By Melissa Crump
Last weekend at the Capital Crusher Mountain Bike Race in Carson City, White Pine Composite’s Team had four members finish in the top five, landing them a spot on the podium. The Northern Nevada NICA Organization explained this course as, “having a long climb that was rewarded with a fun, technical descent. Then riders were treated to a long, flowy descent. After that there was one last climb before another fast and flowy descent that took the riders back to the venue at Western Nevada College.” Oaklee Campeau finished 2 laps, of just over 4 miles each in the Freshman Girls Division, landing fourth place. Oaklee is a constant top finisher for the team, and overall fantastic role model for the younger members. Her positive attitude and grace really shines, even during tough races. She crushed the Capital Crusher, and held her own throughout the race, even with a lingering hand and foot injury bothering her.
Winners of the Carson City Race pose on the podium.
Kyler Ahlvers raced 3 laps of his race in the Freshman Boys Division. Coach Echo Marich said, “This kid is a beast. After a gnarly crash at the finish (battling for the first place spot) he still got up and ran his bike across for fourth place.” He is such a fun athlete to watch, and he also continues to be a regular on the podium for the team.
Kyler is also this week’s Golden Chain recipient for the team, he totally deserves it after a hard fought battle like that!
Tenley March staged further back in the pack during her two laps in the Advanced Girls Class, and fought her way into 5th place. It’s exciting to see her back on the Podium, after battling hard these last couple of races. Tenley moved up to a harder class this year, and it’s a tough group of girls to ride with!
Sage Wilson, a 6th Grader, who rode in the Novice Girls Division, made her NICA podium debut at this race, after finishing her four miles in 5th place. Sage has worked hard the last two races, which allowed her to stage in the front row, and take off in a rolling start. Once she secured her spot in the top five, there was no passing her. She pedaled hard and smart, and earned herself a metal.
The other five members of the team all rode well, but came up short. Junior, Miky Detak, finished 12th in the Varsity Boys Division. He rode hard, but with few spots to pass, got overpowered on the incline, and wasn’t able to make his way back to the front. Freshman, Tegan Ricci, made significant improvements and took advantage of the few spots to pass on the course. He finished in 13th. Henry Bishop, finished 18th in the Intermediate Boys race. He did fantastic, and we’re excited to see his advancements each race as well.
7th grader, Tailyn Marich, finished in 8th with the Advanced Girls. She continues to push herself in this very tough group of girls. Tailyn was also awarded the Golden
Chain last week, with coaches stating, Tailyn had a tough race at Sierra Vista with a crash in the first lap. She still finished strong in her class. Tailyn has shown her
hard work at practice and it’s paying off!”
Last but not least, Kaylyn Crump, also a 7th grader, continues to work her way up each race, and finished 11th in the Novice Girls Division. Coach Marich summed up the weekend saying, “4 out of 9 kids on the podium is awesome for our little team! I’m excited to see the rest of the season for everyone.”
They have a quick turnaround this week and will be traveling to the High Sierra Showdown in Mammoth Lakes, California.
They will pre-ride the course Saturday, and race on Sunday.
For more information about how you can join or support the White Pine Composite Mountain Bike Team, which is made up of 5th-12th graders from around
the county, please email whitepinecomposite@gmail.com.
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