SoCal Cycling 2017 Season-Ender

Another season in the books for SoCal High School Cycling League

SoCal Cycling 2017 Season-Ender means another season is in the books for the High School Cycling League.

Last weekend 730 of the best, brightest, and fastest high school and middle school mountain bike racers in the country tackled the windy winding single track of the Tehachapi’s.

SoCal Cycling Mix’n it Up at Lehigh

This was the SoCal League’s second event at the venue and once again racers were, as we titled our previous season’s newsletter, Mix’n it Up at Lehigh.

We knew coming into the event that there was a lot on the line, especially on the team side of things as most of the overalls were up for grabs.

As spectators gathered for each of the race starts their anticipation was mirrored perfectly in the faces of each of their riders. This was it, the culmination of a whole seasons worth of training and plotting, the last chance to pass that one rider they had been chasing all season long, the chance to make that one final move in the Series Overall standings.

This was their chance to chance to finish up strong and judging by what we saw and what they had to say about the race we think it’s pretty safe to assume that they did just that. In fact its pretty clear to us that overwhelmingly our student athletes were beyond satisfied with their results and we think it’s accurate to say that regardless of placement they all felt like winners at the end of the day.

We hope to see many of our riders at State Championships in a few short weeks and would like to congratulate everyone that participated in #SoCalSeason9.

Teams

Division One competition ended with a bang this season as all three of our top teams brought their best efforts out for Finals. Tehachapi High School proved that hard work off the bike pays off come race day taking 1st on the day and 3rd in the Series Overall. Newbury Park High School, our most consistently performing boys team, was as always, a force to be reckoned with. They took 2nd on the day but won the Series Overall for Division One. Redlands Homeschool who was also in the top 3 for the Series Overall came in at 3rd on the day.

Newbury Park’s Head Coach Mike Legge said “the day and season went as hoped. Our focus for the day was staying ahead of Redlands Home School, since they were only 50 points behind us in the overall, and we did that. That secured 1st for the season. The team (riders, coaches and volunteers) have worked hard for five years now and for us to go back to back as League Champs means we have been able to put together a solid program that should be around for generations to come. Going into states this year is a complete unknown. I know as a league we have been getting more competitive with NorCal. This year, with three conferences, none of the conference top riders have had a chance to compete against each other, so that is strange. We will not only be testing ourselves against NorCal but against our fellow SoCal riders in other divisions. It will be fun to watch. There are so many great memories from this weekend: outstanding team meals by Chef Renee and crew, Luna Cerulla finishing 2nd in her last SoCal race (she has to move back to Germany), the Weyman brothers finishing 5th in their respective races, and of course the team podium.”

Redlands Head Coach Michael Fuller said “race day went fantastic! Kudos to the Tehachapi teams, TMTA, and Lehigh Cement for providing such a fantastic venue for SoCal Finals! For this final race, we were down to ten riders, our Freshman girl having broken her wrist after Victory at Vail. We had solid performances from all of our riders, with one of our JV girls having her first top ten finish, as well as putting three JV Boys on the podium again. All of the riders in the league have gotten super strong and fast as the season has progressed; I believe our 3rd place on the day was our hardest fought for podium spot of the season. Taking 2nd place overall in D1 was well beyond any hopes I could have held for SoCal Season 9. Before the start of the season, we lost our fastest JV rider (Freshman State Champion Seth Hampton) to injury for the season. With twelve kids left, I had to decide whether to continue as a D1 team or switch to D2. I thought that we might have a shot at winning the top spot as a D2 team, but decided to buck the “win at all costs” attitude and stay D1 knowing that our chances of doing well against the fierce competition and deep rosters of the big teams was slim. The kids themselves prefer to be D1, both for the challenge of competing against large teams and because they want as many riders as possible to score for the team. For us, 2nd place overall in D1 is just as sweet as a D2 win would have been, especially knowing that we did it with only ten racers at SoCal Finals. I am so proud of each and every one of my riders! I have so much respect for the D1 teams we competed against! Newbury Park was so consistent and solid season, they could have fielded two podium worthy D1 teams. Tehachapi really gave us a scare with their late season push. Yucaipa has one of the oldest programs out there with their amazing squad of girls, and Great Oak has another fine program with a stable of talented riders. We are honored to simply be in the same division as these fantastic programs! Going into States I can only ask my riders to keep doing what they have been doing; consistency has been their strength this year, along with their strong dedication to each other as a team. We aren’t sure how many riders we’ll have racing, but even if it is just ten again we will give it our best effort!”

