The leaders combated mud on the tough course conditions in Austin. © Cyclocross Magazine
Austin, TX- The chaos of slippery mud conditions was compounded by two simultaneous Collegiate Women’s races on course this afternoon in Texas. Both Division 1 and Division 2 hit the slick, muddy course on two waves, separated by a few minutes. The D1 race hit the course first, Coryn Rivera (Marian University) and Ellen Noble (UMass Amherst) took an early lead, but Noble’s smooth riding style allowed her to break away from the group. Meanwhile, Chris Birch (MIT) and Allison Arensman (Brevard College) took charge as the D2 race began.
Sofia Gomez Villafane crashed hard but finished strong in 9th and brought a little course along with her
The D2 race leaders caught the back of the D1 race in the tight twists early in the course as racers slipped, slid, and fell on many of the course’s tricky sections. Noble rode clear, determinedly pedaling through the muddy off-cambers, and Rivera chased. Behind them, Emily Shields (Lees-McRae College) chased hard, and Arensman rode from the front row of the D2 start into top twenty of the D1 race.
Noble’s win looked certain with less than a half lap to go, her skills and power setting her thirty seconds above the chase; however, disaster struck. Rivera pitted with a bike issue, and quickly Noble snapped her derailleur in the final turns.
Shields’ conservative approach to tackling the technical conditions, running where others were struggling to ride, paid off. “You lose so much time crashing. Whole groups of girls would ride and fall in front of me, and I’d just run right by them,” said Shields. Shields tactical and determined racing won her the D1 race. Rivera fought back to second, and Emily Schaldach (University of Colorado Boulder) claimed third.
Emily Shields (Lees-McRae) almost snuck by Richard Fries. © Brian Nelson
Meanwhile, Arensman stayed upright for the entire race and took the D2 win, her teammate Sarah Hill crossed the line second ahead of Chris Birch.
Tomorrow is another day for many of these collegiate women, including Ellen Noble, who will be looking for a luckier day in the Elite National Championships race tomorrow.
Allison Arensman (Brevard College) dominated the Women’s D2. © Brian Nelson
Full results below the photo gallery.
Collegiate D1 and D2 Women – 2015 Cyclocross National Championships Photo Gallery:
We chatted with D1 winner Shields and D2 winner Arensman after their races:
2015 Collegiate Women D1 Results
| Place | Bib | Last | First | Team | License | City ST | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 230 | SHIELDS | Emily | Lees-McRae College | 220875 | Advance NC | 41:48 | |
| 2 | 227 | RIVERA | Coryn | Marian University | 207432 | Tustin CA | 41:55 | 7 |
| 3 | 229 | SCHALDACH | Emily | University of Colorado Boulder | 314034 | Durango CO | 42:43 | 55 |
| 4 | 226 | RATHBUN | Laurel | Marian University | 201838 | Monument CO | 42:49 | 1:01 |
| 5 | 213 | FINCHAMP | Hannah | Lindenwood University | 301606 | Altadena CA | 43:11 | 1:23 |
| 6 | 231 | SHIELDS | Katherine | Lees-McRae College | 220876 | Advance NC | 43:32 | 1:44 |
