BLACK HAWK, Colo. – Fort Lewis College Cycling continued its strong start to the 2026-27 collegiate mountain bike season at the Oredigger Classic, earning podium finishes across short track, cross-country and enduro competition.
The weekend featured competitive fields from colleges and universities throughout Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region, with the Skyhawks showcasing their depth across categories and disciplines.
Cross-Country
Fort Lewis landed a pair of runner-up finishes in the Cat 1 cross-country races behind sophomore Oliver Smith on the men's side and freshman Katja Opfer for the women.
The Skyhawks packed the men's top 15 with seven finishers. Rocco Lorence placed seventh, followed by Ezra Brown in eighth, Ethan Hemphill in 11th, Kip Sevenoff in 13th and Parker Nellis in 15th. Avery Roberts added a sixth-place finish in the women's Cat 1 race.
Fort Lewis dominated the women's Cat 2 field, claiming six of the top seven spots. Adeline Hamilton led the way with a first-place finish, followed by Nora Bostrom in second and Mia Ryder in third. Tilly Dodd placed fifth, Scarlette Cole-Rae finished sixth and Mia Rider took seventh.
Enduro
The Skyhawks continued their strong weekend in the men's Cat 1 enduro, placing three riders inside the top five and eight inside the top 12.
Finn McDermott led Fort Lewis with a runner-up finish, while Smith placed fourth and Wyatt Colville followed in fifth. Alec Balabanis finished seventh, Caleb Haack eighth, Tyler Swearengin 10th, Boden Whittick 11th and Logan Moxey 12th.
In the men's Cat 2 enduro, Adam Schrad finished fifth, followed closely by Carter Southcotte in sixth.
Short Track
Fort Lewis added another strong showing in the men's Cat 1 short track, placing five riders inside the top 10. Sevenoff led the group in fifth place, followed by Matt Currier in seventh, Smith in eighth, Lorence in ninth and Brown in 10th.
Opfer earned another podium finish for the Cat 1 women, racing to third place in short track. Roberts followed in sixth, while Reese Davis finished 11th.
With riders competing across multiple disciplines and categories, the second race weekend provided another strong measure of a young Fort Lewis squad's development.
"This weekend was full of racing all over the region, and we are thrilled with how the young team raced," said Fort Lewis College Cycling Director Ian Burnett.
Fort Lewis split its roster between the Oredigger Classic and the local Durango Derby, giving riders multiple opportunities to compete over the weekend.
"Our team was able to stay home and race the local Durango Derby or travel to our conference race presented by Colorado School of Mines," said coach Brittany. "This split the team into two smaller groups, with around 30 athletes racing the Durango Derby and 55 competing at our conference race. Most of our traveling athletes were underclassmen, which was fun because we got to see them step up and deliver some good results.
"We also had the second year of our infamous team soccer match Saturday night, which brought out plenty of smiles, laughs and team camaraderie."
The Oredigger Classic also presented a unique challenge for the Skyhawks, with riders commuting by bike to and from the venue over demanding terrain.
"The Skyhawks did great with the nontraditional race venue, commuting by bike to and from the venue on challenging terrain each day," said coach Chad. "Their grittiness and ability to go with the flow really impressed me. Big ups to the gravity team, who had to deal with a few thousand feet of elevation gain each day just to get to the Enduro start lines. It was wild to see them gaining more feet of climbing per day than the cross-country racers."
With two race weekends complete, Fort Lewis now turns its attention to the Mountaineer Madness Classic in Crested Butte, Colorado, hosted by Western Colorado University.
