By Eric Mace and Meghan Kincheloe
Sedona and Mingus School Mountain Bike Club racers traveled to Snowflake for race three of five in the Arizona Cycling Association series on Oct. 4.
Along with the other 1,100 racers from around the state, our student athletes enjoyed the amazing single-track trails with technical features similar to those found in Sedona.
Race day dawned and brought with it steady 15 to 25 mph winds and gusts of up to 40 mph throughout the day. The conditions were extremely difficult for racing, as the start and finish chute of the course was on an uphill slope with direct headwinds. Winds pummeled riders and spectators alike, coating everything in fine dust. Despite the difficult conditions, Sedona and Mingus riders excelled, with multiple riders moving up in the ranks.
Middle school racers kicked off the festivities at 8 a.m. with two laps on their 3.4-mile course. Seventh-grader Jaxson Campbell broke into the top 10, finishing in 10th place, and Hunter Brady put in the effort to secure 29th place. Max Holton also took 10th place in the sixth grade boys race, with Korbin Nelson right behind him in 11th place. Anish Ali and Theo Wilkins were all smiles as they finished in 25th and 27th place, respectively.
High school riders took to the course next, with the Varsity and Junior Varsity 1 boys racing during the highest winds of the day. After four laps of the 5.7-mile high school course, Greyson Stevens took his first Varsity podium finish of the season, securing fourth place in a sprint finish. He missed the third place spot by only 0.05 seconds.
In the three-lap Junior Varsity 1 race, Quincy Mabery made it back onto the podium, earning a well-deserved fifth place.
Logan Jankowski was hot on his tail, moving up four spots to finish in eighth place.
Braxton Malapanes fought hard after some recent setbacks, but ultimately made the choice to bow out of the race early.
As our only female racer of the day, we were thrilled when Danae Dearden secured her first podium finish of the season in the Junior Varsity 2 girls category. After two laps of the high school course, she took fourth place.
Junior Varsity 2 boys also completed two laps of the course with impressive speed. Talon Mandeville maintained his second place spot on the podium and Tyne Brady moved up in the ranks to the 16th position.
Freshmen boys continued to dominate this season after flying through two laps of the high school course. Cormac Kincheloe held on to his podium position with another second-place finish.
Despite a tire that was losing air during the race, Noah Nelson maintained his podium spot as well, finishing in third place. Vincent Pugliano took seventh place and Joseph Weiss moved up three spots to secure 11th place.
In addition to individual competition, teams are awarded for their cumulative points as well. The Mingus subset of the team won the second place Division 2 award with a tie against Notre Dame Prep. Because there was only one second place award to take home that day, the two teams held a tie breaker game of “foot down,” with the Sedona and Mingus School Mountain Bike Club coming out on top and bringing home the trophy.
Great food, fun team rides before and after the races and lots of time laughing around the campfire balanced out all the hard work. Camping alongside teams from across the state offered the opportunity to form connections and make new friends. This race weekend we enjoyed karaoke with the students from Brophy College Prep and Xavier College Prep, taught some younger riders how to use a unicycle and practiced bike jumps with anyone who wanted to give it a shot.
The race series concluded with race four on Sunday, Oct. 19, at McDowell Mountain Regional Park, followed by the State Championship race at Fort Huachuca on Sunday, Nov. 2.
Eric Mace and Meghan Kincheloe are coaches of the Sedona and Mingus School Mountain Bike Club.
