Paretsky Finishes Strong in First Collegiate Race

The Red Hawks traveled to Columbia, Missouri, for the kick-off event on the 2008 Midwest Collegiate Cycling Conference calendar. Jonathan Paretsky led Ripon with a second place finish in the men's C race.

Paretsky's finish was a bright spot for an otherwise beleagured Red Hawk squad. Bryan Nell was placed as high as fourth place midway through the race, but a poorly marked turn near the end of the second lap resulted in Bryan venturing off-course and losing time and places.

Cameron Arndt experienced misfortune for the second week in a row as he once again broke a chain. The determined Arndt crossed the finish line with his bike on his back for a respectable 13th-place.

Steven Siewert and Tiffany Seering were equally unfortunate. Seering flatted early in the first lap, and, without a spare, she chose to abandon the race. Siewert also quit after suffering an injury to his left knee.

The tenacious Christa Kussmann endured to the end and finished near the bottom of the results sheet, just above Seering and another DNF.

The men's C and women's B races consisted of two laps on a 5.7-mile circuit through Rockbridge Memorial State Park just west of Columbia. The trail included tricky rock sections, fast flowing wide singletrack, a wonderful creek crossing and a 1/2-mile climb to the finish line.