Difficult weather conditions during a competition at Marian College (Ind.) caused problems for some Marquette club cycling team members.

"During the race it rained, it snowed, it was hot, it was cold, it was sunny, it was cloudy," Secretary James Stemper said after the March 25 competition. "It was pretty much every kind of weather."

Stemper competed in men's Class B and did not finish the race. Graduate dentistry student Christopher Mantel also raced in Class B but his results were not posted.

"There was a really bad crash that stopped the Mens B race," Stemper said. "I was involved and was able to walk away, but my bike was broken in half."

In men's Class C competition, sophomore Andrew Toumanoff finished 36th and junior Patrick Whitty did not finish. Erica Lanser competed in women's Class A and did not finish.

The team will travel to Western Michigan this weekend and the competition will most likely end the team's first season. Only 12 members of the club consistently raced this season out of 40 total members due to poor scheduling and other conflicts, according to Stemper.

"Next year we will have a lot more racers," Stemper said. "It will be a lot better."

Marquette is currently in 20th place in the Midwest out of 35 schools. The team hopes to challenge at the conference championships next season, according to Stemper.

"Next year we will be full out at it," he said. "This year we just learned."