Brevard College Cycling Ready for Cyclocross National Championships
WHEATON, Ill. – The 10-time national champion Brevard College Cycling team is ready for competition at the 2021 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships at Cantigney Park in Wheaton, Illinois in the suburbs of Chicago. The Tornados will be racing in the Collegiate Men's and Women's Varsity competitions scheduled for Thursday morning followed by Friday afternoon's Collegiate Team Relay.
The Collegiate Women's Varsity race is scheduled for 8:55 a.m. ET/7:55 a.m. CT on Thursday followed by the men's varsity race slated for a 10:55 a.m. ET/9:55 a.m. CT start. Both races have been designated as 50-minute competitions.
The Collegiate Team Relay is scheduled for a 1:35 p.m. ET/12:35 p.m. CT start on Friday. The co-ed relay event will be a 40-minute event.
A total of 12 Brevard College student-athletes made the trip to this week's national championships with eight racing on the men's side and four competing in the women's competition.
Seniors Tyler Clark and Tyler Orschel, both members of the 2018 national championship team relay team, lead a talented group of Brevard cyclists coming off a successful Cyclocross 2021 regular season heading into nationals. Seniors Dalton Collins and Ryan Johnson, junior Tyler Miranda, along with freshmen Owen Clark, Philip Ford and Dylan Richardson round out the men's contingent for Brevard.
Tyler Clark is coming off a second-place, photo-finish at the 2021 Cyclocross Pan American U23 Championships held this past weekend in Garland, Texas. Orschel raced in the Men's Elite category at the Pan-Am Championships finishing 13th out of an exceptional field of 32 riders. Owen Clark raced in the U23 category at the Pan-Am's as well, finishing sixth. Those three BC racers also finished in the top-ten at the North Carolina Cyclocross Grand Prix Men's Pro Category race held on November 21 with Orschel placing 5th, Tyler Clark 6th and Owen Clark 8th against another elite field of racers in the UCI sanctioned event. Orschel also earned a top-five in the first Pro Category race of the weekend with a fourth-place result on November 20.
Ford (4th and 13th place), Miranda (2nd and 6th place), Collins (7th and 11th place), Johnson (5th and 8th place) and Richardson (12th and 15th place) all placed in the top-15 in both Men's Collegiate A category races at the North Carolina Cyclocross Grand Prix.
On the women's side, seniors Hannah Dickson, Erica Leonard and Rachel Pageau, as well as freshman Paige Edwards will represent Brevard College at the cyclocross nationals.
Leonard was crowned the SECCCC (Southeastern Collegiate Cycling Conference) Individual Omnium champion after placing second in Women's Collegiate A in the final race at the North Carolina Grand Prix. Dickson, who raced in the Women's Pro category at the NC Grand Prix, also competed this past weekend at the Pan American Championships, finishing eighth in the Women's U23 category. Edwards placed eighth and ninth in the two Collegiate A races, while Pageau placed 10th on day one at the North Carolina Grand Prix.
As a team, Brevard College was named SECCCC co-champions this season following its performance at four North Carolina Cyclocross events this season culminating with the North Carolina Grand Prix. Since the start of the Brevard College Cycling program in 2007, the Tornados have won a total of ten team national championships including four cyclocross team national championships. Brevard finished second in the team competition in the 2019 cyclocross nationals, the last national championship held in the discipline of cyclocross following the cancellation of the 2020 event due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ten-time national champion Brevard College Cycling program features varsity programs in the disciplines of Mountain Bike, Cyclocross, Road, and Gravel Racing. For the latest news and updates surrounding Brevard College Cycling, follow @brevardcycling on Instagram and 'Brevard College Cycling' on Facebook.
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, and 'Brevard College Athletics' on Facebook. In addition, follow 'brevardcollege' on Flickr for photos from Brevard College events.
Brevard College Tornados at USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships
Owen Clark, Freshman, King City, Ontario
Tyler Clark, Senior, King City, Ontario
Dalton Collins, Senior, Washburn, Wisconsin
Hannah Dickson, Senior, Brevard, North Carolina
Paige Edwards, Freshman, Camas, Washington
Philip Ford, Freshman, Fort Mill, South Carolina
Ryan Johnson, Senior, Brookville, Pennsylvania
Erica Leonard, Senior, Barrie, Ontario
Tyler Miranda, Junior, Valley City, Ohio
Tyler Orschel, Senior, Uxbridge, Ontario
Rachel Pageau, Senior, Chicoutimi, Ontario
Dylan Richardson, Freshman, Greensboro, North Carolina
Race Schedule:
Thursday, December 9
8:55 a.m. ET/7:55 a.m. CT: Collegiate Women's Varsity (50 minutes)
10:55 a.m. ET/9:55 a.m. CT: Collegiate Men's Varsity (50 minutes)
Friday, December 10
1:35 p.m. ET/12:35 p.m. CT: Collegiate Team Relay (40 minutes)
Brevard College All-Time 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, Conn.
2015 – 1st (DII) Austin, Texas
2014 – 1st (DII) Boulder, Colo.
2013 – 1st (DII) Verona, Wis.
-BC-