What head coach Eric Mace called “a fantastic season” for the Sedona Mountain Bike School Team came to an end on Saturday, Nov. 2 and Sunday, Nov. 3.
The Sedona riders were in Waddell at White Tank Mountain Regional Park. They finished the year out strong, coming in ninth place out of 42 Division 2 teams. For Mace, it was a strong cap to the year where he saw the riders on the team approve across the board.
“Everybody improved on their skills and demonstrated good stewardship on the trails,” Mace said. “And the trails in Sedona are so much improved.”
A number of strong individual performances helped spark the Sedona Mountain Bike School team. Chief among them was River Valdez, who won the boys seventh grade even race.
While Valdez was the only first place finisher from the Sedona Mountain Bike School Team, the team’s performance was also aided by two other top-10 finishers — Nyah Valdez [fifth place, girls JV2] and Quinn Franklin [sixth place, boys JV2].
Additionally, six other Sedona Mountain Bike School Team riders finished in the top 20 in their respective races. They included Skyrah Wilmer [13th place, girls eighth grade], Leah Pederson [15th place, girls freshmen], Jackson Maddox [16th place, boys eighth grade even], Carter Pederson [16th place, boys seventh grade odd], Luke Shook [20th place, boys eighth grade odd] and Bronwyn Bosman [eighth place, girls eighth grade].
“That exceeded expectations for sure,” Mace said. “It wasn’t even on my radar to do that well out there. I wanted to help the kids get better on the bikes and as people. I had a lot of excellent coaching help.”
Mace additionally praised the performance and continued improvement of Kale Emerson, who finished 49th in the boys freshmen race.
“He moved from the city last year and was new to mountain biking — he’d never done much biking in general,” Mace said. “Last year he just got a taste of it. This year he excelled. He was really engaged to it and latched on to it.”
While kids will organize individual rides, the Sedona Mountain Bike School Team is on hiatus until March. In March, they will be allowed to do limited training. Come July, the training will no longer be limited.
Looking ahead to next season [as well as ones in the more distant future], Mace wants people of the community to know that the only prerequisite for riding with the team is the desire to do so.
“All riders of all levels are always welcome to be a part of the team — nobody ever gets cut,” Mace said. “Our five guiding principles are strong bodies, strong minds, strong character, inclusivity and equality.”
