Winged Deer Trails Challenge Mountain Bike Team
Due to race travel distance and other conflicts, the MTB team fielded a “half-size” team of 13 riders to compete on our 4th race of the 2025 season at Winged Deer Park in Johnson City, TN. The HS team claimed 17th place for the race but remained in 19th overall, while the MS team placed 12th but retained its 9th place overall standing.
Being a brand new venue to the NICA/TICL race series, the Winged Deer Park trails presented an interesting challenge for the mountain bike team. A long, slow and steady half mile grass climb transitioned into a mile long segment of single track trail punctuated by many rock gardens that often had no clean or clear lines to ride. Once past the rock garden segments, riders were rewarded with 2 miles of trail that was fast and offered a lot of flow to maintain momentum. And to finish, an unusual half-mile long downhill towards the finish culminating with a final tight turn and uphill burst to the line completed the 4 mile lap - after which most of our team continued on to power through a second lap.
For the HS team, Elsa Absi, Sylvie Mackler and Adeline Miller, and Aidan Harris provided our team points. Absi narrowly missed out on a 5th place podium finish with her 23/24 minute laps, but had an amazing final 20 second effort to finish ahead of a competitor to take 6th place. Mackler pulled in next with 27 minute laps avoiding crashes that slowed her in Race #3, followed by Miller who suffered a flat tire on her first lap, but a quick fix by the neutral support mechanic tent got her back in the race to complete lap #2. Brand new cyclist Arianna Washington offered up 35 minute laps just behind Miller, looking strong and smooth after navigating the frustrating first climb and rock gardens. Charlie Blau laid out a blistering pace for a lightning fast 19 minute first lap, but a rock garden collision with another rider unfortunately resulted in a broken chain and derailleur leaving Blau walking back to the finish line. Meanwhile, Aidan Harris and Seth Hauser put in 21 minute first laps, slowing a bit in their 2nd laps, but showing they are hitting their fitness and form this year.
Middle school points came from Sarah Absi, Ella Murdoch, Rosie Hauser and Emmett Cheney. Absi and Murdoch were challenged by the first miles, but found their rhythm for the second half of their one-lap race, while Rosie Hauser continues to gain speed and confidence posting impressive 28/31 minute laps. Emmett Cheney pulled out all the stops, feeling good and posting 22/24 minute laps while utilizing his BMX skills to navigate the rock gardens. James Barbieri and James White both finished one lap in 26 and 29 minute laps, great times for these new teammates.
As we head into the “forced training taper” of Fall Break looking towards our final State Championship race at Raccoon Mountain to conclude the season, the middle school team could potentially move up a few spots in the team standings if they continue to post solid rides across the board. Many riders in both MS and HS could potentially move into the top 20 or top 10 of their fields. Elsa Absi is closest to an overall podium finish in 7th place but her JV3 competitors are equally fierce riders, so she will need both a fast and clean race to get into 5th place. With so many variables over what is about an hour of racing, our riders are ready to show their top form and do their best to avoid mishaps to conclude our 2025 season.
Join us at picturesque Laurel Point on Raccoon Mountain on Sunday October 26th to see how it all turns out! Full season times and results posted here: https://tennesseemtb.org/events/results/
More USN News
List of 3 news stories.
-
Middle Schoolers explore culture, family, and community through food
Students in Eighth Grade English Teacher Christine Park’s class wrapped up a lesson that saw them tell the story of their family recipes.Read More -
Library, High School artists celebrate Banned Books Week
Every year, the American Library Association (ALA) invites libraries and communities to uphold the freedom to read by observing Banned Books Week. Read on to find out how the Hassenfeld Library celebrates this occasion, and to learn about an inspiring project from Emily Holt’s Book Art class last spring.Read More -
Senior wins Conexión Américas essay prize
Alondra Martínez Ordaz ’26 recently won the Grand Prize at the Conexión Américas Orgullo Hispanic Awards Ceremony for her essay on the strength and resilience of the Hispanic community.Read More
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.