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Tucker Thiede
  • Politics and Government
  • Class of 2017
  • Plymouth, MN

Tucker Thiede of Owatonna takes part of Red Hawks 5th straight MWCCC title, and look toward Nationals

2013 Oct 30

Tucker Thiede a First Year Undeclared major, helped bring the Ripon College Red Hawk cycling team its fifth consecutive Midwest Collegiate Cycling Conference Division 2 mountain bike team championship Oct. 12 and 13 at Michigan Technological University.

Thiede is the child of Mr. and Mrs. Martin E. Thiede of Owatonna MN .

Ripon finished the season fourth among all MWCCC teams with 1435 points, just 104 behind second place Lindenwood University and 76 behind Lindsey Wilson College.

Marian University captured the outright conference title with 2060 points. Michigan Tech was second in the D2 team scoring with 448 points.

Corrie Osborne (FR, Mequon, Wis.) led Ripon's efforts and captured the conference's individual female omnium title in the process with a win in the women's A cross country race Saturday. It was Osborne's fourth consecutive endurance victory of the collegiate season. Her third-place finish in Sunday's short track event gave her a streak of nine cross country and short track podium finishes.

In a strange turn of events in the men's A cross country race Saturday, a group of 14 riders went off course after marking tape was inadvertently taken down. The lost marking caused the large group to take a wrong turn. They realized their error and eventually found their way to the finish line as a group. The race official declared the entire group, including Ripon's Ben Senkerik (JR, Wauwatosa, Wis.), Tony Kaatz (SO, Fond du Lac, Wis.) and Marcus Reed-Thorsen (SO, Rhinelander, Wis.), would be awarded a tie for 11th place.

"I've never experienced anything like it," said Ripon Head Coach Ric Damm. "Once the group realized they were off course, they all agreed to neutralize their efforts and came to the finish as a group in the order they were when they took the wrong turn. They pleaded their case to the official, and he granted all 14 riders the same time and placing."

Senkerik, who also placed 10th in Sunday's short track, claimed the season's D2 men's omnium title. He finished eighth overall in the MWCCC men's endurance rankings. He and Osborne will both receive front row call-ups in the cross country and short track events at USA Cycling's Collegiate Nationals to be held Oct. 25-27 at Beech Mountain Resort near Banner Elk, N.C.

Joining Senkerik and Osborne at nationals will be Kaatz, Reed-Thorsen, Rosette Reynolds (SR, Chicago, Ill.), Sophia Marchiando (FR, Onalaska, Wis.), Kyle Greene (JR, Minneapolis, Minn.) and Joshua Coit (FR, Morgantown, W.Va.).

Reynolds, who finished fourth in the cross country race and sixth in the short track race, and Marchiando, who was seventh in the short track, will both compete in those same events at Nationals; as will Kaatz who finished 13th in the short track. Reynolds ended the season ranked third for the women's endurance riders with Marchiando just behind her in fourth. Kaatz is ranked 20th in the men's A endurance field (2nd among D2 riders).

In addition to competing the cross country and short track events, Reed-Thorsen, who was 20th in Sunday's short track race, will compete in the downhill and dual slalom events at Nationals. Reed-Thorsen was 22 and 21 in those events, respectively, at Michigan Tech. He is ranked fifth on the season among MWCCC D2 men in the individual omnium.

Greene, who will be competing in the gravity events at Nationals, placed 15th in the downhill and 20th in the dual slalom at Michigan Tech. He finished the season as the top D2 gravity rider in the Midwest conference. Coit finished 13th in Saturday's downhill event but injured his right ankle in the process, leaving his ability to perform at Nationals in doubt.

"Josh's right foot came unclipped near the end of his first downhill run Saturday," said Damm. "He banged it pretty badly in a rocky section. It's the same ankle he injured in the first race of the season. He was able to come back from that first injury fairly quickly, but we don't yet know the severity of this latest incident. We'll have him looked at and evaluate his condition daily over the next two weeks."

Among the bright spots for the Red Hawks this weekend were wins in the men's C cross country, short track and dual slalom events and the women's B dual slalom. Tucker Thiede (FR, Owatona, Minn.) won both of the men's C endurance races, while Jeremy Brouwer (SR, Erie, Colo.) won the men's C dual slalom. Thiede also took third in the dual slalom, while teammate Ben Firgens was second in the men's C cross country race, fourth in the short track and sixth in the dual slalom. Marchiando won the women's B dual slalom with teammate Reynolds taking second.

Ripon's total podium placings totaled 10 on the weekend, with Green placing third in the men's B cross country race.

The Red Hawks will take advantage of Ripon College's fall break and head to Banner Elk next Sunday, Oct. 20 to scout the Nationals courses at Beech Mountain. Racing will kick off Friday, Oct. 25 with the men's and women's short track events. Saturday will include cross country and downhill competitions, and Sunday will include a team relay and the dual slalom event. Damm says Ripon is aiming to improve on its 10th-place finish from 2012.

"This is our largest and most well-rounded Nationals team to date," said Damm. "We're optimistic about a podium finish, but we'll just have to wait and see how things play out."