Vail Lake Challenge, Temecula, CA
By Phil Beckman, PB Creative
Contact: Matt Gunnell, matt@socaldirt.org, (818) 415-1133, www.socaldirt.org
Temecula, Calif. — The 2013 SoCal High School Cycling League season opener was like a copy of Michael Jackson’s best selling album thrown under an 18-wheeler: It was a thriller; it was record breaking.
High school mountain bike racing continues to register phenomenal growth throughout the country. On this last Sunday of February in California alone there were more than 900 student-athletes competing in three National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) sanctioned events. Two took place in the original NorCal League, which has been split into two conferences this season due to its phenomenal participation numbers. In addition, leagues in Colorado, Texas, Washington, Minnesota and Utah now have active race schedules, while New York, Tennessee and Arizona enthusiasts will be getting their opportunity to hit the track very soon as well.
Closer to home, the SoCal High School Cycling League began its fifth season with a record-breaking 349 riders, up from 279 registered at last year’s opener. A total of 36 teams were represented, ten more than in 2012. And this comes despite a significant number of riders leaving the program at the end of last season due to graduation. A total of 140 brand new student-athletes made the Vail Lake Challenge their first high school mountain bike racing experience.
Not only are the attendance numbers up, so is the level of competition. It was plainly visible not only on Vail Lake’s dry, rolling, 5-mile-long course, but in the statistics as well. Following the day’s action, the Executive Director of the SoCal League, Matt Gunnell, stated, “There is going to be some incredible racing going on this season. In six of 11 fields there was less than a minute between the top three finishers. One of the most exciting categories — in terms of both performance and the future of the sport — was Freshman Girls. The top five were all within 56 seconds of each other. It’s very exciting to note that six of the top ten Varsity Girls and seven of the top ten Varsity Boys are only juniors in high school, meaning they still have a lot of time left in the league.”
Teams
A good example of the parity and competitiveness being witnessed in the SoCal League this season came in the Division 1 team results. Yucaipa High School ended up on top of an extremely tight points fight to claim its first overall team victory after four years of trying.
What made the difference? According to Head Coach Mike Bagg, “We weren’t training properly. This past off-season we studied some data, put some numbers to paper, read a lot and looked at what other successful teams were doing. You know, imitation is the greatest form of flattery. We’ve adapted, and we’re really proud and happy that our hard work has paid off.”
Second and third on the day in D1 were Murrieta Valley High School and multi-time and defending champion Hemet High School, respectively.
This story was eerily similar to the Division 2 contest, where Crescenta Valley also claimed its first team win. Head Coach Jim Rowton, himself a former national-level MTB racer, told us, “I’ve been trying to change the culture of our program for a couple of years. We started out with a club mentality, but now we’re asking for more of a competitive commitment. Now we’ve finally established a winning attitude; this phenomenal group of kids has bought into that mentality. If we work hard and do our best, the results will be there. We had eight kids on the podium today. I couldn’t be more thrilled.”
South Orange County Composite and defending champion Redlands Composite went 2-3 in D2 at Vail Lake.
Varsity Boys
The front of this four-lap race could have been mistaken for a Pro National, such was the torrid pace being set. A group of five broke clear of the 26-rider field on the first lap, consisting of early leader Jarred Jordan (Murrieta), Kyle Skeen (Ramona), Lucas Rowton (Crescenta), Sammy Bello (Independent) and international competitor Shane Skelton (Independent). Just after the halfway point, Skelton put in a hard effort that resulted in the fastest lap of the day — a searing 18:38. Only Jordan was able to hang on, but not for long. Skelton was by himself for the fourth and final lap, crossing the finish line with a half-minute lead. Jordan fought off leg cramps for a secure second, followed by Skeen, Rowton and a tenacious Alex Bagg (Yucaipa).
“We were just playing cat-and-mouse the first two laps,” explained Skelton, “then I figured I might as well attack and get the race started. Everyone was riding good, but that was it.”
Skelton then revealed that he had ridden the entire 20-mile race with a partially collapsed front fork. “It happened during warmup and I only had about 70mm of travel. It was hard trying to go fast down the hills. I had to run it the way it was, but no worries.” The rest of the class may be relieved to hear that Skelton will be missing several SoCal League events due to overseas racing commitments.
Are you listening, Jarred Jordan? “I stayed with Shane as long as I could and that made a gap between the two of us and third place,” he said. “I knew at that point I had first or second locked. Then halfway through the last lap both my calves and one of my hamstrings totally cramped. No idea why, but we’ll get it figured out.”
Varsity Girls
A serious pileup at the start of the deepest Varsity Girls race in SoCal League history put a damper on several contenders’ days. Luckily everyone walked (or rode) away, but this incident could have a lasting impact on the season. Emerging safely from the melee was Maddie Melcher (Redlands) with a massive holeshot, but she had spent the previous evening at an urgent care center with flu-like symptoms and would soon be passed by reigning series champion Hannah Rae Finchamp (Maranatha).
Fresh off a cyclocross season in which she captured two titles, Finchamp was once again in a world of her own, winning by more than five minutes. “I was fortunate enough to have a very smooth race,” she said. “I am convinced that every MTB race I do, my passion for the sport only grows and I am so thankful that God has given me so many opportunities. It was a fantastic high school race as always and it was so fun to see everyone again.”
Finchamp had won a triathlon the day before and will be focusing on that sport for much of the upcoming year. She may miss one or two SoCal events, but says she will make it to the State Championships this year.
