The 10-time national champion Brevard College Cycling team has arrived in Durango, Colorado where the Tornados will compete at the 2022 USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships to be held Thursday through Sunday at the Purgatory Resort.
It marks the second straight season that the Mountain Bike Collegiate Nationals are being held in Durango. At last year’s event, also held at Purgatory Resort, BC riders won five individual national championships en route to a third-place team result and the highest finish for any collegiate program located in the eastern half of the United States.
“We are very excited to compete at this year’s mountain bike national championships,” said Brevard College Head Cycling Coach Brad Perley. “Our national team this year is pretty young so it will be many students’ first experience at this level collegiately. Each year brings a whole new set of challenges and goals, but I’m very confident in our students. They’ve continued to work extremely hard and despite some injury setbacks this year we are optimistic and determined.”
Under the guidance of Coach Perley, a total of 15 Brevard College student-athletes have made the trip to Colorado for the national championships. Bryant Bole, Owen Clark, Gunnar Ensign, Philip Ford, Matthew Leliveld, Cameron Mader, Tyler Miranda and Cole Punchard will compete for BC on the men’s side. Nicole Bradbury, Carmen Chirino Hulsund, Paige Edwards, Olivia Hyde, Kelly Lawson and Nina Machnowski will represent Brevard in the women’s competition. BC student-athlete Matthew Zuniga will serve as team mechanic and provide team support.
The Brevard team enters the national championships following a slate of successful collegiate mountain bike events in preparation for Durango. The season began in early September in Cleveland, Georgia for an event hosted by Truett-McConnell University. Leliveld and Ford led the way with a 1-2 finish in Men’s A Cross Country at the event to go along with third and fourth place results for Bradbury and Lawson in Women’s A XC. Leliveld would go on to win a total of three races at the event, adding victories in Dual Slalom and Short Track Cross Country.
The following week, Brevard was back in action at the Lindsey Wilson College Mountain Bike race in Columbia, Kentucky. That team performance featured several race wins by the Tornados including a team relay victory by the foursome of Bradbury, Clark, Leliveld and Lawson. Clark added a win in Men’s A Cross Country, while Cullen Perkey was victorious in Men’s B XC.
The fall mountain bike season included one more stop with a trip to Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, North Carolina. The Tornados dominated Men’s A Cross Country with a clean 1-2-3 podium sweep by Clark, Punchard and Ford. Bradbury placed second in Women’s A Cross Country, while Clark and Punchard would go on to finish 1-2 in Short Track XC.
Brevard was scheduled to race in one more collegiate event prior to nationals, however the races set to occur at Piedmont University were cancelled due to Hurricane Ian.
Prior to the Mountain Bike season, Clark and Punchard represented their home nation of Canada at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Les Gets, France. The participation of Clark and Punchard extended a streak of five consecutive years that Tornado cyclists have raced in the mountain bike world championships.
The 2022 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships begin Thursday at Purgatory Resort with Cross Country Practice along with Dual Slalom Qualifying.
Friday features the Men’s Varsity Cross Country race at 12 p.m. ET/10 a.m. MT followed by the Women’s Varsity Cross Country scheduled for 1:15 p.m. ET/11:15 a.m. MT. The action concludes Friday with the Dual Slalom Finals scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. ET/3 p.m. MT.
The Saturday schedule begins with Downhill Practice and Seeding followed by a Short Track Practice. The Men’s Varsity Short Track Final is set for 3:45 p.m. ET/1:45 p.m. MT followed by Women’s Short Track.
At the event’s final day on Sunday, Downhill Finals begin at 12:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. The national championships conclude with the exciting Varsity Team Relay race scheduled for 4:45 p.m. ET/2:45 p.m. MT.
Follow @BCTornados and @USACycling with the hashtag #CollNats for updates throughout the event.
The 10-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 2022 USA Cycling Collegiate National Championships
Bryant Bole (Men’s Downhill, Dual Slalom)
Nicole Bradbury (Women’s Cross Country, Short track, Dual Slalom)
Carmen Chirino Hulsund (Women’s Cross Country, Short Track)
Owen Clark (Men’s Cross Country, Short Track, Downhill, Dual Slalom)
Paige Edwards (Women’s Short Track, Dual Slalom, Downhill)
Gunnar Ensign (Men’s Downhill, Dual Slalom)
Philip Ford (Men’s Cross Country, Short Track)
Olivia Hyde (Women’s Downhill, Dual Slalom)
Kelly Lawson (Women’s Cross Country, Short Track)
Matthew Leliveld (Men’s Cross Country, Short Track, Downhill, Dual Slalom)
Nina Machnowski (Women’s Cross Country, Short Track, Dual Slalom)
Cameron Mader (Men’s Downhill, Dual Slalom)
Tyler Miranda (Men’s Cross Country, Short Track)
Cole Punchard (Men’s Cross Country, Short Track, Downhill, Dual Slalom)
Matthew Zuniga: Team Mechanic/Support
Head Coach: Brad Perley
Race Schedule:
Thursday, October 13
5 p.m. ET/3 p.m. MT: Dual Slalom Qualifying (All Divisions)
Friday, October 14
11 a.m. ET/9 a.m. MT: Male Varsity Cross Country
1:15 p.m. ET/11:15 a.m. MT: Female Varsity Cross Country
5 p.m. ET/3 p.m. MT: Dual Slalom Finals (All Divisions)
Saturday, October 15
11:45 a.m. ET/9:45 a.m. MT: Downhill Seedings (All Divisions)
3 p.m. ET/1 p.m. MT: Male Varsity Short Track
5:15 p.m. ET/3:15 p.m. MT: Female Varsity Short Track
Sunday, October 16
12:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. MT: Downhill Finals (All Divisions)
4:45 p.m. ET/2:45 p.m. MT: Varsity Team Relay
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-
Photo Credit: Victoria Brayman