On Saturday, March 4, 25 members of the ECHS Mountain Bike Racing Team competed at the NorCal league’s second race of the season at Exchequer Mountain Bike Park in the foothills near La Grange in Mariposa County. On Friday, as menacing clouds gathered overhead, riders were nevertheless able to complete a cold, but mostly dry pre-ride of the course before gathering at our team campsite to eat a hearty pasta dinner and discuss goals for the race. Most team members came away impressed with the course, despite it being a bit muddy from recent rain (and snow!), and described the ~6 mile loop, with ~850 feet of elevation gain per lap, as being a good mix of technical and speed sections and a whole lot of fun to ride!
On race day, the event’s “space race” theme was evident, as antennae bobbed on helmets and little green men were spotted everywhere. In an attempt to beat the coming rainstorm, the ride was shortened to 3 laps (about 18 miles) for Varsity riders and 2 laps (about 12 miles) for all other riders. The weather held out for just about everyone, with only scattered showers most of the day, but a big shout out goes to our JV Boys, who finished up the last race of the day in a cold, driving rainstorm while their very muddy teammates cheered them on. ECHS came in 3rd place for overall team points earned among Division 1 teams, just behind Berkeley and Salinas.
Our next race will be on Saturday, March 25th at Fort Ord in Salinas. Come watch a race if you’re interested in learning more or seeing what the racing scene is like, or ask one of the team members listed below.
The final results are as follows:
Varsity Boys: Yoann Perrodin, 2nd (podium); Christopher Hill, 6th; Theo Borys, 12th; Joaquin Chun, 19th; Odin Simms, 24th; Tobin Power, 25th
JV Boys: Jack O’Neal, 2nd (podium); Jalen Epps, 29th; Blake Christner, 68th; Neel Chandran
JV Girls: Annika Borys, 4th (podium); Edda Grondahl, 6th; Priscila Bravo Santos, 37th
Sophomore Boys: Daniel Gansmiller, 4th (podium); Jaq Chin, 5th (podium); Lucas Amaral-Knowles, 19th
Sophomore Girls: Gabrielle Walmsley, 10th; Meredith Duff, 11th; Delia Robinson, 17th; Julia Klink, 24th; Iris Greiner, 25th
Freshman Boys: Mateo Warmerdam, 19th; Aidan Herp, 39th
Freshman Girls: Lilia Edgell, 18th; Rex Russell, 23rd
Thank you to our community, friends, families, coaches, and sponsors for your support of our team! Go Gauchos!
echsmtb.com 
You must be logged in to post a comment.