The Midwestern State University Cycling Team won the South Central Collegiate Cycling

 

The team victory is the seventh in the 14-year history of the program. MSU had more than double the points of second-place Texas A&M, which won a hard-fought race for second place against the University of Texas. Baylor University finished fourth. "Our efforts at the conference championships this weekend reflect the hard work and dedication that the riders on our team displayed throughout the season," said Coach Gary Achterberg. "We put in an excellent effort in all categories this weekend, and everyone on this team shares in the ownership of the conference championship." In addition to winning the team title on Sunday, MSU swept all three trophy spots in the season-long competition in Men's Category A and Women's Category A. MSU also won the top spot in the Men's Category B, a division that was closely contested all season. In Men's Category A, Stefan Rothe, a senior from Dresden, Germany, won. He was third in the conference last season. The second-place trophy went to Todd Campbell, a first-year MSU student from Kansas City, Mo., and third place went to Brian Wyrick, a sophomore from Quitman, Texas.

In Women's Category A, Janna Jackson, who will graduate next month with a master's degree in kinesiology and enter a doctoral program at the University of West Virginia, won the conference championship. Second place went to Laura Whittle, a freshman from Belleville, Ill., while third went to Jennifer Purcell, a first-year MSU student from Milwaukee. The Category B conference championship went to Greg Saxon, a sophomore from Oklahoma City.

Other conference trophy winners were: Leah-Faith Ehrsam, second, Women's Category B; Ramona Wible, third, Women's Category B; and Adam McMahen, third, Men's Category C. As a result of winning the conference championship, MSU qualifies its team for the National Collegiate Cycling Championships, which will be hosted by the University of Wisconsin in the Madison, Wis., area on May 21-23. MSU has won 17 national cycling championships in the history of the program. Last year, its riders won the women's team time trial and the women's criterium. The men's team time trial team also finished with a fifth-place medal. # # #