Marian University wins collegiate mountain bike national team relay

Division I

In Division I, Marian University won the team relay with riders Andrew Dillman, Allie Dragoo, Joshua Johnson, and Coryn Rivera. The squad posted a time of 14:50.73 to beat out the silver medal Fort Lewis College team of Lauren Catlin, Garrett Lundberg, and Payson McElveen. Collecting bronze in the DI team relay was Lees-McRae College with riders Erin Donohue, Emily Shields, Luke Vrouwenvelder, and Kerry Werner.

"It was fun because racing is almost over and it was good because it was only one lap," said Dillman, a marketing major, after his team's win. "We just knew to go out there and give it everything."

Division II

In the first-ever collegiate mountain bike team relay, Brevard College put in the fastest time of the day to win the Division II competition and also solidify their number one ranking in the Division II team omnium. The North Carolina school won the team event using the foursome of Lewis Gaffney, Sarah Hill, Zachary Valdez, and Erica Zaveta who posted a collective time of 14:47.72.

"We definitely had it in our sights ever since our first conference race and we just knew exactly what we had to do and we wanted to show everyone out there that it isn't just about DI and DII. We wanted to be the fastest out here today," Gaffney explained of his team's thoughts going into the race. "The order came naturally. I've always had a good start. Zach's always been one of the strongest guys on the team so we knew we needed him midway through the race. Then the girls just filled in the gaps where needed and it was amazing to have them."

Finishing for the silver medal in Division II was Colorado Mesa University's trio of Morgan Ryan, Jeffrey Sikes, and Alexis Skarda while the Mars Hill University threesome of Addyson Albershardt, Timothy Jenkins, and Michael Keith grabbed the bronze.

Full Results