PONCA, Neb. -- Team Kaos/Nebraska Medical Center club president Mark Brackenbury won the Sport Masters 45-plus state championship Saturday at Ponca State Park.

Hosted by Sioux City Velo, the championship race featured well-groomed trails and near-perfect riding conditions. After the first of three laps, Brackenbury was on the wheel of Omaha Velo Veloce's Randall Crist, who was riding strong on the hilly course. A hard crash put Crist on the ground and allowed Brackenbury a chance to escape. He was able to hold on to take the title.

"It would have been an epic battle if he had stayed upright, as he's an exceptional climber," Brackenbury said, "and there's tons of climbing at Ponca."

Nebraska Rider of the Year update

The first state ROY standings have been released, with points update through the Norfolk Classic on June 7 and 8. A pair of Team Kaos/Nebraska Medical Center riders have the lead halfway through the season. Matt Landen has a 45-point lead over Kevin Burke of Lincoln Industries/LeMond in the Men's 1/2 race. Mark Brackenbury has a commanding lead over teammate Dave Rogers in the Masters 45-plus division. 

John Vondracek is second in the Men's 3 competition, 51 points behind Troy Krause of Lincoln Industries/LeMond. Team Kaos owns the next three positions in the field, with Justin Maresh third, Tom Ralston fourth and Matt Pavlovich fifth. 

In the Men's 4 field, Bryan Redemske is second, 19 points behind John Spray of Elkhorn Valley Cycling. Rich Pearson is second in the Masters 55-plus field, having placed no worse than second in any Nebraska race. Morgan Chaffin is second in the Women's 1/2/3 field, while Ian Gray is fourth in the Men's 1/2 field, just ahead of Chris Spence.

Full standings are available here .