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MSU Cycling champion embracing student-athlete opportunities
Blake Keeling won another conference championship in April, finishing No. 1 in the omnium (overall) standings for the South Central Collegiate Conference for the road racing season, to go with the mountain bike titles he’d won previously.
Keeling is from Tyler, Texas, but he’s found a home studying business at the Dillard College of Business Administration and riding with MSU Cycling, where he found not just talented teammates, but great friends.
“The MSU cycling team means a lot to me, as it has not only given me the opportunity to race and continue the sport I love throughout my continuing education,” Keeling said, “but it is where I have met lifelong friends. And it has put me in a place to share and introduce people into the sport I love.”
The depth of the MSU Cycling men’s team made them a dominant force during the road racing season. And it gave Keeling a lot of friendly competition. His consistency in time trials, criterium races, and road events put him on top. Sebastian De Leon and Brody Burnham of MSU Cycling were second and third in the conference omnium standings. Anthony Antunez, Eric Kohlberg, Romain Gireme, Mauri Maldonado, and Nico Martinelli were also near the top in many of the Men’s A races.
“It means a lot to finish first in conference, especially after last year struggling in the conference and finishing around sixth,” Keeling said. “This year, I have grown a lot as a rider, and I was able to come away with the overall win."
He proved something to himself by building on his success of winning the mountain bike overall title and finishing No. 1 overall in road racing this spring. Keeling noted the team won road and mountain bike once again, too, just as they did in his first year on the team.
“Competition was very strong, with Texas State having multiple strong riders, but MSU Texas still outweighs, as we have seven of the top guys in the state," Keeling said. "This created a healthy internal competition as we pushed each other to perform at our best at every race.”
And Keeling and his teammates hope their best is yet to come as they strive for a national title at the 2026 Collegiate Road National Championships, May 7-10 in Madison, WI.
Keeling is excited for nationals with a chance for redemption after a crash in the criterium at nationals in 2025. “I think I have a chance to surprise myself this year,” he said. “I really am looking forward to pushing myself and having the chance to come home with a national championship.
“And with the drive that our new director, Mario Arroyave, has brought to the program, I really think
the MSU cycling team will get the publicity and credit that we deserve, as we already have put one national championship (Emma Kasza-James at Gravel Nationals) under our belt in the first six months that he has been here!”
Keeling was confident coming into the season in his ability to switch from mountain biking to road racing.
“In mountain biking, you’re turning every 30 seconds or less and coming out of every corner sprinting,” Keeling said. “I excel when there is a lot of technicality. Long and straight is definitely a weakness for me, staying on the gas for 20 minutes. Going 30 seconds on, 10 seconds off, I excel, and it carries over to the road racing.”
It sure did. Keeling has a conference crown to prove it.
Having a chance to finish the regular season at home April 18-19, including the criterium races on his own campus, was a boost for MSU Cycling as it prepares for Collegiate Road National Championships May 7-10 in Madison, Wis.
“With poor weather at the MSU criterium last year, it's the first time I’ve experienced this much support at our home race,” Keeling said. “It really drives us to perform and to dominate in our home race, which we were able to do by going first through fourth in the criterium. We really hope to carry this over next year and get more students to come out and watch the race.”
Keeling isn’t just winning on his bicycle. He’s enjoying preparing for his career in the classroom. He plans to graduate in 2028.
“I have had a very good experience at Dillard College, and I’ve really enjoyed most classes at Dillard because there is a general drive to teach things that you will need in the real world through business, and that’s something that I feel like Dillard professors do really well,” Keeling said.
And when it’s time to relax after conquering his courses or a tough ride, Keeling and his team like to hang out in the dining room at MSU Texas or at Collective Coffee. As a collective, of course.
“Cycling is less of an individual sport than some people think,” Keeling said.Related Posts
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South Central Collegiate season finale
Gabby Wrightsman and Blake Keeling of MSU Cycling capped off the South Central Collegiate Cycling season with impressive victories April 18-19 in Wichita Falls, claiming the conference omnium honors in the spring finale hosted by MSU Texas.
Both riders finished the season atop the conference omnium standings, which combine results from the time trial, road race, and criterium. Their victories underscored the consistency and depth that defined MSU Cycling throughout the conference season.
In the season finale hosted by MSU Texas, it was Kasza-James winning the road race while Wrightsman was first in both the time trial and the criterium held on campus. For the season, Wrightsman won the omnium both at Texas A&M and at MSU Texas, while Kasza-James and Sara Shannon of Hardin-Simmons also won events in a tightly-contested conference race.
In Men’s A, MSU Cycling dominated, sweeping the top five places in the Men’s A omnium paced by Blake Keeling and followed by Sebastian De Leon, Eric Kohlberg, Anthony Antunez, and Brody Burnham.
While Roman Gireme of MSU Texas was first in the road race and time trial, and De Leon was first in the criterium, it was Keeling’s consistency – finishing second in both the time trial and criterium that proved decisive.
The consistency and depth of MSU Cycling were evident in the final race of the season, as they had been throughout the conference season. Keeling won the conference omnium crown, followed by De Leon and Burnham.