TEMECULA, Calif. – Clear blue skies and jubilant crowds greeted the historic first race of the SoCal High School Mountain Bike Racing Series – a four-race series that is an expansion of the NorCal High School Mountain Bike League. The new SoCal League is funded primarily by the Easton Sports Development Foundation II.
“I couldn’t be any happier right now,” said SoCal League President Quintin Easton. “Parents, coaches and kids left the venue today with a real sense of how magical it is to have a league of their own. Many came and thanked me personally for bringing the NorCal formula into our region, and it was clear they want more. There was a great deal of talent out there on the course today. Some of the kids in Varsity really know how to ride, and many of them are already champing at the bit to race against the NorCal League!”
Close to 100 riders competing on 14 teams – representing 16 schools - heralded this dawn of a new era for mountain biking in Southern California. It was fitting, then, that the race was held at one of SoCal’s finest mountain biking venues, the picturesque Vail Lake Mountain Resort.
A six-mile course winding through Temecula chaparral contained a little of everything, and was described by Sophomore Ricky Riedl: “This is the most fun course ever! There’s great singletrack, lots of drops and technical descents, good climbs, it’s really great.” All other riders asked, agreed with him.
Teams
Using the same scoring formula as in northern California – the top three results drawn from both genders – the Newport Beach Composite team set the early pace for the series, ahead of Channel Islands High School and Hemet High School. With three races remaining, and the expectation that many more riders will come to this party, there is the sense that much could still change.
Varsity Boys
Three riders mixed it up in a lead group that remained together until Garrett Garcia (Independent) created the moment of truth on the last lap with a withering attack. “I got a gap and I stuck with it until the finish,” he said. Garcia rode away from Eric Landman (Independent) and Zachary Valdez (Hemet), who remained together to the finish, where Landman beat Valdez by a wheel in a sprint. Garcia, who trains up to 14 hours a week and is self-coached, does a little road and time trial racing but says he’s mainly a mountain biker.
JV Boys
Quint Berkemeier (Rim High) set his objective early in the race, which was nothing less than the win. “I needed a win badly,” he said, although acknowledging the stiff competition from riders in his race and riders yet to join the League, he is not taking anything for granted. “There are a lot of good guys out there,” he said. One such rider is Nicolas Avellaneda (Independent), who had a mechanical on lap one, and rode his way back into the top ten by posting the fastest times on laps two and three of the three-lap race. Avellaneda finished seventh, but should be challenging for the win at the next round. Tucker Trotter (Yucaipa), finished second, 49 seconds back, with Ryan Matter (RHS Racing) third at 2:47.
Frosh/Soph Boys
“That was my dream right there, I gave it all I had,” said a delighted Ricky Riedl (Palos Verdes Composite) about his win. He had been in a breakaway of three, but that went down to two as they braked hard for a sandy, sharp corner. “The guy behind me ate it hard, I hope he’s OK. I want to find him and apologize for that,” said Riedl about an incident that’s very much part of the game. 2-3 miles from the finish, Riedl went to the front on an open downhill, and then started hammering the climbs. “I just kinda drifted away, didn’t see him again,” he said. Having raced since 7th grade, and a road and track racer too, Riedl, coached by Dave Armitage, is clear about his priorities, saying: “Mountain biking is by far the most fun.”
Girls’ Races
Six girls today blazed the trail for all girls in Southern California who will take up mountain bike racing – Tiana Plow, Amanda Duarte, Shaylee Quezada, Leila Carrillo, Rachael Somerville and Pamela Bogust. Varsity girls raced three six-mile laps, and Junior Varsity, Sophomore and Freshman categories raced two.
Varsity Girls
After riding away from the entire field at the start line, Tiana Row just kept it going and completed her 18-mile race with a time of 1:31:28.
JV Girls
Amanda Duarte (Independent) completed the 2 laps in a time of 1:08:04. She remained comfortably ahead of Shaylee Quezada (Channel Islands), who took second place.
Frosh/Soph Girls
Leila Carrilo (Newport Beach) was the only Freshman racing, and with a time of 1:04:50, for the 12 mile race, she outpaced everybody except the sole Varsity rider, Tiana Row. Carrilo, whose passion for cycling began at age four, simply followed the leader (Row). “I went out and was in second place. There was a chick ahead of me, I didn’t know she was Varsity,” said Leila, who rode her entire race alone.
What students say about high school mountain bike racing (by cellphone from the race venue)
Ricky Riedl (Palos Verdes HS)
“I didn’t even know of the SoCal League until less than a month ago. It’s the best idea ever! The atmosphere is really good, it’s very positive. There’s a good crowd here and we’re all having a lot of fun. Can you hear the cheering and cowbells?”
Garrett Garcia (Indepenent)
“It’s a great idea. It’s really cool. I’m glad I was able to come out and race here.”
Quint Berkemeier (Rim of the World HS)
“Mountain biking is really friendly. I play soccer and do XC running too. The individual sports seem to be very friendly, the people and the atmosphere are very nice. I hope by the time I’m a senior this league will be huge!”
