July 15, 2006 (Trexlertown, PA) – The third day of the 2006 USA Cycling Junior Track National Championships at the Lehigh Valley Velodrome in Trexlertown, Pa. featured a slew of quality riders that led to great racing and three new individual national champions donned throughout the evening.

The top seed in the junior women’s 17-18 two-kilometer individual pursuit, Lauren Shirock (Emmaus, Pa./South Mountain Cycle), clocked a winning time of 2:43.431 to take the national title over Amara Boursaw (Stanwood, Wash./Greggs/Trek) who turned in a 2:50.009. Abby Nicks (Indianapolis, In./Indyspeed) rolled to the bronze medal with a time of 2:55.483 because her opponent, Rachelle Hobson (Milwaukie, Ore./Forza Jet Velo) opted out of the 3-4 ride.

In the junior men’s 17-18 sprint, Justin Williams (Los Angeles, Calif./Major Motion) earned his second national championship of the week by beating David Engwiss (Kenosha, Wis./Speed Zone) in two straight rides. Both Williams and Engwiss made it to the final round by beating the second and first seeds respectively in the semifinal round. The duel for third place between top sprint seed Shane Kline (Bally, Pa./TEAM Fuji) and second-seeded Matthew Fox (Highland Park, Ill./Hayes on Track) proved arduous as Kline took the pairing and third place in three very close rides.

In the junior women’s 17-18 keirin Lauren Shirock took the field by surprise with one lap remaining and nearly stole the show. Catherine Fiedler (Long Beach, Ca./ Home Depot Center) captured the win with Cristin Walker (Houston, Tx./Northwest Cycling Club) edging out Shirock for second. Shirock finished third. Notably missing in the top three was Cindy Lakatosh (Trexlertown, Pa./Tri State Velo) who never recovered fully from Shirock’s move underneath eventually placing fourth.

In the junior women’s 13-14 eight-kilometer points race, Coryn Rivera (Tustin, Ca./Major Motion) proved her merit as she jumped away from the field early on, eventually lapping the field and taking the win with 35 points. Kaitlin Antonneau (Racine, Wis./ Nova/IsCorp) placed second, earning eight points with Elizabeth Engwis (Kenosha, Wis./Kenosha Velosport) scoring seven points to score third.

The junior men’s 10-12 two-kilometer scratch race saw Aaron Harrison (Wheeling, Ill./XXX Racing/Athletico) capture the victory with a time of 3:23.567 over second place competitor Erik Volotzky (Chatsworth, Calif./Major Motion) and bronze medalist Marcus Smith (Pleasanton, Calif./International Christ).

In the junior women’s 10-12 two-kilometer scratch race Sarah Huang (Kenosha, Wis./Kenosha Velosport) earned first place in a time of 3:29.642. Karla Lopez (El Paso, Tx./Major Motion) placed second and Kaitlyn Lawrence (Emmaus, Pa./Vortex) third.

Kevin McGuire (Miami, Fla./Team Laser-ES) captured the victory in the junior men’s 13-14 ten-kilometer points race earning 13 points. A final lap photo finish resulted in a two-way points tie, 10 points each, for second place with Lawson Craddock (Houston, Tx./Northwest Cycling CI) taking the second placing with a higher finish on the last lap over Joel Shaffer (Los Altos Hills, Ca./Webcor/Alto Velo).

In the junior women’s 15-16 six-kilometer scratch race, Colleen Hayduk (Kutztown, Pa./TEAM Fuji/Salamander) triumphed over second place finisher Mary Costelloe (Emmaus, Pa./East Coast Velo) and bronze medalist Shelby Reynolds (Cypress, Texas./Southern Elite) with a time of 9:02.382.

The junior men’s 15-16 eight-kilometer scratch race ended with Jacob Rathe (Portland, Ore./BBC) taking the gold medal with a move one lap out from the finish that left everyone else looking at one another. Daniel Walker (Houston, Texas./Northwest Cycling Club) earned the silver medal with Iggy Silva (San Diego, Calif./ Eddy B Cycling) securing the bronze.

In the final race of the evening, the junior men’s 75-lap madison, Tri-State Velo squad members Jackie Simes and Taylor Brown dominated the field by taking the first two sprints. The duo then led nearly the entire way with T.E.A.M. Fuji-Salamander riders Shane Kline and Nik Reinert chasing points throughout the race catching up with every sprint. The action-packed race came down to the final lap where Kline took the sprint in convincing style to secure the overall win for he and his T.E.A.M. Fuji-Salamander partner.

In the junior women’s 10-12 omnium, which secured overall winners for the week of racing, Karla Lopez (El Paso, Texas./Major Motion) took the win with Sarah Huang (Kenosha, Wi./Kenosha Velosport) placing second and Emily Moore (Los Alamitos, Ca./Encino Velo) third.

The junior men’s 10-12 omnium saw Aaron Harrison (Wheeling, Il./XXX Racing/Athletico) secure the national championship with Anthony Skorochod (Wind Gap, Pa./Team Vortex) and Erik Volotzky (Chatsworth, Calif./Major Motion) placing second and third respectively.

Omnium champions in the junior women’s 13-14 included Coryn Rivera (Tustin, Ca./Major Motion) taking the overall title, Kaitlin Antonneau (Racine, Wi./Nova/lsCorp) placing second and Shelbe Eck (Fogelsville, Pa./Tri State Velo) third.

In the junior men’s 13-14 omnium, Eric Rasche (Cypress, Tx./Northwest Cycling Club) took top honors with Broday Walker (Wichita Falls, Tx./Richardson Bike Mart) placing second and Kevin McGuire (Miami, Fl./Team Laser-ES) third.

Action continues with the final day of the USA Cycling Junior Track National Championships Saturday, July 15.