Brevard College Places Fourth at USA Cycling Collegiate MTB National Championships

Posted: Oct 22, 2018

Phil de Montmollin: Sports Information Director

MISSOULA, Montana - The Brevard College Cycling team finished fourth in the overall Division I Team Omnium at the 2018 USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships, held October 19 – 21 at Marshall Mountain in Missoula, Montana. It marked the 10th time in the last 11 years (including six MTB national championships) that Brevard has secured a top-four finish at the Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships.

Brevard's relay team of Carson Beckett, Hannah Arensman and Tyler Orschel placed second in the Team Relay on Sunday to cap off the successful event for Head Coach Brad Perley's squad. Brevard College student-athletes also garnered additional podium finishes led by Tyler Orschel who finished second in the Men's Omnium (Best Overall Male Rider) and second in Men's Short Track. Beckett and Scott McGill placed third and fourth respectively in the Men's Omnium, while Arensman finished fourth in the Women's Omnium (Best Overall Female Rider).

In the final race of the championships on Sunday, the Tornados finished with an exciting second-place result in the Team Relay. Brevard's team of Beckett, Arensman and Orschel entered the Team Relay as the only squad using just three riders with Arensman racing two laps. Beckett turned a blistering first lap, the fastest lap of any rider in the entire competition, to give the Tornados an early lead. Arensman raced the second lap, handing the baton to Orschel who turned the third lap of the relay. Arensman then raced her second lap of the event to anchor the relay and secure the second-place finish.

Orschel, the reigning Southeastern Collegiate Conference Omnium champion, finished second in the Men's Individual Omnium at the national championships after placing strong results throughout the weekend. The sophomore from Quebec, Canada finished second in Short Track to go along with an eighth-place finish in Cross Country plus 29th and 27th-place results in the Dual Slalom and Downhill respectively.

Beckett placed third in the Men's Individual Omnium after earning top-ten finishes in both Cross Country and Short Track. The junior from Benton, Kentucky finished sixth in Short Track and seventh in Cross Country, while placing 22nd in Dual Slalom and 14th in Downhill.

McGill placed fourth in the Men's Individual Omnium to give the Tornados three riders in the top-four of the final Omnium standings. McGill, a senior from Fallston, Maryland, began his weekend with a solid 15th place result in Cross Country followed by a strong sixth-place finish in Short Track. McGill also placed 36th in Dual Slalom to round out his weekend.

Arensman proved to be one of the elite female racers at the championships as she earned a fourth-place finish in the Women's Individual Omnium. The Veldese, North Carolina native registered a top-10 in Women's Cross Country with a ninth-place finish on Friday. Arensman then garnered her second top-10 of the weekend with a sixth-place result on Saturday in Short Track. She finished 19th in both Dual Slalom and Downhill to secure the fourth-place Omnium result.

Nathan St. Clair, a freshman from Statesville, North Carolina, earned two top-10s for the Tornados in the gravity events. St. Clair finished in sixth place in the Dual Slalom and earned a 10th-place result in Sunday's Downhill.

In addition to Arensman, sophomore Nicole Rusden and freshman Hannah Dickson represented the Tornados on the Women's side with each rider finishing in the Women's Individual Omnium standings. Rusden, a native of Glenmoore, Pennsylvania, opened her weekend with a 27th place finish in Cross Country to go along with results in Short Track (30th), Dual Slalom (27th) and Downhill (26th) en route to a 12th place finish in the Omnium. Dickson, a local product from Brevard High School, finished 13th in the Individual Omnium after placing 36th in Cross Country, 28th in Short Track, 30th in Dual Slalom and 29th in Downhill.

Other results at the national championships by Brevard College student-athletes came in Men's Cross Country (Tyler Clark 13th, Zack Lowden 32nd); Men's Short Track (Clark 13th, Lowden 27th); Men's Dual Slalom (Will Hegedus 34th, Lucas Pound 41st); and Men's Downhill (Hegedus 33rd).

Fort Lewis College won the Team Omnium championship for the second straight season. Colorado Mesa University placed second, while Marian University finished third as the only other teams ahead of the Tornados.

Under the guidance of Head Coach Brad Perley and Assistant Coach Cypress Gorry, Brevard College sent 11 student-athletes to Missoula, Montana for the 2018 USA Cycling National Championships. On Monday, the 11 student-athletes will travel back to Brevard, North Carolina. Then on Tuesday, Oct. 23, the Brevard College Cycling team will be greeted at the Myers Dining Hall on the Brevard College campus for a special edition of the Tornado Talk show at 6 p.m. ET. The special edition of Tornado Talk featuring the cyclists can be viewed on the Brevard College Athletics Facebook page at 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday, October 23.

Since beginning varsity competition in 2007, Brevard College Cycling has won a total of 10 national championships (six in Mountain Bike and four in Cyclocross). BC Cycling will next turn its attention to the Cyclocross season. The 2018 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships will take place December 11-16 at Joe Creason Park in Louisville, Kentucky.

For complete results of the 2018 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships, go to https://legacy.usacycling.org/2018/collegiate-mtb-nationals

For all the latest news and information surrounding Brevard College Athletics, follow the Tornados on Twitter and Instagram @bctornados, or like Brevard College Athletics on Facebook.

2018 USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships – Missoula, Montana

Team Omnium Final Results