Ishay makes it three collegiate short track titles in a row

The 2012 USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships continued Saturday at the Angel Fire Resort in Angel Fire, New Mexico, with the short track competitions.

In the short track, riders turned half-mile laps with minor elevation gain and loss for 20 minutes and three laps. The first gravity event of the competition, the downhill, spanned 1.5 miles and dropped riders 1,000 feet of elevation.

Division I men short track

It was readily apparent in the early stages of the Division I men's short track race that the winner would be a member of Fort Lewis College. The two-time defending national champion, Rotem Ishay (Fort Lewis College), and Howard Grotts (Fort Lewis College) quickly surfaced at the front after two laps.

Samuel Morrison (University of Colorado-Boulder) was a viable threat until the two Skyhawks drilled it with two laps remaining in the race to open a larger gap.

Ishay, who said this would be his last collegiate endurance race, left on top. He kicked in a higher gear and widened his advantage on Grotts to coast to the top spot of the podium for the third consecutive year.

"Last one! Three in a row," Ishay said. "That's my last endurance collegiate race. I was really motivated and really stressed. I haven't felt that for a collegiate race for a while. I've won a lot of stuff and I was not getting stressed for races, but this one was a big one for me, for sure."

Division I women short track

Lauren Catlin (Fort Lewis College) showed no signs of fatigue a day after sucessfully defending her cross country title, winning the short track race handily over the 47-rider field. Catlin crossed the line more than 30 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Deidre York (University of Colorado-Boulder). Catlin's teammate, Sofia Gomez Villafane (Fort Lewis College) placed third.

Catlin took over the lead from York on the third lap and maintained a comfortable lead throughout the rest of the race.

"I felt really good today," said Catlin. "Watching the (Fort Lewis) boys do so well earlier, I was like, I gotta perform now. I can't let them get all the credit."

Catlin had to dodge a crash at the start of the race that involved her teammate Sarah Sturm.

"I started in the third row and I think that actually saved me," Catlin said afterward. "I had enough time to see it. It was on my right, I went to the left and didn't get caught up in it. Last year, I was the one who got crashed out in the beginning so I know how it feels."

Division II men short track

The Division II men's short track race provided significant drama. Wesley Lamberson (Union College-Ky.) and his teammate Peter Haile (Union College-Ky.) surged to the front of the race after two laps.

Despite starting in the middle of the field, Cypress Gorry (Brevard College) surged and emerged among the leaders. As Haile began to fade, Lamberson and Gorry pushed the pace.

On the penultimate lap, Gorry attacked and Lamberson was unable to answer, allowing Gorry to wheel home with his second national title in two days. Michael Burleigh (University of Denver) passed Lamberson late in the race to sneak into second place, while Lamberson earned the bronze medal in third place.

"It was a tough race out there," Gorry said. "For about five laps, Wes was right in front of me. I could see him, but I couldn't quite get up to him. With three laps to go, I caught him on the climb and I got around him at the top. I had a clear course and I was able to get a little gap and I got it from there, I guess."

Division II women short track

Rebecca Gross (University of Denver) capitalized on starting in the front row to grab an early lead in the Division II women's short track race. Gross would not relinquish the lead as she built a gap of close to 40 seconds after just the first half-mile lap.

Gross knew that a talented field of women, including the winner of Friday's cross country race, Alexis Skarda (Colorado Mesa University), Erica Zaveta (Brevard College) and Essence Barton (California Lutheran University) would be chasing her down.

Gross, who pursuing a graduate degree in sports psychology, plied her future trade to keep her focused on the race.

"Alexis is so fast. I knew I had to do everything I could to stay in front of her and keep that gap big enough so she couldn't work it back up. There was a lot of self talk going on."

Gross' advice was sound as she won the race over Skarda by over a minute. Zaveta surged late in the race to finish third ahead of Barton.

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