The Brevard College Cycling team won seven total national titles, with victories in six individual events plus the Team Relay at the USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships held November 14-17 at Coler Mountain Bike Preserve in Bentonville, Arkansas. Under the guidance of Head Coach Brad Perley, Brevard won seven of the available 12 varsity national championships at the event, more than any other participating school.
2024 BREVARD COLLEGE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Owen Clark (2): Men’s Cross Country & Short Track Cross Country
Kiara Lylyk (2): Women’s Individual Omnium & Cross Country
Cole Punchard: Men’s Individual Omnium
Matthew Leliveld: Men’s Downhill
Nicole Bradbury, Kiara Lylyk, Cole Punchard & Owen Clark: Team Relay
Brevard student-athletes combined to sweep the varsity Individual Omnium (best overall rider) awards and win both the Men’s and Women’s Cross Country titles. BC racers also finished 1-2 in both the Men’s Cross Country and Short Track events, while winning the Men’s Downhill. The monumental team performance by the Tornados was capped off by a victory in the Team Relay to give Brevard a whopping total of seven national championships on the weekend.
“The performances from our entire team this past week are difficult to put into perspective and the efforts were monumental,” said Brevard College Head Coach Brad Perley. “I’m immensely proud of our entire team for one of the best national championship showings we’ve ever seen.”
In the overall Team Omnium competition, Brevard (664 points) placed second to national champion Colorado Mesa University (674 points) with Fort Lewis College (592 points) finishing third. It marked the second consecutive season that BC has finished runner up in the all-around team competition. The result made Brevard College once again the highest finishing collegiate program in the eastern half of the United States.
Brevard College junior Kiara Lylyk captured her first collegiate national championships by winning the Women’s Varsity Individual Omnium for best overall rider and the Women’s Varsity Cross Country. Lylyk also found the podium with a third-place result in Women’s Varsity Short Track Cross Country.
Senior Cole Punchard won the Men’s Individual Omnium for the second time in his career having also won the award as best overall rider at the 2022 collegiate championships in Durango, Colorado. Punchard was strong in every event with second-place finishes in both Cross Country and Short Track, a third-place result in Downhill and a ninth-place showing in Dual Slalom.
The omnium titles for Lylyk and Punchard marked the fifth straight year that a Brevard College racer has won an Individual Omnium national championship in either men’s or women’s competition. Lylyk and Clark succeed fellow Individual Omnium national champions Nicole Bradbury (2023), Punchard (2022), Tyler Orschel (2021) and Tyler Clark (2019) to make it to the top step of the podium in the stars and stripes jersey.
Senior Owen Clark won two national championships with titles in both Cross Country and Short Track Cross Country to go along with a third-place podium finish in the Individual Omnium. Clark won his two championships on back-to-back days, finishing 1-2 with his teammate Punchard in both races.
Matthew Leliveld, a junior at BC, won his first national collegiate national title in the event’s final day by winning the Men’s Varsity Downhill competition. Leliveld also finished in eighth-place in the Dual Slalom to go along with top-30 finishes in both Cross Country and Short Track Cross Country en route to a fifth-place podium finish in the Individual Omnium.
Bradbury, the 2023 Women’s Varsity Individual Omnium champion, finished second to Lylyk in this year’s omnium standings. Bradbury earned a podium with a fourth-place finish in Dual Slalom to go along with top-ten finishes in Cross Country (sixth) and Short Track Cross Country (ninth). BC’s Madeleine Pollock placed sixth and Mya Dixon seventh in the Women’s Individual Omnium standings.
Junior Olivia Hyde came up big in the Women’s Varsity Downhill to earn her first career collegiate championship podium as the fourth-place finisher.
The 2024 collegiate mountain bike national championships were originally scheduled to take place in nearby Zirconia, North Carolina in October. However due to the effects of Hurricane Helene, the event was postponed several weeks and relocated to Bentonville, Arkansas. Instead of racing at home, the Tornados traveled 900 miles to Arkansas for the championships.
The event began with Thursday’s Dual Slalom. In addition to Bradbury’s podium finish in Women’s Varsity Dual Slalom, BC’s finishers included Lylyk (16th place), Hyde (18th), Kelly Lawson (20th) and Pollock (21st). In Men’s Dual Slalom, Leliveld (8th) was BC’s highest finisher after advancing to the quarterfinals, while Matt Mitchko (12th) and Watt Hackney (18th) both placed in the top-20.
On Friday, attention turned to Cross Country for both the men and women. In the men’s race, Clark (1:17:54) and Punchard (1:18:24) finished 1-2, besting CMU’s duo of Ivan Sippy (1:19:14) and Jack Spranger (1:19:51). BC freshman Ned Broersma placed 22nd in his collegiate national championship debut with Leliveld (23rd) just seconds behind. Other Tornado competitors in cross country included Kevin Vereecke (31st), Cade Pummil (35th), Kyle McDonald (36th) and Dylan Richardson (43rd)
On the women’s side, Lylyk (1:16:04) won the title by finishing 32 seconds ahead of Michaela Thompson of Fort Lewis College. Bradbury (6th) followed as the next highest finishing Tornado followed by freshman Ayana Gagne (8th) and Pollock (14th). was the top finishing Tornado with a 14th place result in Cross Country. Dixon (19th) and freshman Breanna Goff (35th) were the other BC finishers.