Finishing runner-up at Vail Lake was Hemet’s Emma Klingaman, who enjoyed a good battle with Morgan Zurborg (Woodcrest) for much of their three laps. Klingaman eventually moved ahead of Zurborg, as did last year’s runaway Sophomore Girls champion Megan Bradley (Rim of the World). Bradley’s teammate Nicole Jewell rounded out the top five, while early leader Melcher persevered for sixth.
Klingaman revealed that she was recovering from a broken right hand. “I’ve only been back on the bike for about two weeks,” she stated. “I wasn’t expecting that good of a finish. There are a lot of girls moving up this year and the competition just keeps getting stronger and stronger.”
JV Boys Division 1
Imeh Nsek (Independent) grabbed his first win in his first try at this level, working in the wind with Michael Lansing (Woodcrest) to build a comfortable gap. As Nsek explained, “I got away from Michael on the last hill on the second lap. After I broke away he was trying to keep up but in the feed zone someone cut him off and he went down. I looked back and saw him on the floor and was like, ‘aw, man.’ I’m glad he kept his second place. I’m very happy.”
Lansing had to sprint against Woodcrest teammate Brian Messner to secure the position by just three seconds.
JV Boys Division 2
James Pflughaupt (Corona del Mar) was undefeated in the Freshman D2 class last season, and he kept his win streak alive in his first JV event. It did not come without plenty of drama, however. He chased back from a first-lap fall and then withstood considerable pressure from Sean Bell (El Toro) to secure the win by only two seconds.
“In my mind — and I’m sure Sean was thinking the same thing — whoever went first into the singletrack on the last lap was going to win the race,” recalled Pflughaupt. “Luckily I got there first and ended up with the win, with Sean breathing down my neck. Overall I had a fantastic day and am looking forward to the next race.”
Daniel Johnson (South Orange County) was able to watch most of this action from a fairly close third place in the largest class of the day with 61 starters.
JV Girls
In her first high school mountain bike race, Independent rider Ema Suarez surprised many with a convincing JV Girls victory. “I’ve been doing road cycling,” she said. “This is my first year racing mountain bikes. I like it a lot, and here I am. It was hard but fun. The scene here is exciting and all well organized and safe. I am planning on doing the whole series; we’ll see how it goes. Thank you to my parents and coach and the league for making all this happen.”
It was a Hemet High train chugging down the track behind Suarez, with Haleigh Kirkham claiming second place, Alexis Marques third and Arcelia Mercado fourth.
Sophomore Boys Division 1
Hayden Ramsey and Dillon Gamache contributed a lot of points to Yucaipa’s effort by going 1-2 in a very competitive Sophomore Boys D1 rumble. As Ramsey, a cross-country runner, put it, “After we got to the top of the first fireroad I saw how everyone was riding and I knew that I could do it. I took off ahead and that kind of worried my coaches because it was still early, but I was able to hold everyone off. The coaches are really pushing us this year in training, and it’s all paying off.”
Rounding out the top three, just two seconds adrift of Gamache, was Evan-Christenson-Meyer (Independent).
Sophomore Boys Division 2
Crescenta Valley’s Alexander DeRoche admitted that he was more nervous about being interviewed after the race than he was during the race itself. He handled both extremely well. “I had a second row start but sprinted at the beginning so I could get ahead,” he said after his first league win. “I was able to just clear my mind of everything and became focused; I was in the zone. I’ve gotten very committed to the sport and the coaches have been very committed to us, helping all of us do well. That commitment is paying off. It’s glorious to be able to go out and race, to sweat and have fun.”
Parker Maccianti (Santa Ynez) and Ethan Shuler (Corona) finished second and third at Vail Lake.
Sophomore Girls
Christina Mann (Yucaipa) recorded two astoundingly quick laps to win Sophomore Girls by almost five minutes ahead of Kaitlin Washburn (Eastlake) and Dee-Anna Lopez (Crescenta Valley).
How did she do it? “I’m training a lot harder than I did last year, paying more attention to nutrition and definitely taking it more seriously. I felt like I was flying right from the start.” Mann was evidently not rattled by the fact that her chain and rear derailleur had to be replaced only moments before her two-lap race.
Freshman Boys Division 1
Brother to Varsity Boys runner-up Jarred Jordan, first-time high school racer Jacob Jordan (Murrieta) led this race from start to finish. Patrick Liddy (Independent) crossed the line in second place, with Kyle Legge (Newbury Park) right on his heels. According to Jordan, “I had a third-row start but took off to the front right away. On the second lap a group of three guys were gaining but I pulled away through Tunnel of Love. It all just worked out pretty good. Good job to the other kids — second and third — because there were having a good race too.”
Freshman Boys Division 2
Jack Tucker (Corona del Mar) had a similar story, dominating the front of his field from beginning to end to triumph by almost two minutes. “I got the holeshot from the start and just kept it going,” he reported. I’m a little sore but it went well; no problems.”
Nicolas Padilla (South Orange County) and Chris Taylor (Foothill) stood on the remaining podium steps.
Freshman Girls
Developing cyclocrosser Hannah Eckvahl (San Gabriel Valley) nabbed Freshman Girls with two strong laps on a new bike, crossing the finish line ahead of Rebecca Israel (Yucaipa) and Brenna Pratt (Crescenta Valley).
“I started about fourth but managed to get to the singletrack first and led the rest of the way,” she stated. “Cyclocross helps with being able to go faster for short periods of time. I felt really good and this bike felt really fast.”
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