By: Taylor Foote Photo by: Syd Bickers
There has been a major influx of campus tours led by Milligan’s cycling coach Zack Nave, as he is hoping to double the team’s size by next season.
“We have a large number of very big prospects [who are] committed to or are seriously looking at coming to Milligan,” said Nave. “There are men and women that are at the top of their sport wanting to be a part of our team and community at Milligan, which is extremely exciting for me.”
Each week this fall, the school has been reeling in two to three prospective cycling recruits, and Nave would like to see the level of interest sustain throughout the rest of the school year. However, numbers are not what Nave is ultimately after, but rather the quality of the rider and their contribution to the team. He feels extremely confident in the quality of recruits coming up next year.
“Starting next fall and spring,” he said, “I think we will be a big contender for a national championship just based on the recruits that are interested or have committed.”
Nave was named the Milligan College head cycling coach in December of 2012 and has since worked to grow the program. This September the team had its first all-time wins by new recruits freshman Nolan Tankerskley (Erwin, Tenn.) and junior Andrew Stallings (Crestline, Calif.) during a mountain biking meet at East Tennessee State University.
This spring will be the team’s first full-force run at road racing, as Nave added the new sport to the program. The team won a bid to host its first road races and criterium, a short one kilometer circuit that it is timed with turns, on April 5-6, 2014. Nave hopes to see a good student spectator turnout at the races. The weekend races will commence with an on-campus time trial starting at the tunnel near the Physical Plant.
“I did this because I want all of campus to be able to come out and support the start of this event and really see what a cycling event is like, “ said Nave.
The criterium will take place downtown Elizabethton, Tenn. on April 5. The road race will finish and end in Piney Flats, Tenn. on April 6.
Although Milligan is a newly growing cycling team, Nave said the novelty does not seem to be scaring recruits away.
“My feedback from [the recruits],” said Nave, “has been that they love the feel of campus, the tight knit community, the closeness of the team, the team members, and the direction of the program.”
Nave continues to help the team grow in spirit as well as skill, and invites Milligan as a whole to come and support the cycling team in its endeavors.
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