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Track Nationals
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Tonatiuh Rodriguez Nikl
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Oct 05, 2005 17:15 PDT
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The UCSD track cycling team placed third in the overall team classification
at the 2005 National Collegiate Track Cycling Championships in Northbrook,
Illinois, narrowly missing second place by only 8 points out of nearly 900.
In total UCSD won 25 medals, including 2 gold and 11 silver. In individual
competition Anna Lang earned two individual national titles in the 500 m and
2 km time trials and placed second in the match sprint competition and the
overall classification; Tona Rodriguez-Nikl earned a second place in the 1
km time trial and a third place in the overall classification; and Tyler
Ofstad placed fifth in the 1 km time trial and narrowly missed the podium in
the points race with a sixth place finish in a hotly contested race. Lang,
Rodriguez-Nikl, and Ofstad were joined by teammates Ashley Medin, Chris
Nekarda and Stephen Skory to place second in the women's team sprint, second
in the co-ed Italian pursuit, and fifth in the men's team pursuit.
Although UCSD has historically had a strong individual presence in track
cycling, this was the first year that UCSD sent a full team to the
competition. The team exceeded its goal of placing the top five and quickly
established itself among the strongest teams in the nation, finishing ahead
of traditionally strong University of Florida, Indiana University and
University of Colorado, Boulder. Encouraged by recent success, UCSD expects
to continue building its track cycling program to become a perennial force
in collegiate track cycling.
In other WCCC news: Defending road champion Brooke Miller from UC Santa Cruz
had a 5th place podium finish in the 2 km time trial and strong finishes in
the 500 m time trial and points race. Miller is a very strong rider who
with a bit more experience on the track will be a serious force to contend
with. Humbolt State's Kelyn Akuna finished 8th in the 1 km time trial and
7th in the match sprint despite being the day's top seeded qualifier. The
points race didn't treat Akuna kindly as he missed the decisive break as
well as taking a pedal through his front wheel (but he kept the rubber side
down and got back in the race). As often happens in cycling, Akuna's
results this weekend are less than his potential. Expect great things from
him in the near future.
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