As part of a huge BMX festival in Rock Hill, South Carolina, the USA Cycling national championships were held on Friday (29th), with one confirmation and one surprise.
The confirmation came from Corben Sharrah, who repeated as U.S. champion, and then underscored that fact over the weekend. Sharrah won each of his preliminary races and then dusted the field in the final.
That was on Friday, but Sharrah wasn’t done, with the Carolina Nationals being contested over the weekend. He swept both of those races, defeating Joris Daudet and Alfredo Campo on Saturday, and then won on Sunday, this time with Campo second and Daudet third.
The women’s Nationals had seen Alise Willoughby as a fixture at the top of the podium, but for the first time since 2011, someone else won: Felicia Stancil.
In Friday’s race, Stancil managed to get to the line first, but Willoughby was third, also edged by Brooke Crain. “I felt really strong out there,” said Stancil. “I got first, first and second in my mains and was able to come away with the win. I feel really strong now that the World Cup season is about to start. I had a great off-season and am looking forward to a great year.”
Willoughby, who won Olympic silver in Rio, wasn’t done for the weekend, however. On Saturday, Lauren Reynolds, Crain and Dani George went 1-2-3, with Willoughby seventh and Stancil eighth. But on Sunday, Willoughby was the winner, ahead of Stancil and Reynolds.
Spencer Cole took the U.S. Junior title for the men, and Emily Hayes winning the women’s Junior crown. Summaries:
USA Cycling BMX National Championships
Rock Hill, South Carolina (USA) ~ 29 March 2019
(Full results here)
Men/Final Standings: 1. Corben Sharrah; 2. Jeremy Smith; 3. Jeffrey Upshaw; 4. Kamren Larsen; 5. Zachary Vankammen; 6. Justin Posey; 7. Cole Tesar; 8. Nicholas Long.
Women/Final Standings: 1. Felicia Stancil; 2. Brooke Crain; 3. Alise Willoughby; 4. Dani George; 5. Shealan Reno; 6. Mikalyn Shaw; 7. Sophia Foresta.
