewis’ Lauren Catlin by six seconds. Katherine Shields (Salisbury, N.C.) and Emily Shields (Salisbury, N.C.) placed 17th and 18th, respectively, with identical times of 3:01:13, as Cinthia Lehner (Greer, S.C.) finished 20th with a mark of 3:01:34.

Welsh followed with an eighth-place performance in the men’s road race, posting a time of 3:05:51, as Sondre Thorbergsen (Tranoy, Norway) finished 25th with a mark of 3:07:58. Jake Boone (Hurst, Texas) placed 30th with a time of 3:07:59, while Trevor MacLean (Westport, Conn.) finished 36th with a mark of 3:08:34.

Lehner turned in the top performance of the day on Saturday in the criterium, finishing 12th with a time of 59:25, as Katherine and Emily Shields placed 32nd and 36th, respectively. Zac Felpel (Willow Street, Pa.) finished 32nd in the men’s criterium with a time of 1:14:19, while Brian Ellison (Chicago Heights, Ill.) placed 37th with a mark of 1:14:20.

The Bobcats kicked off the weekend with an eighth-place performance in the women’s team time trial on Friday, turning in a time of 52:13.95 to beat out Lindenwood University by more than two minutes. The men’s team followed with a ninth-place performance, posting a time of 42:53.29 to edge Lindsey Wilson College.

Lees-McRae caps a strong championship season with the strong showing at Road Nationals, taking third at Cyclocross Nationals, while placing fourth at both Mountain Bike and Track Nationals earlier this season.