The excitement had been building through the whole race season and before we even realized it, the WI State Championship race was upon us. The familiar setting of Iola once again provided a championship-worthy setup with a mix of fast winding singletrack and even faster rolling doubletrack. The team arrived on Saturday and set up camp before heading out for a pre-ride on an absolutely ideal and warm fall afternoon. Another great dinner from our support crew and everyone settled in for a quiet evening, tempered by the looming forecast for a rainy race day.
The morning broke and a gentle drizzle settled in just as breakfast was wrapping up and the team was shifting from the camping area to the race pit zone. Iola has a significant amount of sand and looser soil, so some areas were bound to dry out nicely, if not firm up a bit...but we knew that other areas would get slippery and traction would be a valuable commodity for a successful race.
The rain sputtered off and on throughout the day, but the Hounds fought valiantly and conquered an even tougher, slick race course. Clayton rode away for another win in the JV race, and was joined on the podium by Liam and Charlie D. In the Freshman race, Zane took his second win of the season and was joined by podium newcomer David L., who showed remarkable improvement across the race season. Several other Hounds were finishing their season strong and just missed out on formal awards, including Janneke, Stella, Jack H. and Nick.
Overall awards for the 2017 Season were also presented with Clayton (JV) and Isak (Freshman), bringing home Shorewood MTB's first overall titles! Coming into this season, our team had yet to put a racer on the very top step of the podium...but amazingly, every single JV and Freshman Boys' races this year was won by a Shorewood MTB student-athlete, with 5 different racers achieving this distinction. Liam, Charlie D. and Jack H. joined Clayton on the overall awards podium for JV Boys and Zane finished just behind Isak in the Freshman Boys standings. Janneke was solid and consistent in every race and reached the overall podium, stepping up for her first year of the very competitive JV Girls series.
The growth and improvement across our entire team continues to be inspirational...from the regulars on the race podium, to those battling to reach the finish line of these demanding circuits, just as well as the Hounds venturing out with us at practice and learning to conquer the challenges that our incredible sport provides. Shorewood MTB has grown and matured through these early years of interscholastic mountain biking in Wisconsin and every team member contributes to a stronger, more supportive community. Seeing our incredible crew of coaches, parents and volunteers in the full swing of a season is a sight to behold, and it's truly awe-inspiring to see this foundation of support strengthened as our stewardship is passed from year to year. It's been another great ride this season!!! See below for the detailed race results and photos from the weekend...
