SUNY Cortland Sport Clubs

Attention all students,

The Cycling club will be holding an organizational meeting on Wednesday, September 16 at 7:00pm by Poolside in Park Center. Please bring something to write with, as well as your health insurance cards or other proof of medical insurance with policy numbers, group numbers, etc. Proof of medical insurance is mandatory prior to participation with any sport club.

If you are interested, but cannot attend the meeting, please contact Matt Rankin at sunycortlandcyclingclub@yahoo.com.  

Sport club meeting dates will be posted once they are confirmed. For more information about all of the sport clubs, including organizational meetings for other clubs, please go to the SUNY Cortland Sport Club website: blog.cortland.edu/sportclubs

March 29th-30th, 2008
State College, PA

The following is an event report as submitted by Cycling Club member Mike Madden.

The SUNY Cortland cycling club was low in numbers due to injuries but still
made their name strong. Craig Moyse raced in Men’s C along with his
teammate Mike Madden. Elyse Loughlin, who was the weekend representative
of the club officers, raced with the Women’s C field.

The weekend started off on a brutally cold morning in Black Moshannon
State Park where the road race was to start off. Both Moyse and Madden
were going to compete in the hilly 42.8 mile race which started off with
over a 4 mile downhill. Madden finishing 17th out of a big field of 66 riders.

Sunday morning was the individual time trial which is everyone’s
favorite. It was a short (but painful) 4.5 mile course with a turnaround in it.
Moyse, with all of his aerodynamic gear, was a crowd favorite for the
race. Moyse ended up getting 2nd with a sub-11 minute 4.5 mile. Madden
finished again in 17th place out of 47 riders.

The Criterium was held on Sunday afternoon in the heart of downtown
State College, PA. A 6 turn criterion on narrow streets was going to be a
challenge for all of the riders competing. After 20 minutes of 1km 6 turn laps, Loughlin crossed the finish line 19th in a field
of 22 riders.

The Cortland Cycling team spent a second weekend in Coxsackie for a great day of racing this Saturday march 29^th. The weather was great, about 50 degrees, sunny and a stiff wind coming directly out of the north. This made for some fast racing with a tailwind, but brutally tough riding while going into the wind.

Our newest racer, Alicia Palmer rode very strong despite the steep hill that organizers put in the course, gaining her a 13^th place finish out of 18 riders. Many of the people in her group were actually police officers, great job keeping up with them Alicia! She stayed right in the pack throughout the race which can often be tough to do. This was her first race, and she was thrilled to have so much fun. Matt Rankin rode a very strong race, but was dropped in the first few laps on the steep climb. Steve Sloan represented SUNY Cortland with riding with the category 1/2/3 guys. Many of the guys in his race either have ridden, or currently ride for pro teams in the region. He rode strong and got himself an impressive 48^th place out of about 75 riders, finishing only a few minutes after the lead rider. Overall, it was a great day of racing in upstate New York. Next weekend, the SUNY Cortland race team will be headed to Boston for a big collegiate race with lots of tough competition.

March 1st & 2nd, 2008
Piscataway, NJ

SUNY Cortland’s Cycling team came out strong in their 2008 season opener at Rutgers University in New Jersey this past weekend, March 1^st & 2^nd. Matt Rankin made his ECCC debut in Men’s category D. Sam fox has progressed this season making his first start in men’s D for the Rutgers race events. Bobby Taylor raced in men’s category C, while Steve Sloan started his events in men’s category B.

Saturday’s race events were the morning individual time trial followed by an afternoon Criterium on Rutgers’ Busch campus. The weather was beautiful but the gusty winds forced extra effort from all the riders. Sam Fox raced first for SUNY Cortland finishing 11^th of 35 starters in the time trial over a short brutally fast course. Bobby Taylor finished 7^th of 36 starters for Men’s division II C Men.

Matt Rankin raced for SUNY Cortland in the Rutgers Criterium for his first collegiate race. He rode an excellent race, maintaining control of the pack for the duration. Matt finished in 8^th place and gained 2 overall team points for Cortland. The head winds on the open racecourse proved too strong for Bobby and Steve. Bobby finished 33rd out of 40 riders overall in the C-race.

A circuit race was held on Rutgers’ Livingston Campus on Sunday morning. Sam Fox and Matt Rankin started in the Division II D race. Both riders rode well. Sam Fox finished 13^th while Matt finished 17^th of 34 racers. Bobby Taylor rode an excellent race in the C circuit event. He rode in the top five to ten riders for the duration but fell quite a few positions on the finishing sprint to finish 25^th overall. Sloan, in his race was a strong competitor but also fell slightly in the field on the finishing stretch to finish in 40^th place.

