The Pagosa Springs Mountain Bike Team (DUST2) had its fourth and final regular-season race in Nathrop, Colo., on Oct. 11.
The Chalk Creek Stampede having lots of sandy sections makes it one of the harder courses. The course has a 6.7-mile loop and 443 feet of climbing. Sandy descents and steep climbs distinguish Nathrop from other races.
Most athletes completed two laps, totaling 13.4 miles, while varsity riders completed three laps, totaling 20.1 miles.
At Nathrop most families camp near the race venue, making it even more fun. Sitting around the campfire with your team telling stories is a great way to start off the weekend. The theme for the race was cowboy. The team captains, Adelyn Hittle and Justin Sewell, got the team together to practice swing dancing before the race to build team spirit.
The first category was the freshmen boys. In the cool morning air, the freshmen boys started. Our only racer for this category was Elias Gorman. Gorman finished 25th with a time of 1 hour, 10:59 minutes.
After the freshmen boys was the senior sendoff, where all of the senior athletes rode through the pit zone area and all of the spectators took pictures and cheered for the graduating athletes.
This year, DUST2 had five riders participating in the send-off: Sewell, Hittle, Van Halterman, Jackson Chaney and Aaron Sowle. This send-off was a bittersweet moment for the riders as their time on the bike team will soon come to a close.
Up next after the senior send-off was the sophomore boys. Participating were Ward Halterman, Drake Anderson and Amon Phillips. Ward Halterman finished 27th with a time of 1:06:13, Anderson finished 29th with a time of 1:06:19 and Phillips finished 30th with a time of 1:07:23.
Next were the JV and sophomore girls. Gianna Shaeffer was the only girl to race in the JV category. Shaeffer got sixth with a time of 1:07:13. Quinn Howard was also the only girl in her category of sophomore girls. Howard got 10th with a time of 1:13:28.
The JV boys were the next division to race. Racers Chaney, Sowle, and Henley Pickering made up the category for Pagosa. In the windy afternoon the boys started their race. Sowle finished 29th with a time of 1:03:00, Chaney finished 45th with a time of 1:06:39 and Pickering finished 58th with a time of 1:10:42.
To finish off the day was the varsity division. Sewell and Hittle raced in their respective categories on varsity. Sewell finished 17th with a time of 1:26:44 in the varsity boys’ category. Adelyn finished seventh with a time of 1:35:46 in the varsity girls’ category.
In terms of points, Hittle led the team with 523 points, followed closely by Shaeffer with 504. Sewell scored 460 points. Howard added 427 points, with Sowle close behind at 372. Gorman scored 348, and Ward Halterman finished with 340. Chaney scored 340, with Anderson netting 332. Lastly, Phillips scored 329 points. The team got seventh in our division with 3,959 points overall.
Even with the windy and dusty conditions, DUST2 had a great time at the Chalk Creek Stampede. Most riders met and exceeded their goals for the race and are excited to race at state in two weeks.
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