Fall has arrived in the southeast, and the Warren Wilson Cycling Owls have been wrapping up their regular season, competing in a race at Georgia Tech last weekend.  Georgia Tech's race featured plenty of sweet riding on much of the Olympic cross country course from the 1996 Atlanta games.

The racing was marked by fast winding single track and some short power climbs. In the four mile time trial Matt Williams led the Wilson men in 7th (16:06). David Bishop (16:16) and Linden Blaisus (16:37) were right behind in 8th and 9th. The women had a strong start to the weekend too, as Vanessa Emery took 3rd in the Women's A race, finishing in 19:50. Also getting in on the act was gravity rider Phil Martin who placed second in the Men's B race in 17:04. 

Saturday afternoon saw riders race a flat (but still very painful) short track. Matt, Linden, and David again led the charge for the Wilson Men, finishing 9th, 10th, and 11th respectively. On the Women's side Tallulah Winquist came through in 4th with Vanessa in 5th and Hanna Waldman in 6th. 

The weekend's lone gravity event was Dual Slalom. Phil Martin made the best of the makeshift course (built the night before) and finished 5th in Men's A. In the Men's B race Alec Hamilton showed some serious skills and won the race, while Aaron Peet took fourth in a solid day for the Wilson gravity team. The Women's team was again lead by Hanna and Vanessa, who finished 5th and 6th.

After finding some delicious Jamaican curry Saturday night the team was fueled up and ready for Sunday's cross country race. Matt actually led the race for much of the first lap before fading to 6th (1:36:40) by the finish. Liden had yet another solid ride, coming through in 1:43:33, good enough for 10th. Meanwhile Ben West and Dustin Schemel also proved that they are coming into form at a good time; they crossed the line in 11th and 12th places. And the Women rode even better than the men, with Tallulah taking 3rd and Vanessa coming across in 5th. In the Men's B race, Phil Martin came dangerously close to sandbagging status by not only winning the race but also leading from start to finish. He'll be flying in A's next year we hope.

All in all, it was a fun and fast weekend for the Owls. Hopefully the good form will continue for Conference Championships at Clemson.