The Appalachian State cycling team hosted the opening race of mountain season today, running cross country and dual slalom races. Racing at the Dark Mountain trail system at Kerr Scott Dam in Wilksboro, with beautiful weather, Appalachian opened the season in dominate fashion, setting an excellent tone for things to come.
Cross Country kicked off early in the day. Rebecca Tomaszewski graced us with her 24hour National Champion presence and easily dominated the Women's A field. In Women's B, Amanda Gilbert made her mountain bike debut. She clearly didn't ride like a novice, as she took first place, and senior Mae Beeler finished close behind in second. Similarly, Brendan Murray came out for his first mountain bike race and took the win in the Men's C field, with veteran Martin Wadewitz taking second and Kyle Dubois taking third. In Men's B action, Dan Wendover took a dominate win reminiscent of his first place finish last year, with Jacob Florence coming in second, outsprinting a Virginia Tech rider. Noah Niwinski and Thatcher Hurt started off second and third in the woods, looking very promising, but mechanicals meant this just wasn't their race. The big story of the endurance races today, however, was the Men's A race. Alex Ryan and Alex Hannah both came in strong off of very successful summer seasons, ready to lay their foundation for a National Championship run. Alex Ryan took off the starting line like a rocket, the first rider into the woods with a large gap. It wasn't meant to be, though, as Alex Hannah made up time and at the start of the second lap had establish a multi-minute gap on Alex Ryan. Alex Hannah finished for the win with Alex Ryan taking second and Ryan Fawley taking third. Honorable mention goes to Michael Koballa who flatted on the start line but fought back tooth and nail for eight, having to pass the entire Men's B field.
In the afternoon everyone's attention turned to the first gravity event of the season with Dual Slalom. Rebecca Tomaszewski and Amanda Gilbert won Women's A and B, respectively. Craig Folsom and Will Washam made their debut taking first and third in Men's B, showing up big in their first collegiate race. The big boys came out to play, though, in Men's A. There was no contest between Appalachian State and any other school. Andrew Mueller was just barely edged out and took third for the day, while Mike Thomas and Steven Trottier went head to head to determine the gravity winner. In two close rounds, the two riders flew down the course in a fashion otherwise unseen for the day - nobody else came close to riding the course as our top three guys. In complete control and pushing hard, Mike Thomas was able to come out on top over Steven Trottier, even if just barely.
Check back as tomorrow we will have race recaps for short track and downhill, where Appalachian will certainly dominate the field again.
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