MADISON, Wis. - The Marian cycling team completed the 2026 season racing season at the USA Collegiate Road National Championships on Sunday, with the Knights finishing as the runner-up in the event. After a back and forth weekend of racing, Marian's efforts came up short, solidifying second place, while both
Stephanie Lawrence and
Ben Boroff finished as the overall runner-up in the individual omnium.
The week of racing began with the team time trial, with the Knights men placing third overall, clocking a time for effort of 47:21.12. The group averaged 28.92 mph for 22.9 miles, but unfortunately, one of Marian's four riders flatted his front tire halfway through, dropping the team to three riders earlier than planned.
The highlight of day one would come in the women's race, as the Knights rode to the team time trial omnium title, placing first overall with a winning time of: 52:49.58. Marian's group of
Lizzy Gunsalus,
Stephanie Lawrence,
Mairen Lawson, and
Finley Aspholm averaged 25.97 MPH for 22.9 miles, and started with a fast pace that only got faster. Teams started in one-minute gaps, and the Marian women passed several teams within the first half of the effort. The second half was even better for the Knights, as they built speed and continued to dominate. The women won the time trial by 48 seconds, with the win giving the Knights their first championship in the event since April 2019.
After the team time trials on Thursday, Marian sat in first place by two points over last year's champions, Colorado Mesa University.
In Friday's women's road race, the Knights were challenged from the beginning, with the entire team setting pace and covering moves. Ultimately, it was
Stephanie Lawrence who found herself in the winning move, as she would go on to be the solo Marian rider in the break of 5, outnumbered by 2 CMU riders and 2 SCAD riders. The break formed a sizable gap early, and the peloton was unable to catch up. In the sprint to the line,
Stephanie Lawrence finished in second place overall.
From the chase group,
Lizzy Gunsalus finished sixth overall, and
Nicole LaRue finished 12th. The women finished third as a team on the day.
Final results from the women's road race:
Stephanie Lawrence - 2nd;
Lizzy Gunsalus - 6th;
Nicole LaRue - 12th;
Mairen Lawson - 14th;
Finley Aspholm - 16th;
Anna Zyromski - 23rd;
Lexi Stierwalt - 36th;
Claire Kudlata - 38th
It was a gentler start for the men's road race, but action picked up quickly as the time progressed. As the women did, the full team covered moves and kept the race under control. Just after halfway through the race, the winds picked up, and a nasty crosswind section of the course split the field, with only two Marian riders making the lead group. All other riders fought for spots outside of the top 30. In the lead group,
Tom Scott and
Ben Boroff kept their composure and raced with poise and determination. In the final lap, CMU, LMC, and SCAD all had more riders contest the final sprint, but it was Marian's
Tom Scott who slingshot off of teammate
Ben Boroff's wheel.
Tom Scott rode across the finish line first, with
Ben Boroff across the line second.
The men finished the day 1st overall. Final results for the men's road race were:
Tom Scott - 1st;
Ben Boroff - 2nd;
Colin Mathern - 35th;
Arlo Waisman - 37th;
David Brower - 41st; David Kosela - 42nd; Cameron Little - 59th;
Fred Meredith - DNF
The team sat upon the top of the overall standings at the end of the second day, leading by six total points going into the final day.
The championship concluded with Sunday's criterium races, and for the women, the team rode on the front, keeping the pace high while keeping Stephanie Lawrence and Lizzy Gunsalus in a strong position to stay fresh and go for the prime sprints omnium points. Mairen Lawson helped keep the race smooth into the final few laps. Lawrence and Gunsalus were very well positioned entering the final lap to sprint to a podium finish, as Stephanie Lawrence crossed the line in first place and Lizzy Gunsalus finished fourth.
Lawrence's championship was her second overall of the weekend, adding to her historic mark on Marian's cycling team.
The rest of the girls had shared the work throughout the day and came home in the peloton. Final results included: Stephanie Lawrence -1st; Lizzy Gunsalus -4th; Finley Aspholm - 16th; Nicole LaRue - 23rd; Mairen Lawson - 31st; Anna Zyromski - 32nd
The men's criterium ace started fast with moves going off the front, but not getting much ground. The team shared the workload to keep the race together and protect our fast finishers. Boroff, Scott, and David Brower worked to earn points in the prime sprints. Going into the final two laps there was a large crash near the front, which took down Saturday's winner Tom Scott, while also holding up David Kosela. Ben Boroff led the team home in a fast sprint in eighth, with David Brower coming 10th and Fred Meredith being Marian's final points scorer in 16th.
Final results in the men's criterium were: Ben Boroff - 8th; David Brower - 10th; Fred Meredith - 16th; Colin Mathern - 39th; David Kosela - 45th; Tom Scott - 51st
Overall for the weekend, the Marian men rode to a win in the male team omnium, and the women's team rode well to come a close second in the female team omnium. With the two scores combined, Marian Cycling finished second overall in the full team omnium for Road nationals. With the conclusion of road nationals, which wraps up the full season of collegiate cycling, the Marian cycling team comes second overall in the year-long omnium competition.
For their efforts, Ben Boroff and Stephanie Lawrence were the individual runner-ups in the omnium.
