LA GRANGE — Camille Schaffer of the Middletown High School mountain biking team scored a solid 11th-place finish in the JV girls division Sunday as the NorCal High School Cycling League season opened last weekend at Exchequer Bike Park in La Grange.
Middletown entered high school riders in several of the available divisions, most of which are 10-mile races (two loops on the 5-mile course). Varsity boys riders complete three loops (15 miles). The Exchequer course also features an elevation rise of 950 feet to add a degree of difficulty.
JV girls
Schaffer, a junior, was the lone Middletown entry in the 51-rider-strong JV girls field and she crossed the finish line in 1 hour, four minutes, 11.31 seconds. Race winner Maggie O’Dell of Eureka High School finished in 58 minutes, 1.63 seconds.
Freshman girls
Middletown entered four girls in the freshman girls race (26 riders in all) and Lilly Wood came in 14th in 1:13:14.23 while Cat Barriga was right behind her in 15th at 1:13:20.87. Alee Beckstead was 18th overall in 1:15:50.95.
Also competing but unable to finish the race was Serenity Thomson.
Race winner Charlotte Philkill of Redwood High School crossed the finish line in 1:02:29.26.
Sophomore boys
Dean McComas of Middletown placed 18th out of 59 riders in the sophomore boys Division 2 race with a time of 58:19.67, a little more than seven minutes behind winner Sam Smith of the Spartans High School team (51:00.04).
Also for Middletown, Gavin Dubois came in 51st at 1:17:08.05. Anthony Suite-Thomson started the race but was unable to finish.
Freshman boys
In the freshman boys Division 2 race, Quinn Murray ended up 35th in a field of 63 with a time of 1:05:51.95. Race winner Noah Wilson of Placer Foothills High School finished in 54:54.93.
JV boys
In the 75-rider-strong JV boys Division 2 race, junior Ryan Schneider of Middletown clocked in 35th overall at 58:57.20. Race winner Will Kendall of Folsom High School topped the field in 48:46.82.
Also for Middletown, Logan Wood was 66th overall at 1:06:59.22.
Competing as an independent, Kelseyville High School senior Tristen Sandhoff placed 56th in 1:03:18.72.
Varsity boys
Steven Beckstead of Middletown placed 18th in the 15-mile-long varsity boys race in 1:34:52.19. Top honors went to Griffin Hoppin of Marin Academy at 1:10:28.13.
Varsity girls
Although there were no Middletown entries in the 10-mile-long varsity girls race, Vida Lopez de San of West County took first in 52:54.76.
Middle school
Six Middletown Middle School riders also took part in the season-opening race. Camille Pyska placed seventh among seventh-grade girls. In the seventh-grade boys division, Wyatt Davis was 35th, Madox Schneider came in 37th, and Duncan McPherson was 41st.
In the eighth-grade boys division, Jaden Nunez placed 41st and Bradley Hansen was 50th.
Middle school riders compete on a 3.3-mile course with an elevation change of 641 feet.
Schedule
Six Sigma Ranch and Winery near Lower Lake hosts the second race of the 2022 season for all riders in the Redwood and Repack regions on March 11-13. March 11 is a pre-ride open to all riders. Middle school riders race March 12 followed by high school riders March 13.