The SoCal racing program:
March 8, Vail Lake Challenge, Vail Lake Resort, Temecula, California
March 22, Warner Ranch Roundup, Warner Springs, California
April 5, Arrowhead Challenge, Lake Arrowhead, California
May 17, Cow Pie Invitational, Santa Ynez, California
www.socaldirt.org
About the Southern California Interscholastic Cycling League
The SoCal Interscholastic Cycling League was organized to provide a well-defined race season for junior racers and to promote the formation of teams at public and private high schools. With the cooperation of local race promoters and our sponsors, the League organizes a first class series of races designed for high school aged riders. The League is working to make high school racing the easiest way for juniors to get involved in the challenging and exciting world of competitive cycling. The SoCal League was founded with a generous grant from the Easton Sports Development Foundation II (ESDF II) and is supported by other generous sponsors such as founding national sponsor Specialized Bicycle Components, Shimano, Bike Magazine, CLIF Bar, Crank Brothers, Hincapie Sportswear, Tifosi, Trek, and WTB. For more information on the League, visit http://www.socaldirt.org or contact Quintin Easton at quintin@socaldirt.org or 949.285.0316.
2009 NorCal High School Mountain Bike Racing Series
ROUND ONE – Northern California – Fort Ord, Monterey
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, March 9, 2009
Contact: Justin Morgan Justin@norcalmtb.org Tel: (510) 653-2433 www.norcalmtb.org
Full results available at: http://www.norcalmtb.org/race/results.htm
Photo highlights available at: http://norcalmtb.org/img/2009_opener/index.html
Video highlights Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lw1X7BFTLs
Video highlights Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e769GZMQM4
MONTEREY, Calif. – Starting the season with a burst of energy and enthusiasm, 415 high school mountain bikers from 33 schools were undeterred by grey skies and rain at the Central Coast Invitational, Fort Ord, Monterey, on March 1, 2009.
As a testament to the surging popularity of high school mountain bike racing, the turnout for this race amounted to an increase of 15% over the 360 riders who showed up for Round One of the 2008 series.
With winter and pre-season training over, this was a great opportunity for some riders to find out how effective all that patient off-season training work had been. For most, it was a great opportunity to renew acquaintances and revel in the particular team spirit that makes mountain biking unique.
As the first waves of riders set off, the air was alive with the sound of cowbells as students, parents and coaches lining the course jangled and roared in support of the riders. “There were so many people. It was like being at a state championship soccer game, this was by far the most commotion we’ve ever had at a League race, it was awesome to see!” exclaimed League director Matt Fritzinger.
“If we have a similar increase in numbers for next year’s season, we might have to start using school busses to get people to this race! The parking lot looked just about full today,” said Fritzinger, who also expressed admiration for the way the coaches and team directors had organized the team areas, and for the number of them who had put together new teams.
Team Talk
The all-important teams competition got off to a close start in Division I with the Drake Pirates edging the Salinas High School MTB Team by 3880 points to 3847. The 2008 Div.1 champions, San Rafael Bulldogs, occupied third spot with 3783 points. Coach Paul Sourre of the Drake team said, “We know it will be a difficult season, the philosophy of the Drake team has always been to teach the sport of mountain biking for the love of the sport, as opposed to winning for its own sake. It’s a challenge to find a good program that provides for both the highly competitive riders as well as those that are doing good work a little deeper down in the field.”
In Division II, the new composite Monterey Bay Kingfishers team, composed of several members of the former Calvary Christian team, took a 39 point lead with 1980 points over the San Marin High School Cycling Club with1941. For San Marin this was the best team result to date. The Marin Catholic MTB Club ended the day not far back with 1899 points. Mark Kintz, head coach of the Monterey Bay team explained the formation of the new team, “The Calvary Chapel team had evolved into a home-schooled group, so we weren’t really attached to the school anymore. We picked a name that everybody liked. It’s a six-person team with two sets of brothers and sisters”
Of Course
The Fort Ord course is known as a fast track with some fun singletrack sections, but overall a relatively low technical challenge. In these conditions, drafting can play a significant role, and with several races producing sprints or close finishes often the final selection was made very late in the race.
Varsity Boys
The name on everybody’s lips was John Bennett (El Cerrito), the rider who in 2008 made League history by earning selection to the USA world championship mountain bike team. In the Varsity Boys race, Bennett took the lead early in the race and rode to a solo victory with a time of 1:22:33. A group of three had been together, including Bennett, Christian Fernandez (Los Gatos) and Niko Kaplanis (San Rafael). Reportedly, Fernandez and Will Curtis were involved in a crash that enabled Bennett and Kaplanis to escape. Fernandez chased the whole way and was the fastest rider in the race on two of the laps. In the end, though, he crossed the line :1:18 behind the speeding Bennett. Kaplanis took third, with a time of 1:24:48. The quality of the field went deep, with the top ten riders separated by less than five minutes. Any one of those riders would be capable of taking the win on his day.
Varsity Girls
In the shake-up of the day, freshman Shayna Powless (Independent) vindicated her petition up to the Varsity Girls field by taking a convincing win over 2008 champion Christine Weir (Nevada Union). Powless recorded 1:14:36, which was 1:35 ahead of Weir. Lauren Catlin (Drake) claimed third place, in 1:17:30, only 14 seconds clear of Karli Haugen (Folsom).
