The season finale for the Vandal club cycling team took place on the Palouse this weekend, as the Vandals ended the season on a positive note after two days of competition.
Idaho’s Phillip Kearns was denied a win in the men’s A race in both the Pullman and Moscow events. Christopher Carter of Western Washington took first in both races.
Kearns said despite being disappointed with two second-place finishes this weekend, he had some takeaways from each race.
“I think I can take some positive signs from the weekend,” Kearns said. “I’m still coming back from a knee injury that kept me sidelined for a couple weeks, but I showed that I definitely had the legs to win, and drove the final selection both days.”
Despite finishing second in both races, Kearns earned the opportunity to compete in the USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships in North Carolina May 13-15.
“Even though it was incredibly frustrating to make a few tactical errors and barely miss the win twice in two days, I think that I can take some confidence from my performances as I look ahead to nationals,” Kearns said.  “The road race course in Asheville has some tough climbs on it that suit me pretty well, and I’m excited to see how I stack up against some of the best collegiate riders in the nation.”
During the women’s competition, Seattle University’s Heidi Franz won the women’s A race in Moscow.
Other Vandal cyclists competing in the event included Kaily Fineran and Scott Sturges, both of whom finished fourth in the women’s and men’s C races respectively.
Ian Childress also recorded a top-10 finish with a sixth place effort in the men’s C race in Pullman. The following afternoon, Childress finished fourth in the Moscow event.
The fifth and final competitor for the Idaho team was Troy Bremer, who finished 22nd of the 40 riders Saturday in Pullman.
Bremer placed 17th the following afternoon in Moscow.
In the time trail competition Saturday, Western Washington edged Whitman College by five points to earn the top billing.
Idaho did not record a single point, and ended in a tie for 13th out of the 16 schools competing.
Luis Torres can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @TheLTFiles