Division Two competition was perhaps the most exciting it has been all season long. The category was upset by Murrieta Valley High School who stepped up for first the first time this season to take 1st place D2 team on the day. Woodcrest Christian High School, the Series Overall winner, was close behind, taking the 2nd place podium spot on the day by a margin of only two points! Making things even more interesting we had our first podium tie of the season with Foothill High School and Hemet High School both taking 3rd on the day.

Head Coach Dave Perry told us that “the day went well for Woodcrest, way beyond our expectations. We had watched our lead slowly dwindle over the season and Temescal Canyon got ahead of us after a tough race at Vail. We thought our chances to win the season were remote at best. When they called us as the 1st place team for the season we were in shock. Temescal brought some strong competition every race and as usual it was a super close season with only a 11 point spread for the season between 1st and 2nd place. We didn’t realize that the team results are posted now before awards. It was a total shock to our entire team when we took 1st for the season. There was a huge eruption of excitement from the kids, coaches and parents not to mention a few jaws that hit the ground.”

Hemet’s Head Coach Gail Polvoorde told us a bit about their season saying “we knew going into Tehachapi that we were pretty far out of 2nd, but Foothill was only 111 points behind us. We trained hard over the three weeks and we had riders that had their best finish at Tehachapi. Foothill told us before the awards that they had some riders that really stepped up also. It was great to find out that we tied with Foothill for 3rd place and shared the podium with them. We knew with the tie, that we got the 3rd place spot for the Season Overall. We are thrilled with our results. Jared Schlenker led our team this season with a 1st or 2nd place finish every race. Our girls all finished in the top 15, with Julia Monroe finishing 7th overall. We have no seniors this year so we are looking forward to a strong team next year, with hopefully all our riders returning. We have three riders, Jared Schlenker, Ben Browen and Tyra Palma going to States and we are excited to see how they do. The team and the coaches love Tehachapi. The course is fun and the venue allows for big team pits and great camping.”

Foothill’s Head Coach Rick Larsh commented on his teams season saying “a great season and though no podiums this year, all of our riders consistency and training paid off to allow Foothill to tie team scores with Hemet High for 3rd team at Tehachapi, and 4th overall Division 2. Tehachapi is a great host and the course was challenging and fast. The long open start through the first climb really created some great racing and the Varsity Boys finish could have made ESPN’s sport highlights for the day! SoCal should give the northern teams a run for the money! Great season!”

On the Composite side Redlands Composite and Corona Composite remained locked in position with Redlands taking 1st on the day and in the Series Overall and Corona taking 2nd. Carmel Valley Composite had their best showing yet taking 3rd on the day and joining the two top teams on the podium for the first time this season.

Team Directors Woody Woodruff and Zach Thorp were proud of their team saying “you never know what will happen on the day but we prepped and trained for everything we could think of and the kids really took everything to heart, which they have been doing all season. We are so proud of all our riders. They have all transitioned from just riding bikes to being able to really race bikes. Going into States we are just going to continue with our same focus, do your best. We have trained hard all season and laid the groundwork for great fitness which we think gives us the best chance to race to the best of our abilities – which is all we as coaches ever ask of any of the kids on our team. We had so much fun watching the kids race at Tehachapi. From the Freshman & Varsity Boys drag racing to the line, to watching other riders who struggled to finish team rides at the beginning of the season who now have enough fitness and skill to race their bikes, we are very proud of all of our kids.”

