By Amy Jespersen
Remnants of Hurricane Hilary moved into Eastern Utah and wreaked havoc on the high school mountain bike course last week. The Butch Cassidy trail crew spent much of the week draining berms, raking out ruts, drying out mud puddles and compacting sandy areas in preparation for the Region 4 opening race that occurred over the weekend.
The course was ready for the 1,100 competitors when a huge rain storm dumped nearly an inch of water on Kenilworth and an hour later sent debris and water rushing down Mead’s Wash, right through the middle of the race course Friday evening. Riders and coaches stood on the edge of the wash and watched the flash flood pass below them, something most people have never witnessed in person.
The trail crew scrambled to get heavy equipment and manpower gathered to rebuild the wash before dawn on Saturday morning. Three areas of the course that pass through the wash were rebuilt and the race was back on.
The races started early in the morning with the Junior Development (junior high) age groups. Carbon Composite had a strong showing in this category with Caden Steele and new-comer Reagen Marshall finishing strong. Returning riders Spencer Hawley placed 16th and Michael Loveless took first out of 73 riders.
In their first ever race, Matthew Blackburn and Grayson Sherman started at the back of the pack of 26 riders and moved their way to the front, placing eighth and fourth, respectively. The Seventh Grade Beginner Boys category included Joel Seeley, Tate McCourt, Declan Miller and Bridger Sharp. These boys worked hard and passed dozens of riders to finish strong.
The girls of Carbon Comp Junior Devos stole the show Saturday morning with newcomer Brynlee Tullis starting in the last place in a field of 72 girls in her category. She weaved in and out of riders from the very start and fought her way to the finish line to grab the top spot on the podium.
First-time racer Naomi Smith started in 35th position out of 40 girls, and fought incredibly hard with only two gears on her front derailleur to finish in second place. Her older sister and returning rider Malia Smith started in sixth place, took the lead early and didn’t look back during her 1.5 laps, finishing in first place, 40 seconds ahead of the second place rider.
The high school riders continued the success and put on an incredible show in the JV-A group. Tacoma Smith and Andrew Loveless sprinted to the front of the pack. Smith held a 40 second lead for most of the three laps with Loveless racing smart, riding on the back tire of a Westlake rider.
At the top of the final downhill stretch, Smith got a flat tire and ran his bike for much of the downhill section. As his lead started to close, he jumped back on his bike and rode to the finish line on his rim. Loveless continued to wear down Westlake and was only a couple seconds behind Smith as they approached the finish line.
It was an exciting sprint finish as Loveless and the Westlake rider tried to overtake Smith, but Smith was able to stumble across the finish line with Loveless finishing .2 seconds behind him for second place. Returning Carbon rider Garrett Murray also had an incredible race and finished fifth, putting three Carbon riders on the same podium.
In the JV-B Boys category, James Tullis started out dead last in a pack of 78 riders and rode hard to finish 24th. Zander Holzer and Will Clark also finished strong in this category.
After a lightning delay, the high school girls were able to take the course. The sun came out and heated things up, causing several girls, including Josie Jespersen, to collapse mid-race after working hard to make her way through the pack of JV-B girls. Maggie Madrid moved up 11 spots on her first freshman girls’ race and Madison Clark moved up six spots to finish 10th in her debut race.
Carbon had two racers on the podium in the Single Lap Riders group with Max McCourt taking first and Teagan Robinson taking third. Carbon had strong representation in the JV-E boys’ group with Carson Palmer taking third place. Carson Barrett and Ryker Christensen barely missed the podium, finishing seventh and sixth, and Tyler Frandsen (Emery) placed in the top 15. Riders Tyler Dalpaiz and Parker Jensen (Emery) both moved up in position.
Carson Taylor, who dominated last year as an eighth grader, had an incredible race and a sprint finish to grab eighth place after starting in 22nd in the Freshmen A class. Monson Loveless, Grant Sherman and Cole Arthur all had strong races in this category.
Returning rider Michael Webber started in 43rd place in the Freshman B category and grabbed a first place finish, followed by Kayden Dunn topping the podium in the Freshmen C class. Both Matthew Stromness and Michael Webber powered through their races after running a cross country race for Carbon High earlier that day.
Carbon Composite took the top spot in Region 4 after an incredible race day for our student athletes. The first of three races that will be hosted by Price brought in 1,100 student-athletes and their families. The riders traveled from Bingham, Herriman, Saratoga Springs, Provo/Orem, Sevier Valle,y and Cedar City and filled restaurants, hotels, and gas stations, which was a significant economic boost to the area.
The next race is in Richfield on Sept 9.
