Blake Keeling and Brody Burnham showed that teamwork can make a difference — even on the national stage.

The MSU Cycling teammates finished fifth and sixth in the men’s varsity criterium at the 2026 USA Cycling Collegiate Road Championships, held May 9-10 in Madison, Wisconsin.

In the men’s road race, Romian Gireme led the Mustangs with an 11th-place finish, battling through challenging crosswinds. Burnham (40th), Keeling (43rd), Sebastian DeLeon (45th), Anthony Antunez (68th), and Mauri Maldonado (69th) rounded out MSU Cycling’s results.

On the women’s side, Wisconsin natives Emma Kasza-James and Gabby Wrightsman delivered strong performances on familiar roads. Kasza-James placed 13th and Wrightsman 22nd in the road race. Both followed with impressive rides in the criterium, where Wrightsman sprinted to 10th, and Kasza-James finished 12^th, as a bunch crossed the finish line almost simultaneously.

MSU Cycling director Mario Arroyave said Wrightsman helped the team get off to a great start in the criterium, and another competitor’s mishap may have cost her a chance to finish even better. On the men’s race, he was both proud of the result and excited about the future.

“Blake and Brody worked extremely well together in the closing laps,” he said. “This duo will be around for the Mustangs next year and is looking to improve on this year’s finish.”

Arroyave feels like the team built momentum all season, and with more talent coming soon, the future is bright for the program. He is confident returning team members will put the work in to ensure 2026-27 is even better.

“The Mustangs are adding lots of young firepower to the team this upcoming year,” he said. “The team will be adding five riders on the men’s side and one female rider. This will provide depth to an already strong nucleus.”