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FLC all tuned up

Skyhawks cycling finishes last race before heading to road nationals

Last weekend’s Maverick Classic in Grand Junction served as the Fort Lewis College cycling team’s final preparation before Collegiate Road Nationals on May 2-4 in Richmond, Va.

The Skyhawks appear to be in fine form, winning two of the six races and racking up 12 individual top-10 finishes.

Colorado Mesa’s Ariane Horbach won Sunday’s Collegiate Women’s A road race in and around Palisade in 3 hours, 29 minutes, 8 seconds.

Sofia Gomez-Villafane took third in 3:29:12 for FLC with teammate Lauren Catlin right behind her at 3:29:17.

Chad Young from Colorado Mines won the Collegiate Men’s A road race in 3:55:46.

Three Skyhawks finished in third through fifth places.

Zack Noonan came in at 3:56:09, Griffin Easter in the same time and Andrew Hammond in 3:56:10.

Noonan won Saturday’s Collegiate Men’s A criterium in downtown Grand Junction in 50:54.

His teammates Dean Haas and Griffin Easter came in third and fifth, respectively, and were given the same time as Noonan.

“They played their cards really well. Colorado Mesa was very aggressive at the start, and a lot of their guys burned their matches,” FLC team director Dave Hagen said. “Our guys were patient and almost did it perfectly.”

Horbach took first in the Collegiate Women’s A criterium in 38:01.3.

FLC’s Catlin took third at 38:02.9, Gomez-Villafane came in sixth at 39:15 and Ivie Crawford finished 10th in 39:16.3.

That race was the last of Catlin’s collegiate career, as road nationals fall the same weekend as the Skyhawks’ graduation.

“We’re going to miss her,” Hagen said. “She’s done a lot for us over the years.”

She won four individual national championships in the mountain bike discipline.

FLC’s team of Easter, Haas, Hammond and Noonan won the Collegiate Men’s A team time trial, an 11.6-mile race on farm roads north of Fruita, in 24:38.79 on Saturday.

“Our boys really put it together for the team time trial. That’s really the only race we can control at nationals,” Hagen said. “There’s no pack. It’s just them vs. the clock. If they can find a few more seconds here or there, they’ve got a good chance to do really well at nationals.”

The women’s team of Maddie Chavez, Sydney Edmundson and Jenna MacPherson finished fourth in the Collegiate Women’s A team time trial at 31:10.45.

Gomez-Villafane was supposed to be part of that team, but she forgot her number and wasn’t allowed to compete.

“Missing one person in the team time trial is a major detriment,” Hagen said.

Colorado Mesa came in first at 29:41.37.

FLC expects to announce the team it’s taking to nationals Monday.

“Pretty much all of our ‘A’ ladies are going to go,” Hagen said. “Our guys, it’s tough. We have so much talent. Whittling it down to the team we’re going to take is hard.

“We’ve spent hours talking about it already.”

heraldsports@durangoherald.com



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