RamsCycling.com Team Announces Recipients of First Cycling Scholarships

RAMS CYCLING TEAM ANNOUNCES RECIPIENTS OF THE FIRST EVER CYCLING SCHOLARSHIP

Fort Collins, CO – October 25, 2004 - The Rams Cycling Team at Colorado State University (http://ramscycling.com) is pleased to announce the university’s first two collegiate cycling scholarship recipients. Colorado State is the first university in the Rocky Mountain region to award cycling scholarships, as well as one of only a few major universities in the United States to do so.

Two members of the team were each awarded $500 scholarships. Pete Hutson, a senior undergraduate sculpture major, said, “I am honored to be a part of the first year for this scholarship program. I have seen so much growth and support in the last three years from both sponsors and the community.” Hutson is partial to mountain biking, but he excels in any adventure on two wheels. Sarah Germundson, a junior veterinary student, said, “I’m very excited to be one of the first recipients, the team has gotten better every year. This will make travel to Nationals much more affordable for me.” Germundson competes in both road and mountain bike racing. Both are currently preparing for Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships in Seven Spring, PA on Halloween weekend.

Donald Estep, faculty advisor for the team, said, “The Scholarship Committee had a difficult time awarding only two scholarships given a talented pool of applicants combining strong commitments to academic performance, racing at a competitive level, and supporting team activities.” A member of the scholarship committee, Steve Carroll said, “As a CSU alumnus, I was proud and honored to be asked to serve on the scholarship selection committee, but more importantly, to be an inaugural donor to the endowment fund.”

The Fund for Scholarships and Team Development (http://ramscycling.com/scholarship) was created in 2003 with initial donations from the Friends of Rams Cycling Board of Directors. The Friends of Rams Cycling (http://friendsoframs.org) is an alumni booster club for the cycling team, which aims to fundraise, advise the team leadership and connect cyclists, be they community members or CSU alumni, with the team. At least two scholarships will be awarded annually. The scholarship is the brainchild of Nathanael Ksiazkiewicz, former president and current team member. His goal was to build a fund with the hope that it would help students offset the high cost of education, raise awareness of the exceptional cycling program at CSU and collegiate cycling in general.