It's been another successful two weeks for local high school riders.
Both Chat and Elphi continued to dominate the North Shore series this week. Both teams look to be in great shape for the provincial championships set for next Saturday, May 28, in Halfmoon Bay.
On Wednesday, riders put in another fun-filled day in the rain at the Lower Mainland championships held at the Lower Seymour Conservation Forest in North Van.
"The trail was technically challenging and caused some grief for my riders, but we fared alright," said Chat coach Dave Bates.
In Grade 9 (juvenile girls) Katherine Short won again, taking home first place and the league title.
Sean Stanhope had a tough race with a flat on lap one, dropping him to 12th. Then Sean managed to claw his way back up to third after two laps before flatting again and running in the last lap for an eighth-place finish. Jesse Horn had another strong showing, pushing the leaders to pick up the pace. He held onto fourth with a comfortable lead.The course also got the best of juvenile riders Spencer Blair and Brett Wildeman. Both riders suffered flat tires, dashing their hopes for top finishes.
The senior boys race was a mirror image of the league races.
Neal Kindree led the race from the start with Matt Cottrell and Chris Bates chasing for four laps. This was the final standing at the end, with Neal first, Matt second and Chris third.
The senior boys brought home the hardware for the top school, beating out West Vancouver for the banner.
"I have had the pleasure of working and riding with the senior boys for the last five years," said Bates. "I have watched these young men grow and mature into serious competitive athletes leaving a mark on high school cycling both on and off the Coast. The school and Coast should be very proud of these young men and the way they have represented their school. It will not be the same without them next year. Having said that, we have some younger new and exciting leaders emerging at Chat."
For Elphi, Claire McGillivray was the top finisher, placing fourth in the Grade 8 girls category.
All the other racers had strong finishes, including top 10 finishes by Curtis Robinson, Dylan Dunkerton Gabe Morgan and Paul Fromager in their respective categories.
"Our team standings for the overall season had us in fourth in the bantam boys category, third in the junior/ senior girls category and third in the senior boys category," said coach Mark Goerzen. "It has been an excellent season for our team, especially considering that over half our team has never raced before. The number of young riders we have bodes well for the future of the Elphi mountain bike team. A big thanks goes out to all the parents who have helped out with the team, especially Steve Sleep and Joanne Laird for their countless hours of driving to and from races. Thanks also to the Elphi PAC for helping us purchase our jerseys."
The Sutherland race, the last in the series of high school races, went off as planned on May 11.
Katherine again took top spot in juvenile girls, locking up first overall. Sean, leading in the points race in juvenile boys, rode a more cautious race encouraging his teammate Spencer. Sean crossed the line in fourth, also locking up first place overall.
In the junior heat, Jesse had an outstanding start and led the pack to the final 30 metres. In a final sprint to the finish with Kyle Salter of Howe Sound, a young un-attentive bantam spectator pushed his bike onto the course and in front of Jesse. The collision sent Jesse over the bars and onto the ground hard, putting him in second as he grabbed his bike and ran the last 10 metres.
In junior girls Christine Lynch had another stellar performance placing third in the last race of the series.The senior boys also had a good race.
Matt, Chris and Brett finished second, third and fifth respectively.
With Scott Lawson as the fourth member, the Chat senior boys won the North Shore team trophy for the second year in a row. As for Elphi at the Sutherland race, James Law finished with a personal best ride of fourth in his category along with four other top 10 finishes.
Paul finished third overall for the season in the Grade 8 heavy bike category. Kathryn Byer finished fourth overall for the season in the senior girls category.
