LEBANON, Tenn. – Freshman Tanner Hurst recorded three Top 10 finishes and freshman Morganne Endicott posted a victory in mountain cross for the Cumberland cycling program last weekend in Mars Hill, N.C., the final regular season event before the Southeastern Collegiate Cycling Conference (SECCC) Championships.

Cumberland competed in four separate events – downhill, short track, mountain cross and cross country. The event attracted the season's largest fields of participants, including Mars Hill College, Lees-McRae College, Brevard College, Union College, East Tennessee, Georgia Southern, Warren Wilson, Tennessee and Georgia. Division I squad Lindsey Wilson College also made the trip to compete outside their usual Midwest Conference calendar. The races were held on the Alexander trails system just north of Asheville, N.C.

A short downhill race kicked off the weekend events, with CU’s Tanner Hurst finishing ninth in 1:17 and Logan Luker taking 30th in 1:24. Union College’s Wes Lamberson won the event in 1:08.

The short track race followed and the Men A field was so large that it required two separate 10-minute heats to then compete in the final race for points. Each heat consisted of approximately 20 riders and only the top half of the finishers moved on to the finals race with 20 riders.

Hurst and Luker won the two individual heats, advancing to the finals. The short track course had a very short and tight lead-in followed by a technical and narrow course that stretched the race out immediately. Hurst was able to avoid trouble at the start for a solid beginning and placed sixth, but Luker was caught behind a crash early, making it difficult to make-up ground, and finished 13th overall.

“Both [Hurst and Luker] had outstanding races in the first heat to take the victories, but of course those were only good for seeding in the finals and for boosting morale,” head coach Tim Hall said. “The finals race proved more difficult, but Tanner and Logan held their own considering all 20 riders were fighting for the same real estate.”

Morganne Endicott endured difficulty in the Women A race, as a crash stacked up riders just 100 meters into the course, but she battled back to place 14th overall.

“When other riders crash in front, you're at the mercy of the moment and have to get around it to catch up. Morganne couldn't have done anything different in the moment,” Hall said.

The short track event was immediately followed by the mountain cross race, a slalom event with four riders going head-to-head down a short technical course. It was the first gravity race for Endicott, as she raced in the Women B division. She qualified with a time of 44.8 seconds and then went on to take the victory ahead of Warren Wilson College’s Allison Jones.

“This was to be an experience builder for Morganne and she proved to handle her bike well on the daunting course. There aren't many women who have the guts to even attempt the race, but she has the mental make-up and ability to do anything she wants on a bicycle,” Hall said.

Women B points do not count towards the national championship invitation process; only Women A points qualify.

Hurst and Luker made it into the final bracket of 32 after qualifying heats in Men A, but both were eliminated in their first heat to finish 24th and 28th, respectively.

The weekend ended with the cross country race, as the Men A raced 23 miles and Women A 18 miles. Endicott was able to get a good start on the initial uphill climb to hold onto seventh place in Women A with a time of 1:48.06. Lees-McRae College’s Erica Zaveta took the victory in 1:34.20.

In the Men A race, all three Cumberland riders put in solid efforts to earn points. Hurst and Luker got off to incredible starts and hit the hole-shot without trouble, but Ryan Sullivan got caught behind crash traffic and had to pass significant riders on the race loop.

Hurst held his position throughout the race to finish sixth in 1:36.05 and Luker rose from a Top 15 position to place ninth in 1:37.43. Sullivan put in an impressive come-from-behind effort, going from 40th position to 13th overall with a time of 1:44.49. Lees-McRae’s Kerry Warner won the event in 1:28.42.

“Overall this was a good weekend of competition to gain experience and build strength. To have multiple Top 10s for both male/female is good this time of year. We want to be our fastest at nationals later this month rather than early in the season and the Mars Hill weekend proves we are charting a consistent path upward,” Hall said.

The team has a two-week break from racing before the Southeastern Collegiate Cycling Conference Championships at Lees-McRae in Banner Elk, N.C. on October 15-16. The championship offers 1.5x the points as a regular season event and will decide which teams and riders are offered invitations to attend the USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike Championships set for October 28-30 in Angel Fire, N.M.

Official Mars Hill results from USA Cycling - https://www.usacycling.org/results/?permit=2011-3168.