GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. -- Cycling powerhouse Marian University and the University of Colorado-Boulder won national championships in their team omnium divisions on Sunday, the final day of the USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships.
Ben Schmutte, a senior from Noblesville, Indiana, finished second for Marian in the men's criterium through the streets of downtown Grand Junction, and the Marian women's team ran third, fourth and sixth in their race to clinch the D1 Varsity national title over host school Colorado Mesa University, 438 points to 359.
The omnium also includes results from Friday's road race and Saturday's time trials. Marian started slowly in the road race but won Saturday's women's team time trial for the ninth year in a row and the men's team time trial for the fourth year in a row to set up Sunday's title run.
"This is all about team, and we came through today with a great effort," Marian coach Dean Peterson said. "Ben Schmutte stands out with two second-place finishes and winning the omnium, and the women all stepped up and worked together to get us to this point. I'm proud of the whole team."
CU-Boulder won the D1 Club team omnium national title thanks to individual titles from Margot Clyne (road race, individual time trial) plus a third-place finish Sunday in the individual criterium. The Buffaloes topped Arizona 376-303.
In Sunday's results, Club individual road omnium (road race, criterium) national titles were won by CU-Boulder's Clyne and John Borstelmann of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (fifth in the road race, second in the criterium). D1 Varsity winners in the same event were Erica Allar of Piedmont College and Marian's Schmutte.
Emma Edwards of MIT won the D2 Club women's criterium in 1 hour, 9 minutes, 53 seconds, and Imeh Nsek of Cal State-Fullerton was the surprise winner in the men's criterium in 1:20.46. In D1 Varsity, Allar won the women's criterium in 1:09.09, and Jonah Meadvancort of Lindenwood University took the title in the men's criterium in 1:21.05.
Also, MIT won the D2 Club team omnium, and Piedmont was the D2 Varsity team omnium champion.
Club division schools are student-run organizations; varsity division includes schools that offer scholarships and have full-time coaches.