In Saturday’s Men’s Short Track Cross Country competition, Clark (21:41) and Punchard (21:47) repeated for their second 1-2 finish in as many days. The two Brevard teammates were brilliant in the competition, outmaneuvering three CMU riders and a Fort Lewis racer down the stretch. In the end, Clark took the win as five racers finished within six seconds of each other. Broersma placed 17th and Pummil finished 23rd, while Leliveld (27th) and McDonald (36th) rounded out the Brevard finishers.
The Women’s Short Track Cross Country race featured six Brevard College finishers led by Lylyk’s third-place podium result (19:56), just five seconds behind race-winner Thompson of Fort Lewis. Bradbury (9th place) earned a top-ten result for the second straight year in the event, while Gagne (12th), Pollock (18th), Dixon (32nd) and Goff (34th) also finished in short track.
In Sunday’s Men’s Varsity Downhill, Leliveld (2:52.22) bested Matt Sterling (2:54.58) of Colorado Mesa by a game of 2.36 seconds to take the national championship. Punchard (2:55.31) placed third with Hackney (3:02.89) finishing 9th. Gunnar Ensign (24th) garnered a top-25 result for the Tornados, while Clark finished 49th despite top-ten speed in his second run.
In Women’s Varsity Downhill also on Sunday, Hyde finished (3:38.03) fourth after two solid runs just seconds behind race winner Breanna Winter of Marian University. Pollock (8th) and Lylyk (9th) ran similar times for a pair of top-ten finishes with Dixon placing 13th. Bradbury also competed in the Downhill and recorded a 22nd place result.
The national championships concluded with the exciting Team Relay as Brevard began the event with Clark running the first leg. Punchard kept the momentum going before Lylyk took over for lap number three. Bradbury held off the competition for the final lap to take the win as BC defeated second-place Colorado Mesa by 14 seconds with third-place Fort Lewis over a minute back.
Brevard College Cycling will now turn its attention to the Cyclocross season that continues this coming weekend with the UCI North Carolina Grand Prix in Hendersonville, North Carolina. The season will then culminate with the 2024 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships, December 12-15 in Louisville, Kentucky.
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.
The ten-time national champion Brevard College Cycling program features varsity programs in the disciplines of Mountain Bike, Cyclocross and Gravel Racing. For the latest news and updates surrounding Brevard College Cycling, follow @brevardcycling on Instagram and ‘Brevard College Cycling’ on Facebook.
2024 USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships
November 14-17, Coler Mountain Bike Preserve, Bentonville, Arkansas
BREVARD COLLEGE RESULTS
Varsity Team Omnium (All-Around Team)
1. Colorado Mesa University, 674 points – NATIONAL CHAMPION
2. Brevard College, 664 points
3. Fort Lewis College, 592 points
4. Marian University, 549 points
5. Lees-McRae College, 477 points
Men’s Varsity Individual Omnium (Top All-Around Rider)
1. Cole Punchard – NATIONAL CHAMPION
3. Owen Clark
5. Matthew Leliveld
Women’s Varsity Individual Omnium (Top All-Around Rider)
1. Kiara Lylyk
2. Nicole Bradbury
6. Madeleine Pollock
7. Mya Dixon
Team Relay
1. Brevard College (Clark, Punchard, Lylyk, Bradbury) – NATIONAL CHAMPION
2. Colorado Mesa Univ.
3. Fort Collins College
Men’s Varsity Cross Country
1. Owen Clark – NATIONAL CHAMPION
2. Cole Punchard
22. Ned Broersma
23. Matthew Leliveld
31. Kevin Vereecke
35. Cade Pummil
36. Kyle McDonald
43. Dylan Richardson
Women’s Varsity Cross Country
1. Kiara Lylyk – NATIONAL CHAMPION
6. Nicole Bradbury
8. Ayana Gagne
14. Madeleine Pollock
19. Mya Dixon
35. Breanna Goff
Men’s Varsity Short Track Cross Country
1. Owen Clark – NATIONAL CHAMPION
2. Cole Punchard
17. Ned Broersma
23. Cade Pummil
27. Matthew Leliveld
36. Kyle McDonald
Women’s Varsity Short Track Cross Country
3. Kiara Lylyk
9. Nicole Bradbury
12. Ayana Gagne
18. Madeleine Pollock
32. Mya Dixon
34. Breanna Goff
Men’s Varsity Downhill
1. Matthew Leliveld – NATIONAL CHAMPION
3. Cole Punchard
9. Watt Hackney
24. Gunnar Ensign
49. Owen Clark
Women’s Varsity Downhill
4. Olivia Hyde – NATIONAL CHAMPION
8. Madeleine Pollock
9. Kiara Lylyk
13. Mya Dixon
22. Nicole Bradbury
Men’s Varsity Dual Slalom
8. Matthew Leliveld
9. Cole Punchard
12. Matt Mitchko
18. Watt Hackney
30. Owen Clark
32. Gunnar Ensign
Women’s Varsity Dual Slalom
4. Nicole Bradbury
16. Kiara Lylyk
18. Olivia Hyde
20. Kelly Lawson
21. Madeleine Pollock
26. Mya Dixon
Note: Podium Finishes in BOLD
PHOTO: Brevard College’s Kiara Lylyk moments after winning the Women’s Varsity Cross Country national title. Photo Credit: USA Cycling