Next weekend SUNY Cortland’s Cycling Team will be headed to Philadelphia, PA to race at the Philly Phlyer with more riders chasing victory.

October 12th-14th, 2007
Plattekill, NY

The following report was contributed by Bobby Taylor, President of the SUNY Cortland Cycling club.

The RED DRAGONS braved the cold windy wet weather at Plattekill Mountain Ski Resort for the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference Championship weekend, October 12^th-14^th. There were five members of the club in attendance. This was the final race weekend on the schedule for the ’07 fall mountain bike season. The club’s stellar performance throughout the season allowed for a second place finish in points among division II teams overall for the season.

Individually the riders rode very well during the final weekend accumulating double points in each discipline since it was the ECCC Championships weekend.

Nicholas Fioretti had the best race weekend of his life! Nick participated in 3 events during the weekend. Nick rode in Two ECCC sponsored events, the Men’s A Dual Slalom and Men’s A Downhill where he represented SUNY Cortland very professionally. During the Downhill event, Nick made it down the mountain in 4^th place time, losing to the Gravity Leaders of the ECCC, the University of Vermont. Men’s dual slalom events were held on Saturday. Nick competed in both the ECCC race and also a separate event held at Plattekill last weekend, The Gravity East Championships. Nick raced Pro class during the Gravity East race, competing for a cash purse of $1000 dollars. The Men’s A ECCC DS race was being held at the same time as Gravity East so Nick was frequently seen running his bike back up the slope as to not miss his other start time. Nick took twice as many runs as any other rider on the hill Saturday. His talent and finesse on the slope allowed him to place 3^rd place in Gravity East, claiming his cut of the cash purse. Nick placed 2^nd in the Men’s A race, although he should have had first. He fell on his last run allowing his competitor to beat him to the finish. Nick’s success during the mountain season ranked him First Place Overall for Men’s A division II riders. He was awarded a Star for his accomplishments this season. I would also like to thank Nick for all his hard work during the planning and execution process of each Mountain Bike Race weekend during our successful Fall Semester.

Elyse Loughlin also raced 3 events at the Plattekill weekend Woman’s A Cross Country, Short track Cross Country, and Dual Slalom. The Jagged shales and sandstones of Plattekill Mountain proved to be too rugged for Elyse’s tires causing two flat tires during the XC Race, so she was unable to complete the race. Saturday afternoon was a bit more successful for Elyse during the Dual Slalom course. Elyse qualified 1^st place with the fastest women’s time down the slope. During her 2 woman head to head racing Elyse dominated most of the girls. Her final race run ended in a crash with another female contender, which damaged her bike so, she couldn’t finish. Elyse placed 2^nd in Woman’s A Dual Slalom. The silver medal she received for her race allowed her to complete her set of Bronze, Silver, and Gold Plattekill medals, two of which were from last season. Sunday morning, in the rain (and snow) Elyse put up a very strong performance in the 25 minute STXC race. The points she accumulated during the season placed her very high among DII schools overall for the season.

Bobby Taylor Raced 3 events during the ECCC weekend in Roxbury N.Y. Two events on Saturday, the Men’s B Cross Country and Men’s B Dual Slalom and one event on Sunday, the Men’s B STXC proved to be exhausting.  During the treacherous conditions of the 15-mile Cross Country event, Bobby finished 4^th place, losing to a UNH rider at the finish line. During his first dual slalom race ever he managed to qualify 16^th place overall. Upon qualifying in last place he was forced to race the fastest qualifier, losing horrendously to him but having a great time doing it. Following an exhausting day on Saturday Bobby raced in the inclement conditions of Sunday morning in the STXC race. Bobby managed to hold his 6^th place position throughout the race. Bobby’s consistent success at two race weekends allowed him to place 2^nd overall in points among Division II B-Racers.

Riders Craig Moyse and Tim Brahs joined the Cortland Cycling Team during the final race weekend of the season. It was the first ECCC mountain bike race for the both of them. Craig participated in Men’s C XC and STXC. He placed 4^th in the Cross Country race on Saturday. Not bad for his first race! Sunday, Craig’s endurance and roadie strength allowed him to finish second place behind the sandbagging U-Mass rider. The second place finish allowed Craig to bring home a piece of silver Plattekill jewelry. Timothy Brahs will forever be known as the CHAIN BREAKER on the C-State Cycling Team since he broke his Dura-Ace chain in both the Men’s A cross country and short track races. He should have been using a SRAM.

Thanks to everyone who came out and raced for the Red Dragons during the Mountain Season. I would also like to express my gratitude to Frankie and Garry Fioretti for providing an excellent meal for the racers on Friday night, and breakfast Saturday morning. They were an outstanding fan club for all of our riders. Thanks a lot!