Mountain biking team tracks hot laps
The Tigers' mountain bikers brought nearly a full squad to the Lock 4 Park Trails in Gallatin on Sunday, September 24 as 24 of our middle schoolers and high schoolers raced the fast but often technically tricky singletrack loop about 4.5 miles in length. Overall, the team brought in three Top 10 finishes, and nearly ideal racing conditions resulted in significant gains and personal best performances for the team.
By Steve Smail, Website Manager, HS Science & Art Teacher, and Mountain Bike Team Head Coach
The Lock 4 loop is likely the course the Tigers knows best as the trails there have been used as a race venue for nearly every TICL/NICA season thus far. Seniors Maya Guha '24, Christopher Haynes '24, and Benjamin Kampine '24 have practiced or raced on the 4.5-mile lap upwards of 100 times collectively at this point in their race careers, and the team spent three practice days there over the last few weeks to get more familiar with the sections of the race loop.
Like Formula 1 or rally car drivers, and the Tigers' cross country running comrades, mountain biking athletes at this point realize that being able to predict what is next on the trail is critical to riding a smooth and fast lap. After a tough and steep quarter mile effort from the starting line up a paved climb to help spread racers out, the Tigers essentially memorized the twisty and flat/two drops/rock garden/crunch climb/steep down mantra that gets them through the first mile of the lap. Afterwards, it was all about managing maximum heart rates and minimizing mistakes. Most of the Tigers put their trail preparation, two months of training, and smart efforts that day to good use.
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The Lock 4 loop is likely the course the Tigers knows best as the trails there have been used as a race venue for nearly every TICL/NICA season thus far. Seniors Maya Guha '24, Christopher Haynes '24, and Benjamin Kampine '24 have practiced or raced on the 4.5-mile lap upwards of 100 times collectively at this point in their race careers, and the team spent three practice days there over the last few weeks to get more familiar with the sections of the race loop.
Like Formula 1 or rally car drivers, and the Tigers' cross country running comrades, mountain biking athletes at this point realize that being able to predict what is next on the trail is critical to riding a smooth and fast lap. After a tough and steep quarter mile effort from the starting line up a paved climb to help spread racers out, the Tigers essentially memorized the twisty and flat/two drops/rock garden/crunch climb/steep down mantra that gets them through the first mile of the lap. Afterwards, it was all about managing maximum heart rates and minimizing mistakes. Most of the Tigers put their trail preparation, two months of training, and smart efforts that day to good use.
Sixth graders and new racers Mac Perry '30 and Peter Weiss '30 finished 12th and 25th in their categories, with Mac having a clean race and Peter nearly finishing the single lap in under half an hour at 31:30.
7th Graders Elsa Absi '29, Harper Hughey '29, and Clio Cherry-Pulay '29 all raced cleanly, with Elsa clocking in a 32:13 lap good for ninth place, Harper having her best race yet, and new teammate Clio navigating a tough first-ever race with a 22nd place finish. Charlie McNulty '29 put in a consistent effort in a big field of seventh grade boys, finishing in 50th place.
The Tigers' deep and talented crew of eighth graders was led by Maggie Weiss '28, pulling in two awesome and nearly identical laps of 29:13 and 29:14, the team's fastest MS laps of the day and its only MS rider to break the half hour mark for eighth place. Adeline Miller '28, Asha Guha '28, Nora Maragno '28, and Suzie Zhao '28 were not far behind, finishing across 14th-20th places with lap times of 35-44 minutes. Seth Hauser '28 was at the leading edge of the eighth grade boys, finishing two laps in 65 minutes and finishing in 18th place. Aidan Harris '28, Garret Northwall '28 and Basil Broemel '28 completing single laps in 36-49 minutes.
For the day, the Tigers' MS team finished in 14th place out of 26 teams with points from Maggie, Elsa, Adeline, and Peter. Overall, the team moved into 11th place of 26 teams for the season after three races with a good opportunity for moving into the top 10.
The Tigers' small but mighty crew of nine HS racers accumulated points from Hannah Mackler '28, Christopher, Leo Frein '25, and Maya, all who raced 2-3 laps. Hannah and Maya both had consistent two-lap races only a minute different for each lap, with Hannah finishing the ninth grade girls category in seventh place at 56 minutes and Maya in the 15th position in junior varsity at 72 minutes. Christoper clocked in 22-23-24-minute laps, finishing a solid 19th in the junior varsity category. Leo finished in 33rd place a few minutes back from Christopher after suffering more than a few crashes on Lap 2 or Lap 3. Tate Green '25 and Benjamin tracked each other for the entire race only a few seconds apart with Benjamin in 37th place or one second head of Tate in 38th place at the finish. Quinn Dehner '25 had one of his best races ever with a third lap over a minute faster than his second, finishing in 91 minutes at 52nd place. Freshmen Charlie Blau '27 and Avery Savona '27 played the Benjamin/Tate playbook, pacing each other over two laps and finishing just over a second apart at the finishing line at 53:36 or good for the 26th and 27th places respectively in a crowded field of 65 riders. The team also wants to give a shoutout to Freshman Molly O’Loughlin, '27, racing for the Oasis Team, finishing in 14th place in the freshmen girls category.
The HS team finished in 17th place for the race and is in 17th place for the series overall with two races to go. Next up is Panther Creek Race #4 on October 8 in East Tennessee, which includes the infamous National Interscholastic Cycling Association's climb of death hill, and then, the Tigers head to the sandy and rocky state championships trail at Racoon Mountain on October 22.
The HS team finished in 17th place for the race and is in 17th place for the series overall with two races to go. Next up is Panther Creek Race #4 on October 8 in East Tennessee, which includes the infamous National Interscholastic Cycling Association's climb of death hill, and then, the Tigers head to the sandy and rocky state championships trail at Racoon Mountain on October 22.
Follow along with the Tigers ... see you on the trails.
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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
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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.