At the latest cycling championship, teams and individuals put on an impressive show, with standout performances across various events, several new records were set at the Milligan track cycling events, with remarkable performances.
The men’s team pursuit saw Broady McDonald, Dillon Geary, Riley Wrightsmen, and Aden Papell dominate to claim gold, while the women’s team of Makayla McPherson, Javi Munoz, Megan Lester, and Miriam Zeise secured a strong 3rd place finish. In individual events, Aden Papell continued to excel, finishing 2nd in the 1km individual pursuit and clinching 1st in the scratch race. Dillon Geary and Riley Wrightsmen got their moment in the 4km individual pursuit, taking 1st and 2nd, respectively, while Javi Munoz also earned 2nd in the women’s 3km individual pursuit.
Freshman Vida Lopez De San Roman, a Business Administration major from California, recently brought home a gold medal and a fourth-place finish at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Pal Arinsal, Andorra. An accomplished cyclist, Vida is also a multiple USA National Champion in both Mountain Bike and Cyclocross, as well as the Junior Mountain Bike Pan-American Champion.
Sophomore Dillon Geary, an Electrical Engineering major from Cape Town, South Africa, also had a standout performance recently, securing four gold medals at the USA Collegiate Track Cycling National Championships. Dillon’s other accolades from his already-illustrious career include multiple titles as a South African National and Continental Champion, along with six USA Collegiate National Championship titles.
Both Lopez De San Roman and Geary will be participating in the 2024 Road and Para-Cycling World Championships in Zurich, Switzerland which will take place next week. Geary’s road race will take place on Friday, Sept. 27 at 6:45 a.m. (EST) and Lopez De San Roman’s road race will take place Thursday, Sept. 26 at 4 a.m (EST)
Additionally, Sophomore Levi Cole, an Electrical Engineering from Alabama, represented the United States at the 2024 Marathon Mountain Bike World Championships where he placed 77th. “It was an honor” he stated.
Find more information about the cycling team and Milligan athletics here.
picture credit: title picture – Samantha Maldonado, picture 2 – Ron Short
About The Author:
Gabrielle Jones is a sophomore from Elizabethton. She is a Multimedia Journalism major and a Filmmaking minor. She is the Social Media Manager for Stampede. She enjoys horror media, reading, and film.
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