On Saturday, April 26, the Archie Williams High School mountain bike team hosted the last meet before the championships, marking their first home race in six years at the Stafford Lake bike park. The varsity boys kicked off the meet, starting at 8 a.m. The Falcons ended the meet placing third out of the other nine Division 1 teams, and third out of 42 total teams.
The small varsity team of only four boys began at 8 a.m., racing against 39 other competitors from schools across Northern California. Racing four laps on the technical and steep trails, the competition was fast and fierce. Senior Dylan Donner placed sixth out of 39, senior Blake Doll placed 13th, junior Jackson Fain placed 30th, and junior Liam Rosenbaum placed 32nd. In the girls race, sophomore Vesper Klausner came in fourth out of 13.
“[I’m] very happy with how we did today at the race. Placing this well without one of our fastest riders makes me very proud of how far our team has come. [It’s also] nice to get my best placement of the year when it matters most,” Dylan said.
The JV teams had great performances as well. In the girls race, junior Astrid Ervell placed 14th and Erin Kate McKitterick placed 18th. In the boys, sophomore Henri-Oliver Riecken placed third out of 53 other racers, and closely following was Andrew Sumner, placing seventh. Senior Kailen Brod-Naeve placed 22nd, and junior Magnus Finch placed 34th, greatly boosting the Falcons’ position in the competition.
“[Our JV team] really showed up today. We didn’t have many numbers on the varsity team, so [JV] really needed to give it their all if we wanted to have a good placement before we close out the season,” said senior Weston Rowitz.
Finally, the freshmen teams concluded the meet, beginning at 11:40 a.m. Impressive placements from racers such as Tom Clifford, who placed first, and Leo Revis, who placed third, secured the Falcons their top three position at the race. Additionally, girls rider Zoe Fain placed sixth. This meet decided which racers and teams would qualify for the championships later in the season, and the Falcons seem to be a threatening competitor.
“We have a super strong group of guys this year, from the seniors who have worked to improve these past four years to the freshmen who are already killing it. I think the program has a great future, and this race proves that. All we have to focus on now are championships, and based on our results so far, I think it can only go up,” said head coach Ross Blanchard.
The mountain bike team is amidst one of its best years in the program’s history, and are only looking to improve as a team. They will end the season with championships, which combine the top half of all Northern California teams on May 16.
