By Marisa Penkauskas

Just three weeks ago, 145 colleges—each eager to see who could ride the most miles on virtual tours through country sides, and even outer space, on their rec center’s Expresso Bikes—came together in the annual Fall Frenzy Tournament. Students, faculty, and staff rode together in attempts to beat their rivals. Schools recruited their cycling clubs, spin classes, and locals to compete for the championship title and the Golden Spokes trophy. After three rounds, only four teams remain.

Results from the Electric Eight

The four teams moving into the Fearsome Four round are Schoolcraft College, Saint Mary’s College of CA, Marist College, and the University of Iowa.

Schoolcraft College – 2,027 miles vs. Salem State University – 657 miles

Saint Mary’s College of CA – 1,448 miles vs. Valparaiso University – 1,281 miles

University of Iowa – 1,374 miles vs. Gannon University – 1,052 miles

Marist College – 1,615 vs. SUNY Binghamton – 1,501 miles

This latest 48-hour round resulted in upsets, push back from big-name schools, and a defense of the championship title from 2014 Fall Frenzy champion Schoolcraft College. Saint Mary’s College of CA, a first-time competitor in the Fall Frenzy, pulled off an upset against Valparaiso University in this last round. The sole representation of the west coast in the tournament, they recruited 129 riders to come in to ride 1,448 miles. Valparaiso didn’t give them an easy fight though. In the last 24 hours, they were largely ahead of St. Mary’s. Ultimately, though, when the clock timed out they were 167 miles behind and only had 67 riders.

Marist College brought another upset. 2013 Fall Frenzy runner-up SUNY Binghamton only just missed the win, trailing 114 miles behind. Stephanie Omlin, Binghamton’s powerhouse rider, rode 113 miles for her team and holds the #5 spot of overall riders in the All-Tournament with 347 tournament miles.

The Fearsome Four

Schoolcraft College vs. Marist University

Last year’s defending champion Schoolcraft College is up against one of the upset teams of the last round!

Saint Mary’s College of CA vs. Iowa State University

Though new to the Fall Frenzy, Saint Mary’s College of CA—the tournament’s west coast representative—is battling against a top athletic college in North America, Iowa State University!

All-Tournament

Individual riders are competing to be a part of the All-Tournament team. The following team members have ridden the most miles throughout the overall tournament:

  1. Pat Mog – Schoolcraft College – 800 miles
  2. John King – Houghton College – 540 miles
  3. Tamara Wrone – Schoolcraft College – 373 miles
  4. Christine Lehman-Engledow – University of Iowa – 367 miles
  5. Stephanie Omlin – SUNY Binghamton – 347 miles
  6. Mark Zajicek – Carnegie Mellon University – 315 miles
  7. Branden Kitchen – Gannon University – 311 miles
  8. Thomas Marshall – University of South Dakota – 290 miles
  9. Jonathan Hicks – Valparaiso University – 260 miles
  10. M Burkey – University of Iowa – 255 miles
  11. Tyler Barry – SUNY Oswego – 242 miles
  12. Jennifer Deasy – Saint Mary’s College of CA – 241 miles
  13. Charles Whitehouse – Saint Mary’s College of CA – 233 miles
  14. Cliff Mason II – Valparaiso University – 229 miles
  15. Michael Waldyke – Schoolcraft College – 219 miles
  16. Brendan McLaughlin – Marist College – 212 miles
  17. Joey Wilmot – Houghton College – 210 miles
  18. George Lawoo – SUNY Binghamton – 209 miles
  19. billy smythe – Schoolcraft College – 208 miles
  20. Pat Skeate – Carthage College – 207 miles
  21. Justine Arata – Valparaiso University – 201 miles
  22. Josh Harper – Saint Mary’s College of CA – 200 miles
  23. Jessica Walsh-frazier – Gannon University – 199 miles
  24. Mark Valentino – Marist College – 199 miles
  25. Abby Quinn – Gannon University – 193 miles

In the Electric Eight, 742 people came in to support their schools by racing. They contributed to the whopping total of 10,961 miles ridden in the 2015 Fall Frenzy!

Tune into the Fall Frenzy from October 27–28 to see who moves forward into the next round and even closer to the Championship title and the legendary Golden Spokes trophy!

 

For more information about the 2015 Expresso Fall Frenzy Tournament, please contact Marketing Manager at Interactive Fitness Marisa Penkauskas.