As the summer begins in full I would like to look back on some of the great accomplishments and updates that our club has been part of since Easterns ended in April. Over the last year our club has raised money to end hunger in the Centre Region, connected with alumni, bonded over spaghetti and left over chicken, and logged thousands of miles... all while working as full time students at a top ranked university.
Wrapping up with the ECCC
On the evening of Saturday, April 25th hungry cyclists from the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference took part in the conference banquet catered with delicious BBQ, chicken, and other savory foods. Homemade banana bread, chocolate pie, and chocolate pie and other desserts were consumed almost as soon as they hit the table and not a morsel was spared!Conference director and Drexel Alumni Joe Kopena reminded us all of the seriousness of our sport, as well as the great joy that it brings. Race directors Bill Muzika and Andrew Abraham received standing ovations, and Andrew Artz presented the conference with a pitch to race the greatest road race in all the northeast again this August as The Nittany Stage Race continues to move ahead full steam!
Finally, although the club sold many of it's T-shirts for 2015 Easterns, a few still remain available for sale at $12+ shipping. Interested individuals can get in touch with club treasurer Andrew Hess at aohess2@gmail.com
Club Sports Honors Reception
In early May the students of Penn State's Club Sports traded their workout gear and team kits for dresses and suits as more than 30 clubs attended the 2015 honors reception. The theme selected was from Willy Wonka and the staff of club sports went out of their way to make it a great event! From the Wonka factory archway, massive props, and new location in the Mt Nittany Club of Beaver Stadium the event was well attended and a lot of fun!
The Penn State Cycling Club was up for two awards being nominated for both Outstanding Organizational Excellence and Club Secretary of the Year (Andrew Artz). Although Andrew was beat out by another officer the Cycling Club took home it's team award, much to our own surprise! A very special shout out to triathlete Bria Edwards who took home the Club Sports Women's Athlete of the Year! Thank you to all of the officers and club members who made this year such a fun year for all of us!
The Penn State Cycling Club was up for two awards being nominated for both Outstanding Organizational Excellence and Club Secretary of the Year (Andrew Artz). Although Andrew was beat out by another officer the Cycling Club took home it's team award, much to our own surprise! A very special shout out to triathlete Bria Edwards who took home the Club Sports Women's Athlete of the Year! Thank you to all of the officers and club members who made this year such a fun year for all of us!
Nationals
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| The man, the myth, the legend. Wes Kline. |
Penn State sent a small squad this year including University Park cyclists Brett Watchendorf, Kevin Bernstien, Wes Kline, and Lehigh Valley's Monica Volk.
Despite impressive breakaways and very fast pelotons our cyclists placed well against a field that sometimes number over 150! Penn State Univeristy Park did very well against the most talented young cyclists in the US, but a very impressive performance was the devastating hurt that Monica Volk put on the Women's D2 fields in both the criterium and road race.
Internships, graduations, and more!
Sadly college has to end at some point and we can't all race in the ECCC forever...or can we? Penn State Cycling Club had a lot of graduates this year and we're sad to see them go. We wish them all the best in their future endeavors, no matter where their pedals take them.Not all of our club has moved on from Penn State though. Many of our undergraduate members have been accepted at internships and co-ops, while our graduate students continue to change the world of in the fields they're working in. In no particular order:
Brett Watchendorf, Spanish & Economics
President 2014-15
Treasurer 2012-13
Ginger Tsiang, Plant Biology & Horticulture
Mountain Bike Coordinator 2014-15
Kevin Bedoya, Information Science and Technology
Cody Moore, Kineseolgy
Rec Ride Coordinator 2014-15
Paul Girgis, Biobehavioral Health
Joe Halo, Industrial Engineering
Race Director 2010-11
Mitch Ernst, Civil Engineering
Kasinee Gehring,
Womens Coordinator 2013-15
Wes Kline, didn't learn a thing about Kinesology... he just rode bikes
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| Incoming president Sam Caroll is interning with QPS Engineering. |
Andrew Artz is interning at Shaver's Creek Environmental Center as a leader for the Rock n' River Adventure program. Rock n' River leads teenagers though 5 days of adventure programing while teaching team building through experiential learning.
Sarah Rutledge is working in a co-op program at BMW Manufacturing in Spartanburg, SC as a quality engineer. Her current job involves the assembly of BMW X3 and X4's. She is excited about the opportunity and loves developing her problem-solving, engineering, and professional skills that she says will help her in her future career!
Sean MacIntyre is probably building a giant death robot in the basement of the Applied Research Laboratory but reports are yet unconfirmed...
Summer Rides and Racing
Since the end of the semester our club members have raced in numerous USAC and community rides. As Penn State Club Sports prevents cyclists from registering as a club without first going through the normal CS paperwork many of our club members choose to race as individuals.
On May 31st outgoing club president Brett Watchendorf placed 2nd in the Colorado State Championships against some very tough rocky mountain competition. His tenacity for climbing and power to the pedals propelled him across the finish of the 87 mile Deer Trail Road Race. Another recent alumni Cody Moore took 4th in his race at the same event.
On May 31st outgoing club president Brett Watchendorf placed 2nd in the Colorado State Championships against some very tough rocky mountain competition. His tenacity for climbing and power to the pedals propelled him across the finish of the 87 mile Deer Trail Road Race. Another recent alumni Cody Moore took 4th in his race at the same event.
Also on May 31st Andrew Artz participated in the 2015 Spring Ride for the Bestwick Foundation. Photographer extraordinaire and alumni Ginger Tsiang also filmed an interview with the foundation's president Jamie Bestwick to be used in an upcoming promotional video for the Nittany Stage Race.
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