On Sunday, the DUST2 High School Mountain Bike Team was thrilled to race at a new venue for the Colorado High School Mountain Bike League (COMTB) in Fountain Valley, Colo.
This new race course, the Lazy B Ranch Rally, has a great mix of flowy downhill, quick ascents and lots of pedaling to test the racers’ strength and endurance. Each counter-clockwise lap measured 6.5 miles at 5,558 feet of elevation and held 350 feet of climbing.
While the weather was initially predicted to be heavy rain all Sunday, the team was grateful for only a short, spitting rain and cool race weather throughout the day.
The DUST2 team had 13 racers present, including senior James Jolley; juniors Kaylee Hensle and Weston Phillips; sophomores Sophia Alexander, Jackson Chaney, Van Halterman, Adelyn Hittle, Justin Sewell, Eric Smith and Aaron Sowle; and freshmen John Grimes, Gianna Schaeffer and River Wilson.
The freshmen boys were the first to race at 8:30 a.m., and DUST2 was proud to have two freshman boys race for the first time ever with the COMTB League. Racing two laps, Grimes placed 44th with a time of 1:08 and added 294 points to the team. Wilson came in 48th, adding 282 points, with a total time of 1:11. Both showed so much team spirit as they raced in neon-themed apparel to try to help the DUST2 team win the team spirit competition.
DUST2 had five racers competing in the sophomore boys’ division starting at 9:55 a.m., which held a total of 68 racers completing two laps. Chaney was first to cross the finish line, placing 15th with a time of 55:07 and adding 385 points to the team. Smith came in next in 20th with a time of 55:54 and added 370 points to the team. Sewell added 340 points, arriving in 27th with a time of 57:41. Next, Sowle placed 35th with a time of 59:00, adding 314 points. Halterman finished in 54th position, adding 282 points, with a time of 1:03. It is amazing for our small team to have this level of representation in any race category.
The JV boys were next to race at 11:20 a.m., with a total of 89 racers completing two laps. Phillips finished 16th with a time of 52:47, adding 430 points to the team. Jolley placed 62nd with a time of 1:00 and added 314 points to the team.
This is Jolley’s first year racing, and his placement continues to be impressive. Phillips shared that he enjoyed jumping the rollers on the race course.
Phillips also competed in the Yeti Skills Course and won the male category. The Yeti Skills course is a timed skills course set up at each race venue to test bike-handling skills and precision.
The JV girls raced at 2:20 p.m., with a total of 21 racers completing two laps. Our first racer to arrive was Alexander, placing third with a time of 54:18. Alexander added 521 points to the team score, and continues racing this season with a casted right hand and wrist due to a broken bone. Next, Hittle finished strongly in fourth with a time of 55:18. Hittle added 512 points to the team. Hensle crossed the finish line looking determined, placing 15th with a time of 1:06. Hensle added 436 points to the DUST2 score. The JV girls are thrilled to be three of the top four point earners for the DUST2 team this race.
The freshmen girls began their two laps at 2:30 p.m., with a total of 22 racers. Shaeffer represented DUST2 alone in this category and placed 11th with a time of 1:02. Racing alone shows strength of character, and Shaeffer shared that she enjoyed the race. She added 420 points to the team.
The DUST2 team ended the day in fifth place among the Division 2 teams, with 4,042 overall team points. Only the top 10 point earners are calculated into the overall team score, which emphasizes the importance of everyone participating and doing their best.
While the team did not win the team spirit award for the neon theme, we thoroughly enjoyed participating and had a great time on and off the race course.
DUST2 looks forward to racing our last race of the season at the North Fruita Desert Classic, also a new venue race, on Oct. 5.
