Fort Lewis College junior Sofia Gomez Villafane will represent one of 15 Skyhawks at the USA Cycling Collegiate Moutain Bike Nationals on Oct. 24-26 at Beech Mountain, N.C., where she’ll be defending her individual omnium national championship. FLC will be riding for its ninth consecutive national championship and 23rd title overall.

Steve Lewis/Durango Herald file photo

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Fort Lewis College junior Sofia Gomez Villafane will represent one of 15 Skyhawks at the USA Cycling Collegiate Moutain Bike Nationals on Oct. 24-26 at Beech Mountain, N.C., where she’ll be defending her individual omnium national championship. FLC will be riding for its ninth consecutive national championship and 23rd title overall.

Steve Lewis/Durango Herald file photo

When your program has won eight consecutive national mountain bike championships and 22 titles overall, the intrasquad competition to try and capture your ninth in a row and 23rd overall is deep and difficult.

“These are some of the toughest decisions that the coaches ever have to make, simply because there are so many talented riders to choose from,” Fort Lewis College cycling administrator Dave Hagen said in an email Friday to The Durango Herald.

FLC coaches Justin Biser, Elke Brutsaert, Phil Cowan, Nick Gould and Lucas LeMaire announced their 15 cyclists to represent the Skyhawks at the USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike Nationals on Oct. 24-26 at Beech Mountain, North Carolina.

FLC juniors Sofia Gomez Villafane and Michael Sampson will compete for individual omnium titles, as well.

Gomez Villafane is the women’s defending omnium champion. FLC junior Becky Gardener will be defending her downhill championship.

FLC placed second in the Rocky Mountain Collegiate Cycling Conference behind Colorado this fall. Durango native and FLC sophomore Stephan Davoust, who will compete in the cross country, dual slalom, short track and team relay at nationals, won RMCCC endurance and omnium titles.

“Having such a good competition in the RMCCC is great preparation for the national competitions against not only top RMCCC teams but also teams from perennial national powerhouses Marian University, host Lees McRae College and Lindsay Wilson College,” Hagen said.

FLC will compete in both endurance – cross country and short track – and gravity events at nationals – downhill and dual slalom. The team relay is an endurance event where three to four cyclists compete in a four-lap race, with a female competing in at least two laps.

Each program is allowed to bring eight men’s cyclists and eight women’s cyclists. The FLC roster: Leila Carrillo, Joe Crosby, Davoust, Carley Endersbe, Libbey Endersbe, Andrew Fortini, Gardener, Gomez Villafane, Zach Graveson, Levi Kurlander, Jenna MacPherson, Payson McElveen, Sampson, Brian White and Woods.

heraldsports@ durangoherald.com