Angel Fire, N.M. (October 22, 2006)-Fort Lewis College completedits sweep of all four Division I men's events at the 2006 USA Cycling CollegiateMountain Bike National Championships as Chris Heath won Sunday's downhillcompetition to secure the overall Division I title for Fort Lewis College- its third championship in the last four years. Fort Lewis Collegeearned a total of 698 points to edge defending champion University of Coloradoby 25 points.

After the men's squad won the short track and 4-cross eventsFriday and the cross country race Saturday, Heath clocked a winning timeof 5 minutes, 8.06 seconds as the fastest man down the mountain to earnan individual downhill title and solidify an overall win for Fort Lewis.

Because a school's overall point tally included both men's and women'sevents, a third-place effort from Sarah Elworthy in the Division I women'sdownhill race also factored heavily into Fort Lewis' overall win.Western State College won the overall Division II crown with 655 pointsto Warren Wilson College's 632. Amy Scherm notched valuable pointsfor the Gunnison-based school in the women's downhill race to give Coloradoinstitutions a sweep of the team titles.Along with Fort Lewis College and Western State College earning teamhonors, four individual overall champions were also crowned Sunday as pointsfrom the weekend's four events - short track cross country, 4-cross, crosscountry and downhill - were added together to name a men's and women'schampion from each division.

With a victory in both the short trackand cross country events, Alex Hagman (Fort Lewis College) earned the overallDivision I men's title. The Division I women's title went to CarolineJarolimek (University of Colorado), who despite not winning any individualevents, captured the overall title. Jarolimek's top result was asecond-place effort in the 4-cross race but a sixth-place finish in thecross country event and a pair of eighth-place finishes in the short trackand downhill races gave her enough points to secure the win.

DouglasShryock (University of Montana) claimed the Division II men's championshipafter solid performances in the endurance events left him with a third-placeresult in the short track race and an eighth-place finish in the crosscountry race. An 18th-place finish in the 4-cross race and a 21st-placefinish in the downhill contest insured Shyrock's victory. Kate Chapman(Western State College) took home the stars-and-stripes jersey in the DivisionII women's overall classification. The talented all-arounder wonthe 4-cross race and placed fourth in the short track, fifth in the crosscountry and fifth in the downhill.In the weekend's final race, individual event titles were awarded inthe downhill competition as Heath and Scherm were joined by Leana Gerrard(Western Washington University) and Anthony Coneski (University of Montana)as national champions. Gerrard won the Division I women's crown afterticking off a 6:39.54 while Coneski turned in a 5:39.66. Sunday'sdownhill victories were the second of the weekend for both Gerrard andConeski who each won their respective 4-cross races Friday.With the focus on team accolades, Fort Lewis College's Division I titlewas a result of several key performances that included 11 visits to thepodium. The Durango-based school started quickly with six podiumperformances Friday as Hagman, Eric Ransom and Noah Singer swept the topthree of the men's short track race, Thomas Tokarczyk and Heath went 1-2in the men's 4-cross and Sabrina Kraushaar placed third in the women's4-cross.

The success continued Saturday as Hagman and Singer placedfirst and fifth respectively in the men's cross country race. Sunday,Heath's win and Elworthy's bronze-medal descent was complimented by a fifth-placefinish courtesy of Anthony Diaz.Western College secured the Division II crown with nine visits to thepodium. Friday, Chapman's 4-cross win and fourth-place effort inthe women's short track was complemented by a win the men's short trackby Garret Brady, a third-place finish by Scherm in the women's 4-crossand a fourth-place finish by Philip Chilimindris in the men's 4-cross.

After Chapman's fifth-place finish was the only podium performance Saturday,Western College finished strong with Scherm's win and fourth and fifth-placefinishes in the men's downhill from Timothy Ruggles and Alex Prouty.The top-five Division I schools were Fort Lewis College (698), Universityof Colorado (673), Lees-McRae College (573), Colorado State University(547) and Lindsey Wilson College (473). After winning the last threeDivision II crowns, Lees-McRae joined the Division I ranks in 2006 as didWestern Washington University who finished 12th with 259 points.Western State College (655), Warren Wilson College (632), Universityof Montana (631), Union College (576) and Colorado School of Mines (567)topped the Division II standings.

2006 USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships
Angel Fire, N.M. - October 20-22

Day Three Results

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Men's Division I Downhill
1. Chris Heath (Fort Lewis College)
2. Philip Wheeler (University of Colorado)
3. Jason Codding (University of Florida)
4. Tim Sharp (University of Colorado)
5. Anthony Diaz (Fort Lewis College)Women's Division I Downhill
1. Leana Gerrard (Western Washington University)
2. Jessica Vogt (University of Colorado)
3. Sarah Elworthy (Fort Lewis College)
4. Karin Hanzi (Cal Poly Wheelman)
5. Danae York (University of Colorado)Men's Division II Downhill
1. Anthony Coneski (University of Montana)
2. Jess Pedersen (Colorado School of Mines)
3. Nick Zuzelski (Colorado School of Mines)
4. Timothy Ruggles (Western State College)
5. Alex Prouty (Western State College)Women's Division II Downhill
1. Amy Scherm (Western State College)
2. Nylene Wicks (University of Montana)
3. Katelyn Parhiala (St. Michael's College)
4. Heidi Caskill (University of Montana)
5. Kate Champan (Western State College)Men's Division I Overall Omnium
1. Alex Hagman (Ft. Lewis College) 340
2. Andy Schultz (Montana State University) 300
3. Eric Ransom (Fort Lewis College) 280
4. Noah Singer (Fort Lewis College) 278
5. Bryan Alders (University of Colorado) 268Women's Division I Overall Omnium
1. Caroline Jarolimek (University of Colorado) 458
2. Sabrina Kraushaar (Fort Lewis College) 400
3. Chloe Forsman (University of Arizona) 395
4. Danae York (University of Colorado) 353
5. Maureen Kunz (UC-Berkeley) 334Men's Division II Overall Omnium
1. Douglas Shryock (University of Montana) 326
2. Phil Grove University of Montana) 316
3. Patrick Hurley (Warren Wilson College) 312
4. Braden Kappius (Colorado School of Mines) 304
5. Toby Meierbachtol (University of Montana) 302Women's Division II Overall Omnium
1. Kate Chapman (Western State College) 518
2. Amy Scherm (Western State College) 482
3. Amanda McKay (Union College) 468
4. Nylene Wicks (University of Montana) 434
5. Kylie Krauss (Warren Wilson College) 422Overall Division I Standings
1. Fort Lewis College 698
2. University of Colorado 673
3. Lees-McRae College 573
4. Colorado State University 547
5. Lindsey Wilson College 473Overall Division II Standings
1. Western State College 655
2. Warren Wilson College 632
3. University of Montana 631
4. Union College 576
5. Colorado School of Mines 567