| 7 | 223 | NOBLE | Ellen | University of Massachusetts Amh | 282412 | Kennebunkport ME | 43:34 | 1:46 |
| 8 | 210 | DEHORNEY | Tiziana | University of New Mexico | 269499 | Albuquerque NM | 44:26 | 2:38 |
| 9 | 215 | GOMEZ VILLAFANE | Sofia | Fort Lewis College | 332624 | Durango CO | 45:39 | 3:51 |
| 10 | 217 | KARAS | Corrie | Marian University | 353448 | Rochester MI | 45:39 | 3:51 |
| 11 | 220 | MALIK | Jennifer | Ohio State University | 429486 | Columbus OH | 46:34 | 4:46 |
| 12 | 237 | WILSON | Ashlee | University of Colorado Boulder | 360313 | Boulder CO | 47:05 | 5:17 |
| 13 | 216 | HUEBNER | Emily | University of Washington-Seattl | 388123 | Seattle WA | 47:43 | 5:55 |
| 14 | 211 | ELBERS | Emily | Marian University | 314836 | Syracuse NY | 48:09 | 6:21 |
| 15 | 204 | ARNOLD | Gabriella | Marian University | 432692 | Indianapolis IN | 48:40 | 6:52 |
| 16 | 207 | BRAMEL | Emily | Lindsey Wilson College | 346420 | Little Canada MN | 49:14 | 7:26 |
| 17 | 239 | MELCHER | Mckenzie | San Diego State University | 354114 | Mentone CA | 49:33 | 7:45 |
| 18 | 228 | ROSS | Hannah | Midwestern State University | 406318 | Pocatello ID | 49:40 | 7:52 |
| 19 | 221 | MISSEL | Riley | Marian University | 377467 | Grand Haven MI | 49:44 | 7:56 |
| 20 | 209 | CHAVES | Maddie | Fort Lewis College | 412973 | Ashland OR | 49:48 | 8:00 |
| 21 | 241 | KRANTZ | Nathalie | Northern Arizona University | 267760 | Flagstaff AZ | 50:10 | 8:22 |
| 22 | 291 | xxx | xxx | Lees-McRae College | 50:54 | 9:06 | ||
| 23 | 202 | ALBRIGTSEN | Johanne | University of Colorado Boulder | 402490 | Boulder CO | 51:19 | 9:31 |
| 24 | 208 | CHAPPELL | Grace | University of North Carolina at | 358050 | Chapel Hill NC | @1Lap | |
| 25 | 243 | xxx | xxx | Colorado State University | @1Lap | |||
| 26 | 242 | FITZGERALD | Maegan | Texas A & M University | 417105 | Denton TX | @1Lap | |
| 27 | 206 | BOBECK | Jessica | University of Colorado Boulder | 359346 | Fort Belvoir VA | @1Lap | |
| 28 | 218 | KELTER | Katherine | University of Kansas | 390766 | Olathe KS | @1Lap | |
| 29 | 212 | FILIPPI | Mackenzie | Lees-McRae College | 318886 | Banner Elk NC | @1Lap | |
| 30 | 238 | WOODS | Caroline | Fort Lewis College | 379226 | San Rafael CA | @1Lap | |
| 31 | 222 | NEICE | Emily | Marian University | 355110 | Granger IN | @1Lap | |
| 32 | 234 | WEAVER | Ashley | Midwestern State University | 334082 | Wichita Falls TX | @1Lap | |
| 33 | 225 | PALERMO | Angelina | Marian University | 377126 | Butler PA | @1Lap | |
| 34 | 235 | WENZEL | Holly | University of Arizona | 458067 | Phoenix AZ | @1Lap | |
| 35 | 232 | SMITH | Mccauley | Fort Lewis College | 285844 | Boulder CO | @1Lap | |
| 36 | 233 | TUGGLE | Madison | Colorado State University | 310004 | Littleton CO | @1Lap | |
| 37 | 240 | KOTH | Mackenzie | University of Florida | 374637 | Wesley Chapel FL | @2Laps | |
| DNF | 224 | OWENS | Meghan | University of Vermont | 399327 | Richmond VT | ||
| DNF | 203 | ALTERMAN | Allison | University of Arizona | 398132 | Tucson AZ | ||
| DNS | 205 | BEALE | Melanie | Colorado State University | 395130 | Fort Collins CO | ||
| DNS | 214 | GARDNER | Rebecca | Fort Lewis College | 298049 | Marlboro NY | ||
