The Wilson Cycling Owls rallied together for the last regular season race of the year this past weekend, Conference Championships at Clemson, SC. All four races held (cross country, short track, downhill and dual slalom) were worth double points, and with Wilson locked into a tight battle for Nationals slots with rival Brevard, a lot was on the line.

The weekend started off with the short track on Saturday morning. The course was the best of the year, with a hard fire road climb by a fast single track descent that featured burms, a drop, and a rock garden. In the women's A race it was women's captain Tallulah Winquist setting off the fireworks. Tally road the entire race in an elite chase group featuring some of the fastest Division I and II women in the country, eventually finishing 6th. Nina Otter came back from a break from racing to finishing exceptionally well in 7th. Hanna Waldman and Vanessa Emery have been incredibly consistent all season, and this weekend was no exception; they finished 10th and 11th respectively. In the Men's race Matt Williams and Linden Blaisus showed some good power to roll through in 12th and 13th in a very stacked field.
       
The rest of Saturday featured the gravity events on a couple of fantastic courses. Phil Martin made good on his talent in the Men's A downhill, hitting a 30 foot gap jump en route to a 5th place finish. In the Men's B Alec Hamilton took the win-look for him to rock it in A's next season. He was followed by Scott Anderson in 12th. On the women's side Ileana Anderson looked ready for Nationals, finishing in 7th. Nina had another good ride too in 8th.
       
The dual slalom featured a fast, technical course that pushed riders to the limit. Phil again led the way for the men, taking 12th. In the Men's B race Alec looked poised for another win before breaking his wrist in a crash, ending his season. He ended up 6th. Finishing right behind him was Aaron Peet, whose hard work this season paid off in a 7th place finish. Hanna was Wilson's top woman yet again, finishing in 4th. Ileana was right behind in 5th, and Nina and Lauren finished 7th and 8th.
       
Only one race was left for Sunday, an epic cross country showdown. In the most competitive field of the year, Senior Matt Williams pulled out all the stops and rode the best race of his life to finish 3rd (2:00:28), one of Wilson's best men's finishes ever. Linden had another solid ride to finish 11th (2:08:34), and Dustin Schemel rode despite being sick for weeks and finished 15th (2:13:48). In the Men's B race Josh Hubing-Cooper was an excellent 3rd (1:19:21). The Women's race was fast from the start, but Vanessa thrived on the hard course and finished 7th. Also finishing well was Lauren Parker, who, despite suffering from mono for most of the season, is coming on strong and finished 10th on Sunday.
       
It was a fantastic weekend for the Cycling Owls, who secured their team slot for the Collegiate Cycling Nationals. The racing will be October 24-26 in Banner Elk, NC. Come cheer us on, if Conference Championships are any indication there could be some top rides by Wilson riders all weekend.