Taos Composite Middle School Race #2 Report – Gallup
Eleven Taos Composite middle school athletes raced the New Mexico NICA race in the Zuni Mountains outside of Gallup. Everyone arrived on Friday with a plan to pre-ride the 3-mile course but, instead, the team was met with heavy rain and a course that was a sloppy muddy mess. The team made the most of the situation and headed to the McGaffey campground where they were able to do a little ride in the ponderosa pines on dry soil. After a fun evening at camp with all the families, race day dawned sunny and calm. Due to a slight chance of mid-day storms, the race organizer decided to condense the race schedule. This meant all racers would do one lap less than planned but also that everyone would get to race. With a delayed start to allow the course to finish drying out, the middle school boys were first on the mostly flat, nontechnical course. Sometimes, racing without a pre-ride can be fun as it really forces the athlete to look ahead and be ready for anything.
Case Cook and Troy Edmiston represented Taos Composite in the 8th grade Boys A race, riding 2 laps and making the most of it. Case finished 6th and Troy finished 7th. Elliot Conn competed in the 7th grade Boys 1-lap race, his first race of the year. Elliot pushed hard for the short race and pulled of 5th place out of a field of over 20 7th graders, landing him on the podium. Bridger Smith, first time racer, had a good time and enjoyed passing people in his race, finishing a strong 6th place.
The middle school girls races included standout 8th grader, Larka Schultz who raced 2 laps. Larka managed to finish a strong 3rd place on a course that didn’t really cater to her strengths which are steep climbs and descents and technical terrain. The Taos Composite 7th grade girl group was packed with a posse of six girls who raced 1 lap. Series leader, Kalia Velarde, had some bad luck with a flat tire that almost ended her race. With determination, she was able to get some air in the tire and finish the race, incurring a 5-minute penalty because she needed assistance from a Course Marshal. Watch out for her in the next race as she comes back fighting. Amaya Dean, racing her first race of the year, was the top Taos 7th grade finisher in 4th place with June Thornton right on her wheel for 5th place. Very close behind, Ama Mithoefer and Lila Delany also finished together in 6th and 7th places, respectively. This was Lila’s first mountain bike race with the team and she loved having such a strong group of girls to race. Olivia Seim, another first time racer, rode with tons of confidence and power and finished 9th.
This race weekend was sponsored by Sol Luna Solar! Thank you for your generous support. Thank you, also, to all the families who are always there for the athletes and bring the positivity and fun!
Next up for the middle school team is Pajarito, a mountain course that suits our team well with climbs and descents through the aspen trees on October 5. After that, look for the team at Ride the Rift in Taos on October 12th. Team athletes are currently fundraising for the team so please visit www.RidetheRiftTaos.com for more information or to sponsor a rider!
