Lees-McRae Cycling Captures Fifth at Collegiate Mountain Bike Nationals

The Lees-McRae College cycling team captured fifth at Collegiate Mountain Bike Nationals this past weekend (Oct. 19-21).

Fort Lewis captured the varsity national title, while Colorado Mesa finished second, Marian took third and Brevard finished fourth.

The team competed in the cross-country event on Friday (Oct. 19), dual slalom and short track on Saturday (Oct. 20), and finished on Sunday (Oct. 21) with the downhill event and the team relay. The races were divided into varsity and club levels.

Men on Day One – In the cross-country event, Nolan VanderZwaag highlighted the men’s performance finishing ninth while Jack Perry finished 18^th. Nicholas Sdrenka took 27^th, while David Kahn crossed the line in 35^th. Brendan Bengtson also finished 40^th in the event.

Women on Day One – Kiley Krasley was the top finisher for the women in the cross-country event in 14^th, while Erin Sferrazza finished 28^th and Svetlana Mack crossed the line in 30^th. Veronica Laughton would finish close behind in 32^nd, while Marla Cline was behind her in 34^th.

The team landed in fifth place overall after its performance on day one.

Men on Day Two – Jake Kahn was the top finisher for LMC in dual slalom finishing 14^th, while Michael Fuersttook 17^th and Jake Kahn finished 19^th.  Anthony Khare took 23^rd in the event, while Jack Perry was the final Bobcat finisher in 40^th. VanderZwaag would log another ninth-place finish in the short track event, while Andrew Sparks and Sdrenka finished back-to-back in 22^nd and 23^rd respectively. Perry would take 26^th, while David Kahn would finish 28^th. Bengtson would finish 45^th as the final Bobcat in the event.

Women on Day Two – The women’s day two performance was highlighted by Veronica Laughton‘s second dual slalom national championship, earning her the Stars and Stripes jersey. Laughton captured her first national championship as a freshman, before taking the title on Saturday and becoming the program’s 58^th national champion. Mack also finished 21^st in the event. Krasley was the top LMC finisher in the short track event in 18^th, while Sferrazza finished in 26^th. Laughton would finish in 33^rd, before Cline and Mack would finish back-to-back in 41^st and 42^nd respectively.

The team remained in fifth headed to the final day.

Men on Day Three – Jake Kahn finished 14^th in the downhill event, while David Kahn took 17^th. Khare would finish 28^th, while Fuerst and Perry would finish 31^st and 32^nd respectively.

Women on Day Three – Laughton paced the women in the downhill event with a third-place finish, while Mack finished 23^rd.

VanderZwaag, Andrew Sparks, Sferrazza and Krasley took sixth in the team relay for LMC.

David Kahn finished fifth in the individual omnium on the men’s side, while Laughton finished third in the individual omnium on the women’s side.

This concludes the collegiate mountain bike season.