Junior Varsity Boys Division I
A field of 59 started this close-fought race, in which more young talent emerged in the form of another ‘Freshman Phenom’ Bryan Duke (Salinas) who petitioned up, in this case into JV…. and won his division with a time of 1:08:21. A mere 14 seconds later Chris Bennett (El Cerrito) arrived. Bennett lost time on lap two, but Duke was strong enough to hold the gap to the finish. Jimmy Winne (Woodcreek) came home only 35 seconds behind Duke to claim third place.
Junior Varsity Boys Division II
Another large group, 43 riders, contested a race that ended in a sprint between old rivals Tony Smith (Marin Catholic) and Andrew Taylor (Contra Costa), both of whom had stepped up from Freshman in 2008. Smith, who won that category last year, clocked in with 1:11:10, just two seconds ahead of the hard-charging Taylor. Justin Ayala (San Marin) pedaled home in third place, 4:31 behind the fleet duo.
Junior Varsity Girls
Sprint finishes and close-bunched groups seemed to be the order of the day. Victoria Yoham (Marin Catholic) edged out her race-long companion Ruth Winder (Independent) by two seconds, and finished with a time of 1:03:06. Lindsay Martien (El Cerrito) rode with these two until the third and final lap, where she lost 50 seconds. 35 riders competed.
Sophomore Boys Division I
Two of the day’s biggest standouts were Max Houtzager (Redwood) and Roman Brockley, who were neck and neck all the way to the finish, where Houtzager took the sprint. These two showed what good training will do when combined with talent. Mason Bond (Nevada Union) crossed the line in third place, six minutes back, at the head of a three rider group.
Sophomore Boys Division II
In an intensely tactical battle, the Monterey Bay team riders worked their rivals in a group of four for most of the race until a carefully timed final-lap surge by Carter Williams (Monterey Bay) closed down the party. Williams won the four-lap race in a time of 1:09:34, 18 seconds clear of his team-mate Carmeron Hays. Miguel Mejia (Albany) was a further four seconds back in third. Noah Hanagan (Independent) lost touch with the group on the final lap for unknown reasons.
Sophomore Girls
A field of 25 started, and Morganne Endicott (San Ramon) emerged the winner three laps later. With the top ten riders finishing within five minutes, once again the riders were evenly matched. Drake rider Sophia Hamilton took second place at 30 seconds, with Caity Dickson (San Ramon) third, 51 seconds back.
Freshman Boys Division I
Riding in one of the largest fields at the event with 57 riders, Steven Flores (Salinas) led from start to finish and was never opposed. His time for the three laps was a rapid 53:49, and he finished a convincing 31 seconds clear of Steven Baldock (Nevada Union). With the top ten riders once again finishing within a five-minute spread, the Flores-Baldock gap was pretty much the tale of the tape, so to speak. Nik Dommen (Drake) was overtaken by Baldock in a sprint and took third place.
Freshman Boys Division II
Chase Myers (Monterey Bay) was the fastest Freshman of the day, handily winning his race after saying goodbye to second-placed Herculaas Botha (San Marin) on lap two of three. The gap at the end was 1:03. GBK Santa Cruz rider Jordan Vanderstoep crossed the line 3:32 behind Myers in third place.
Freshman Girls
With one of the most commanding wins of the day, Sofia Gomez (Los Gatos) has marked herself as an impressive new talent in the NorCal mountain bike racing scene. After powering away from the field on the first lap, she never looked back and finished a massive 4:50 clear of Olivia Hays (Monterey Bay) in a race that lasted only 55:29. Rainee Chandler (Salinas) came in third at 6:45.
The NorCal racing program:
March 1, Central Coast Invitational, East Garrison at Fort Ord, Monterey, California
March 15, Granite Bay, Folsom Lake, California
April 5, Central Coast Invitational II, East Garrison at Fort Ord, Monterrey, California
April 26, Brown’s Ravine, El Dorado Hills
May 17, State Championship, Boggs Mountain, Cobb, California
About the NorCal League
The NorCal High School Mountain Bike Racing League, founded in 2000, is a non-profit organization open to students from both public and private schools. The League exists by virtue of a range of fundraising activities as well as generous donors and sponsors including the founding sponsor of the SoCal League, Easton Sports Development Foundation II (ESDFII), the founding national sponsor, Specialized Bicycle Components, Clif Bar, Inc., Shimano, Fox Racing Shox, Gary Fisher Bikes, Bikes Belong, Ritchey Bicycle Components, Crank Brothers, Creation Engine, Hincapie Sportswear, Mike’s Bikes, The Pedaler, Paradigm Cycles, HappyGoFun, Mountain Hardwear, WTB, and Touchstone Climbing Gyms. The League provides coaching and camaraderie to help students achieve both competitive and non-competitive cross-country mountain biking goals in a safe and enjoyable manner. Each season includes a Coaches Training Conference, winter riding camps, the six-race series, and a variety of summer camps. For more information visit www.norcalmtb.org or call (510) 653-2453.
