Durango’s Emily Schaldach completed her decorated collegiate cycling career in fine fashion.
The mountain biker for the University of Colorado at Boulder won the club women’s individual national championship at the 2017 USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships in Missoula, Montana.
Schaldach scored 526 points to hold off Stanford’s Rachel Anders for the individual title.
“It was close, but I was able to hold onto the title,” Schaldach said.
It was the second consecutive individual omnium championship for Schaldach, who won the clubs women’s cross-country and short-track cross-country races. She also placed fifth in downhill and sixth in dual slalom.
CU-Boulder won the team national championship, too, as the Buffaloes took first place across all nine events. CU-Boulder scored 846 points, while Appalachian State was second with 457 and Stanford finished third with 424.
Including team relays and team national championships, Schaldach won 19 medals in her collegiate cycling career.
“The collegiate nationals mean a lot,” Schaldach said. “This team has been a huge part of my life the past four years, and I love the opportunity to race so many events. My team is incredibly supportive, and we truly have so much fun yelling at each other to go faster and have fun.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
