LAKEWOOD, Wash. – The 10-time national champion Brevard College Cycling team began competition at the 2019 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships on Thursday with a strong showing in the Men's Collegiate Varsity race at Fort Steilacoom Park in Lakewood, Washington.
Brevard College student-athletes took two of the five podium spots at the Men's Collegiate Varsity national championship as junior Tyler Orschel finished second and sophomore Tyler Clark placed fourth. Senior Carson Beckett (11th), sophomore Ryan Johnson (18th), freshman Tyler Miranda (23rd) and sophomore Dalton Collins (24th) gave BC six riders in the top-25.
Orschel, a native of Uxbridge, Canada, finished in second place with a time of 43:51 and a gap of 22 seconds behind race winner Caleb Swartz of Marian University. Clark, the reigning USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike individual national champion, placed fourth behind Scott Funston of Colorado Mesa University. Cade Bickmore of Marian University rounded out the top-five.
Both Orschel and Clark improved upon their finishes at last year's Cyclocross National Championships. In 2018, Orschel finishes finished eighth while Clark made his first trip to the collegiate cyclocross podium with a fifth-place result. The two student-athletes also recently competed in the 2019 Canadian Cyclocross National Championships in the Under-23 division with Orschel placing second and Clark, a native of King City, Ontario, finishing third.
Beckett, a senior from Benton, Kentucky, was the third-highest finishing Tornado with an 11th place finish in a time of 45:27 to hold off a pack of Fort Lewis College riders by 18 seconds. The race marked the final collegiate cyclocross race in Beckett's illustrious college career.
Johnson, a native of Brookville, Pennsylvania, made his collegiate cyclocross national championship debut with an impressive 18th place finish to solidify four top-20 placements for the Tornados. Miranda, a freshman out of Valley City, Ohio, placed 23rd with a time of 48:32 in his first collegiate cyclocross nationals appearance as well.
Collins, a native of Washburn, Wisconsin, improved 15 spots for a 24th place finish after a 39th place result in his collegiate debut at last year's event.
The team will now turn its attention to a full day of action on Friday featuring the Women's Collegiate Varsity and the Collegiate Team Relay national championships.
Brevard College will have five student-athletes – Hannah Arensman, Hannah Dickson, Rachel Pageau, Emma Schwab and Aliza Tobias - competing in the Women's Varsity race. The Tornados will then enter the Collegiate Team Relay looking to repeat as that event's national champions. In 2018, the Brevard College relay team of Arensman, Clark and Orschel captured that event's national title.
Friday's Women's Varsity race is set to start at 11:10 a.m. ET/8:10 a.m. PT. Following the women's race, the four-lap Collegiate Team Relay will cap off the collegiate competition at 5:50 p.m. ET/2:50 p.m. PT.
Follow @BCTornados and @USACyclingLive on Twitter for continued updates from the national championships. Go to www.usacycling.com for more information on events and membership programs.
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HEAD COACH BRAD PERLEY WINS MASTERS 30-34 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP: On Wednesday at the 2019 Cyclocross National Championships in Lakewood, Washington, Brevard College Head Coach Brad Perley won the USA Cycling national championship in the Masters 20-34 division. Coach Perley finished the five-lap competition with a time of 45:19, eight seconds ahead of second-place finisher Sam Owens. Perley has served as the Head Coach of the Brevard College Cycling team since January, 2014.
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