The 2014 Expresso Fall Frenzy has a champion

By Marisa Penkauskas

Over the past five weeks, 124 colleges from across North America competed in the second annual Expresso Fall Frenzy to try and bring home the Golden Spokes trophy.

During the bracketed tournament, which consisted of five 48-hour rounds, teams competed to see which school could ride the most miles on Expresso virtual reality bikes.

Expresso bikes have a screen with over 40 digital roads and trails to choose from. The bike reacts to the terrain that appears on the screen, allowing the rider to shift and steer as they ride. The resistance increases when the rider pedals uphill and decreases as they go downhill—but there’s no coasting on an Expresso bike.

The third and fourth rounds of the Fall Frenzy were fierce displays of athleticism, and this last Wednesday—after an epic Championship battle—the sweaty but elated riders from Schoolcraft College in Garden City, Michigan got to celebrate a victory over Gannon University. Schoolcraft College has snagged the Golden Spokes trophy!

Team members at Schoolcraft College, the 2014 Expresso Fall Frenzy Champions.

Final Score

Schoolcraft College—4,147 miles
Gannon University—4,028 miles

Gannon University was the Cinderella story of this Fall Frenzy. Led by the university’s Assistant Vice President, Connie Kercher, and her band of six student rec staff team captains, Gannon built a powerful Fall Frenzy team! They had their own prizes at the rec center, personally signed people up for the tournament, and invested time in educating their riders. Gannon entered the tournament as an unranked contender, put up huge numbers in the early rounds, and then upset SUNY Binghamton—which was seeded 2—on their way to the finals.

Michael Waldyke, a rider from Schoolcraft, honored their efforts after the tournament by posting on Gannon’s Facebook page: “It was a fantastic race, not decided until the very end…. Everyone who rode for both teams should be proud. I must admit that I rode for the other side, but I look forward to a rematch next year!”

During the semi-finals, while the students at Schoolcraft College were hungry for victory, Team Captain and Exercise Specialist and Fitness Lead Lisa Cunningham talked about keeping her team motivated. “I have a picture of the Golden Spokes trophy in the media kit hanging on our board in the gym where we give our hourly mile updates,” she said. “We hope to have the real thing after next week! The buzz and energy is great around our center right now—pretty awesome no matter how far we make it!” And after a few more weeks of intense pedaling, they did in fact manage to capture the Golden Spokes trophy!

Members of Gannon University’s team, which went from unranked to finishing second place in this year’s tournament.

Joey Wilmot, Team Captain and Men’s Lacrosse Head Coach at Houghton College, strategized to get his team into shape for their first Frenzy. “I just sent an email to our Student Life and Human Resources staff for an all-campus email to encourage sign ups,” he said. “I’m also talking to my boss about having the field house open for the full 48 hours and having refreshments available for participants.”

After Houghton was knocked out in the third round by Schoolcraft, Wilmot was determined to hold onto his spot as the #1 rider in the Fall Frenzy. In the semi-finals, he drove two and a half hours to ride for SUNY Binghamton, adding 152 miles to their total. Then, in the championship round, he made the two hour trip to Gannon University and rode another 151 miles. Although Houghton College didn’t make it all the way to the final round, Wilmot made his team proud by holding the #1 spot as an individual with an astounding 760 miles during tournament play. All-Tournament honors were awarded to the ten riders with the most miles.

All-Tournament Team

Joey Wilmot – Houghton – 760 miles
Joshua Costa – Schoolcraft – 668 miles
Justin Thomas – SUNY Binghamton – 590 miles
Pat Mog – Schoolcraft – 571 miles
Brian Ratajczak – Gannon – 566 miles
Abby Quinn – Gannon – 540 miles
David Geyer – LSU – 508 miles
Pat Claybaugh – Gannon – 494 miles
Jose Ramirez – Schoolcraft – 485 miles
Kerri Makay – Gannon – 462 miles

In the end, over the course of five grueling weeks, 2,333 riders from 124 schools rode a combined 54,330 miles and burned over 1,800,000 calories on their Expresso bikes. While Schoolcraft College came out on top, all of the teams involved in the tournament had a great time and displayed amazing determination! We can’t wait to see events unfold at next year’s Expresso Fall Frenzy!