| DNS | 236 | WHITE | Elizabeth | University of Vermont | 209806 | Auburn NH |
2015 Collegiate Women D2 Results
| Place | Bib | Last | First | Team | License | City ST | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 62 | ARENSMAN | Allison | Brevard College | 307916 | Rutherford College NC | 43:39 | |
| 2 | 74 | HILL | Sarah | Brevard College | 387014 | Brevard NC | 44:43 | 1:04 |
| 3 | 61 | BIRCH | Christina | Massachusetts Institute of Tech | 294746 | Somerville MA | 44:54 | 1:15 |
| 4 | 69 | COTTET | Marie | Milligan College | 448482 | Milligan College TN | 45:07 | 1:28 |
| 5 | 63 | ARMSTRONG | Kaysee | King University | 350474 | Knoxville TN | 46:50 | 3:11 |
| 6 | 88 | SO | Elizabeth | Tulane University of Louisiana | 280608 | New Orleans LA | 48:09 | 4:30 |
| 7 | 65 | COLE | Janelle | Brevard College | 358569 | Rockford MI | 48:28 | 4:49 |
| 8 | 75 | HORBACH | Ariane | Colorado Mesa University | 414385 | Grand Junction CO | 48:57 | 5:18 |
| 9 | 92 | VANDERHOOP | Julie | Massachusetts Institute of Tech | 388174 | Woods Hole MA | 48:57 | 5:18 |
| 10 | 87 | SHOOK | Paige | Mars Hill University | 423254 | Weaverville NC | 49:38 | 5:59 |
| 11 | 68 | CLARK | Danielle | Furman University | 413867 | Davidson NC | 49:45 | 6:06 |
| 12 | 81 | MILTON | Anna | Franklin and Marshall College | 302207 | Northborough MA | 49:51 | 6:12 |
| 13 | 77 | JONES | Allison | Warren Wilson College | 359128 | Raleigh NC | 49:57 | 6:18 |
| 14 | 79 | MARTIN | Maryjane | University of Idaho | 416364 | Moscow ID | @1Lap | |
| 15 | 89 | SWAN | Hannah | Milligan College | 311541 | Alpine CA | @1Lap | |
| 16 | 67 | CHRISTOFALOS | Alex | Mars Hill University | 392411 | Asheville NC | @1Lap | |
| 17 | 91 | UHL | Kara | Union College-KY | 185730 | Smithville TX | @1Lap | |
| 18 | 82 | NORDAHL | Emily | North Dakota State University | 418094 | Fargo ND | @1Lap | |
| 19 | 86 | ROSSI | Jane | Rhode Island School of Design | 397923 | Providence RI | @1Lap | |
| 20 | 72 | DOAN | Kayla | University of Wisconsin-Plattev | 392989 | Belmont WI | @1Lap | |
| 21 | 71 | DITTMER | Ariana | Colorado Mesa University | 305828 | Grand Junction CO | @1Lap | |
| 22 | 76 | JEPPI | Ginny | Colorado Mesa University | 380279 | Baltimore MD | @1Lap | |
| 23 | 70 | CUCAZ | Stephanie | Milligan College | 288099 | Lawrenceville GA | @1Lap | |
| 24 | 80 | MILLER | Morgan | Milligan College | 323042 | Charleston TN | @1Lap | |
| 25 | 85 | PSZCZOLKOWSKI | Virginia | Warren Wilson College | 425990 | Asheville NC | @1Lap | |
| 26 | 66 | CAICEDO | Jennfier | King University | 401270 | Greenville SC | @1Lap | |
| 27 | 95 | MIRANDA | Samantha | Brevard College | 218849 | Valley City OH | @2Laps | |
| 28 | 78 | MARCHIANDO | Sophia | Ripon College | 242097 | Ripon WI | @2Laps | |
| 29 | 94 | FONGER | Sarah | Brevard College | 425246 | Brevard NC | @2Laps | |
| 30 | 93 | WALSH | Alyssa | King University | 395667 | Bristol VA | @2Laps | |
| 31 | 83 | OSBORNE | Kane | East Tennessee State University | 449146 | Knoxville TN | @2Laps | |
| 32 | 73 | FREEMAN | Emily | Mars Hill University | 414946 | Fayetteville TN | @2Laps | |
| DNS | 84 | OSBORNE | Corrie | Ripon College | 298510 | Mequon WI |
