BREVARD, N.C. – Coming off a highly successful regular season, the 10-time national champion Brevard College Cycling team heads across the country this week to compete at the 2019 USA Cycling Collegiate Cyclocross National Championships in Lakewood, Washington. The Tornados will be seeking their 11th overall team national championship and fifth cyclocross national championship at the national event.
Under the guidance of Head Coach Brad Perley and Assistant Coach Cypress Gorry, a total of 11 Brevard College student-athletes will make the cross-country trip to Washington for the national championships. Carson Beckett, Tyler Clark, Dalton Collins, Ryan Johnson, Tyler Miranda and Tyler Orschel will compete for Brevard in the men’s competition. On the women’s side, Hannah Arensman, Hannah Dickson, Rachel Pageau, Emma Schwab and Aliza Tobias will race for the Tornados.
The Tornados enter the 2019 Cyclocross National Championships following a team relay national title and a third-place overall team omnium result at last year’s event. At the 2018 national championships held in Louisville, Kentucky, the Brevard College trio of Arensman, Clark and Orschel earned gold medals in the team relay. With a third-place overall team finish in 2018, Brevard heads to this year’s event having finished third or higher in four straight cyclocross national championships.
This year’s team heads into the 2019 nationals with considerable momentum after a strong showing at the NCCX North Carolina Grand Prix held November 23-24 in Hendersonville, North Carolina. At that event, Arensman won the UCI Women’s Elite race as one of four race wins and 12 podiums for Tornado cyclists. Against a highly competitive field in the Men’s Elite Pro Category 1/2 race, Clark finished second and Beckett placed eighth at the North Carolina Grand Prix. Johnson won one of two Men’s Collegiate A races as part of a 1-2-3 BC podium sweep with Collins finishing second and Miranda placing third.
Other highlights from the 2019 cyclocross regular season included big weekends at NCCX races in Charlotte and Winston-Salem, North Carolina. At the event in Charlotte, Arensman won the Women’s Pro Category 1/2/3 race, while Schwab was victorious in the Women’s Category 3/4 event. Clark was victorious and Beckett placed second at the Charlotte Men’s Pro 1/2/3 race. At the Winston-Salem NCCX event, Collins won the Men’s Category 4/5 race and was upgraded in classification to category two after defeating a deep field of 45 riders.
Prior to this year’s cyclocross schedule, the Brevard College Cycling team capped off a highly successful mountain bike season with an individual national championship and multiple podiums at the 2019 USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships in Big Bear Lake, California.
At the Mountain Bike nationals, Clark won the Men’s Varsity Individual Omnium to become the second Brevard College rider to win an omnium national championship this calendar year joining BC alumnus Scott McGill who won the 2019 title in road racing. In total, the Tornados earned nine podiums and 16 top-ten finishes at the 2019 Collegiate MTB National Championships.
The collegiate portion of the 2019 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships will take place on Thursday and Friday, December 12-13. The Collegiate Men’s Varsity race, a 50-minute event, will be held on Thursday at 12:20 p.m. ET/9:20 a.m. PT. The Women’s Varsity race, also scheduled for 50 minutes, is set for Friday at 11:10 a.m./8:10 a.m. PT. The four-lap Collegiate Team Relay will then cap off the collegiate competition on Friday at 5:50 p.m. ET/2:50 p.m. PT.
The event is being held at Fort Steilacoom Park in Lakewood, Washington just outside of Tacoma. In addition to the collegiate portion, a multitude of categories will be racing for national championships from Tuesday through Sunday.
Follow @BCTornados and @USACycling on Twitter for updates throughout the weekend. Go to www.usacycling.com for more information on events and membership programs.
To follow the latest news and updates surrounding Brevard College Athletics, follow the Tornados on Twitter and Instagram @bctornados, subscribe to 'Brevard College Tornados' on YouTube, follow 'Brevard College Tornados' on SoundCloud, or like Brevard College Athletics on Facebook. Be sure to follow "brevardcollege" on Flickr for the latest photos from all Brevard College events.
Brevard College Tornados at USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships
Hannah Arensman – Senior/Valdese, N.C.
Carson Beckett – Senior/Benton, Ky.
Tyler Clark – Sophomore/King City, Ontario
Dalton Collins – Sophomore/Washburn, Wis.
Hannah Dickson – Sophomore/Brevard, N.C.
Ryan Johnson – Sophomore/Brookville, Pa.
Tyler Miranda – Freshman/Valley City, Ohio
Tyler Orschel – Junior/Uxbridge, Ontario
Rachel Pageau – Freshman/Chicoutimi, Ontario
Emma Schwab – Freshman/Traverse City, Mich.
Aliza Tobias – Freshman/Fleetwood, Pa.
Head Coach: Brad Perley
Assistant Coach: Cypress Gorry
Race Schedule:
Thursday, December 12
12:20 p.m. ET/9:20 a.m. PT: Men’s Varsity Collegiate (50 minutes)
Friday, December 13
11:10 a.m./8:10 a.m.: Women’s Varsity Collegiate (50 minutes)
5:50 p.m./2:50 p.m.: Collegiate Team Relay (4 Laps)
Brevard College Collegiate Team National Championships (10):
Mountain Bike – 6 USA Cycling Collegiate National Championships
2016 – 1st (DI) Snowshoe Mountain, W. Va.
2014 – 1st (DII) Beech Mountain, N.C.
2013 – 1st (DII) Beech Mountain, N.C.
2012 – 1st (DII) Angel Fire, N.M.
2010 – 1st (DII) Truckee, Calif.
2009 – 1st (DII) Truckee, Calif.
Cyclocross – 4 USA Cycling Collegiate National Championships
2017 – 1st (DI) Hartford
2015 – 1st (DII) Austin, Texas
2014 – 1st (DII) Boulder, Colo.
2013 – 1st (DII) Verona, Wis.
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