Varsity Boys

The Varsity Boys had their hardest fought race of the season. Tehachapi’s typically blustery winds were rather calm in the lead up to their race but just as the boys rolled up to the line a light breeze began to build into a not so breezy headwind. Extra climbing, distance, and the fact that both the Series Overall Leader Jersey and series team points were on the line meant that everyone in the field had to turn it up to eleven, and that is exactly what they did. In a head to head race that ended in one of the most spectacular sprint finishes we saw all season long Trevor McCutcheon from Great Oak High School took 1st on the day to win the Series Overall over Turner Conway(2nd) from Redlands Composite. Khalo Chitraroff from Murrieta Mesa High School was 3rd and Travis Claypool from Murietta Valley High School came in at 4th. Tyler Weyman from Newbury Park High School joined the others on the podium taking the 5th place spot.

When asked about his season Kahlo said that “taking the win at Keyesville was an amazing experience I will never forget. It was the only win I ever had in all 4 years of the high school series. I thank God for all my success this year. Taking a podium at every race was nothing short of a blessing, especially with no major mechanicals this year. Being able to race with one of my best friends, Jonah Sanchez, in the Varsity field together was a super awesome experience! For State Championships, I’m planning on staying on the podium and focusing on having a good time racing. Sometimes I tend to get caught up in the whole racing mindset, so keeping it lighthearted and fun is always something that helps me do well. I’m stoked be heading to NorCal to race somewhere I’ve never been before. Tehachapi always proves itself to be a different type of course! The wind plays a major factor in strategies for this course, especially on the backside. It’s really interesting how much climbing there is but how little I realized it. It was a super smooth course compared to last year, thanks to the Tehachapi trail work team!”

Varsity Girls

It’s been a real pleasure watching the Varsity Girls race this season. All of the ladies who have graced the front of the pack are not only top notch athletes but they are also unrivaled when it comes to sportsmanship. Coming into Finals we knew it was going to be another great day for spectating the field and these incredibly fast young women proved us right. In the lead up to Finals Gwendalyn Gibson from Ramona High School knew that she needed to take 1st at Tehachapi in order to firmly grasp the Series Overall. Her closest competitor Madiline Bemis from Corona Composite was also gunning for the Series Overall but had the advantage of receiving bonus points which Gwendalyn would not for attending every race. Not surprisingly we saw both Gwendalyn and Bemis pushing the pace right out of the gate on Sunday but in the end it was Gwendalyn who managed to escape with the Series Overall taking first on the day. Bemis rolled in only seconds behind in 2nd. Meade Plum from Buttermilk Academy was 3rd and 4th went to Jordyn Watkins from Redlands Composite. Micah Mason from Tehachapi High School was on the podium as well taking the 5th place spot.

When asked about her race and the season in general Gwendalyn said “I’m really happy with how I was able to race especially because it is my last SoCal Finals ever, as a Senior! It has been super fun racing in the SoCal League for four years and I’m so grateful I had this opportunity to discover my passion for cycling. It was a great race, I definitely road out of my comfort zone and put it all out there. Knowing that the Series Overall would be decided at this race was extra motivation as well and I was so excited to come away with it after being last in points all season.It’s a team effort at every race so I want to thank my family, friends, sponsors, and of coarse everyone behind the SoCal League who make it happen! Going into States I’m feeling strong and I hope I can represent SoCal well and defend my State Champion title from last season.”

Bemis gave some great insights into the battle that took place for 1st on Sunday saying “I usually don’t get too nervous, but for League Finals I knew there was a lot at stake. On the start line Gwendalyn was staged right behind me and said that her heart rate was already 125. I looked down at my Garmin. Mine was the exact same. 3…2…1…go! Soon enough we were strung out with Gwen and I leading the pack. Throughout the race we traded positions. She would grow a gap on the descents since she raced her full-suspension, and I’d close it on the climbs with my hard tail and Lauf fork. I ended the day with a satisfied second knowing I left it all out there on a challenging course. Racing Gwendalyn throughout my high school career has been a pain in the butt, but I know each of us are stronger for it. Congrats to everyone on a fantastic season. I know I’ve learned so much, and am grateful to family, coaches, teammates, sponsors, and NICA for helping me do so. Unfortunately I will not be attending States this year, but Marjimus Maximus will be so be sure to cheer twice as loud for her! It’s time now to focus solely on 24 hr worlds. May will be a crazy month as I wrap up high school and board that plane to Italy, but I’m feeling good.”

For underclassmen boys and girls coverage, visit www.socaldirt.org