All the hard work has paid off. The High School Cycling Season has officially finished. For a group of local athletes from the Vail Valley this season was tremendously successful. The team placed second overall at the State Championship behind Fairview this past weekend in Fruita. The team had placed third overall in their past three races. It is great to see the team performing at their best during the State Championship.
This season, the Vail Valley Composite Team put local rivalries aside and rode as one collective team. The team started 3 years ago and any High School athlete in the Vail Valley is allowed to join. There are four cross-country races throughout the season with the final State Championship being held in Fruita. Heidi Livran had a fantastic cycling season with a strong 4th place finish in the sophomore category at the State Championship last weekend. Livran commented that, “The team did great, we got second as a team for the race. Fruita was warm; it was nice because ski season is around the corner. The course was bumpy, dusty and had a lot of double track, but still fun. It was the hardest race of the season for me because the roads felt like they went on forever. I was really happy when I finished!”
Quintin Cook placed 1st in Fruita this past weekend, which solidified him as the State Champion in the freshman division. “I would really like to thank Jay Henry and Dan Weiland for coaching us and for putting together such a cool program. We had really great support from them as well as support from some of our sponsors like Pedal Power. I had a lot of fun in Fruita this past weekend. I went in to the race with almost the same amount of points as my rival from Ralston Valley. I passed him on the first downhill that I could and ended up finishing about a minute ahead of him. I think it is great that we can go out there and show that even a little team from Vail can do well against a team that has twice as many riders as us,” says Cook.
Anna Martin placed 2nd in Fruita, which helped the team establish points for their 2nd place overall finish. “I believe that the race in Fruita went well for me, as well as the whole team. The race was the first race I had been to since I had gotten a concussion during a training ride. I was happy with my result and my overall riding. I think that as a team we were able to individually push ourselves but use each others support to motivate and lead us to our accomplishments in Fruita and the season as a whole.”
John Bailey finished 15th, Caleb Krueger finished 21st, and Brinton Barry finished 22nd for the boys varsity Category. These three rode well all season in a very competitive category. Hannah Hardenbergh finished 8th for the girls varsity category.
Ian Boucher finished 4th, Parker McDonald finished 6th, and Noah Beairsto finished 19th in the boys junior varsity category. Clare Baker finished 6th for the girls junior varsity category.
Logan Martin finished 18th in the boys sophomore category. Rita Gutierrez finished in 7th place for the girls sophomore category. Luke Vickerman also had a great race finishing in 6th place for the boys freshman division.
As one season ends, another begins. After Vail Valley’s first substantial snowfall of the season, it is becoming blatantly apparent which season is up next.
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