Mountain Bike Team rocks the mud at Rockabilly Ridge for Race #2
The USN mountain bike team’s second race of the season was a muddy and damp exercise in figuring out a brand new race trail while navigating tricky and slip-and-slide conditions after storms washed over the venue. The MS team finished 13th of 24 teams while the HS finished 10th of 27 teams for the day.
Race weekends for the mountain bike team typically include a Saturday “pre-ride” session on the marked and taped race trail so that all cyclists get a chance to become familiar with the twists and turns, uphills and drops before Sunday’s race start. But storms and rain on September 10th mean the league was forced to cancel Saturday’s pre-ride in order to preserve trail quality for Sunday. Since the Rockabilly Ridge Trail at Pugh Bourne Park near Jackson, TN is brand new to the NICA race series, our cyclists had only a short time on Sunday morning to explore the 3 mile lap (or part of it) in very muddy conditions, and for most riders, it meant a full pre-ride was not possible at all. Each rider's race became a “sight reading” of the twisty singletrack through the undulating hills on either side of the ridge.
The girls waves began in misty conditions, with sloppy and sticky mud still on the course. New 6th grade racers Harper Hughey and Elsa Absi were able to ride as cleanly as they could, finishing 10th and 12th for their single lap race. Our strong group of 7th grade riders had to navigate a lot of traffic, with Hannah Mackler finishing 2 laps in 6th place at 1:03, Adeline Miller in 10th, Asha Guha in 11th, Nora Maragno in 13th and Suzie Zhao in 14th. 8th grader Coco Shepard placed 6th in the 8th grade category in 1:12. In the MS Boys categories, Charlie McNulty finished 28th, 7th graders Dalton Dervan and Basil Broemel worked together to finish 27th and 28th, Aidan Harris 22nd, and Kevin Mehr 15th for their single laps. 8th Grade boys Avery Savona and Charlie Blau suffered through 2 laps and lots of traffic, finishing 13th and 17th. Despite the conditions and missing 4 teammates, our MS racers showed a lot of improvement in skills and endurance through their races compared to Race #1 two weeks ago. The team finished 13th of 24 teams, with team points contributed by our 4 top point scorers: Mackler, Shepard, Absi and Miller. Blau and Mackler recorded the fastest laps, at about 28 and 31 minutes.
High School racers encountered the same sloppy mud if they raced early in the day, but those racing later got a surprise dose of sunshine and the associated humidity bump, as well as drying mud that became more like squishy but not-too-sticky peanut butter. Senior Els Shepard covered 3 laps in 1:24, finishing 7th, and one of the longest races (with respect to time) they’ve done in their competitive career due to the conditions during the ride. Junior Maya Guha returned once again and was able to complete one lap but finishing 8th the JV category. Sophomore boys Leo Frein, Tate Green and Quinn Dehner left everything they had out on the course, finishing their multiple laps around 1:09, good for 10th, 12th and 18th. Freshman Ryder Ortner, now double-upgraded into the JV Boys A group, put in the team’s fastest lap of the day at just under 20 minutes for 3 miles, but suffered a chain mechanical on lap 2, costing him about 10 places, but still managing to finish 13th. HS team points came from Shepard, Guha, Ortner and Frein.
After two races, all teams and individuals accumulate combined points in the NICA race series. The HS sits in 10th place out of 28 teams and the MS in 12th out of 24 teams. These points continue to accumulate over our 5-race season, and the individual point totals eventually count the best 4 of 5 races. Our third race at Panther Creek State Park in the hills east of Knoxville will present a tough challenge on September 25th. The team returns closer to Nashville for Race #4 on October 9th at Lock 4 trails in Gallatin, and this is your best chance to catch the team in action this season.
See all the race times and details here: https://my.raceresult.com/218408/#0_4C8C1F
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Contact
Edgehill Campus
2000 Edgehill Ave.
Nashville, TN 37212
Phone: 615-321-8000
Fax: 615-321-0889
Email: info@usn.org
River Campus
1200 County Hospital Road
Nashville, TN 37218
2000 Edgehill Ave.
Nashville, TN 37212
Phone: 615-321-8000
Fax: 615-321-0889
Email: info@usn.org
River Campus
1200 County Hospital Road
Nashville, TN 37218
USN Mission:
University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.
University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.