While most people go to Mission Trails Park to enjoy the quietatmosphere of the great outdoors, the San Diego State Cycling teamwent to interrupt the silence. Noise from cheering fans took over thetranquil mood of nature at last weekend’s SDSU Cross Country Race.
The Aztecs competed against mountain bikers from CSU Chico, UC SanDiego, Cal Poly Pomona, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, StanfordUniversity, UC Berkeley, Questa Community College, Claremont Collegeand UCLA.
SDSU took third place in the contest, just behind Cal Poly SLO andUCSD. CSU Chico finished fourth and Cal Poly Pomona fifth.
Team President Derek Wiback said the results were crucial for theteam.
“Our Men’s A race title was important because it’ll help in thechampionships,” Wiback said. “We had more racers than I expected –17total. I couldn’t have been happier with the race.”
The individual races, which groups cyclists in appropriatecategories, fared well for SDSU. The Aztecs placed in the top four inalmost every category, including the Men’s A, B and C races, and alsothe Women’s B race. SDSU did not have an entry in the Women’s Acompetition.
The Women’s B race offered more green scenery than just the grass.This was because of newcomer Amanda DeKoker, who finished fourth inher first race. DeKoker’s competition wasn’t easy, as she faced offagainst two women who usually compete in the Women’s A races. Theydecided to ride with the B group because they weren’t feeling welland had colds.
DeKoker kept up with the pack for the first part of the race, thenhad some mechanical trouble about halfway through.
“It was kind of embarrassing, but my chain popped off,” Dekokersaid. “A girl passed me when I was fixing it, which moved me back tothe fourth position.”
DeKoker held that spot for the rest of the race and finished abouta minute after the third-place cyclist. Her fourth-place finishqualified her for the conference championships.
In the Men’s A race, SDSU’s Matt Smith battled for first placewith UC Berkeley’s Andrew Jacques-Maynes, who also ridesprofessionally. The two fought it out for three laps around the park,each lap consisting of about seven miles. Smith lost the fight, butcame in second place with less than a minute separating him andMaynes.
Aztecs Gerry Ebert and Mark Lundin’s hard work for two laps paidoff in the Men’s B competition, which earned them first and thirdplace, respectively.
The Men’s C race also took top finishes. Brent Harmon capturedfirst place for the Aztecs, with teammate Neil Rampe taking secondclose behind him. Harmon and Rampe worked together to close the gapbetween themselves and Cal Poly Pomona’s Michael Patterson, who hadbeen on their tails the entire race.
Patterson said racing against Harmon and Rampe kept him on histoes.
“I tried hard to stay with Brent the whole time,” Patterson said.”But he was really busting.”
Harmon said he didn’t realize how well he was doing until hecrossed the finish line.
“I thought I was running third or fourth,” he said. “I made up myground on the downhill parts. I was flying down them.”
