News

The Battle at the Base - Washington HS Cycling League Championships

May 25, 2012

By Kenton Berg

Photo courtesy of Laurie O'Brien

Series overall team podium -1. Columbia River Masher 2. Olympic Composite 3. Skyline HS.

An incredible season for the Washington State High School Cycling League came to a close after racing Sunday at Joint Base Lewis McCord. The Battle at the Base commenced under drizzly skies, but the weather couldn't dampen the spirits or enthusiasm of the riders, parents, coaches and volunteers. The 4.6-mile course proved to be challenging for everyone and with the rain coming down most of the day, the slickness would provide an extra level of difficulty for the racers. At stake were individual and team championships and a number close battles across the board would come down to the days results.

VARSITY GIRLS

Photo courtesy of Laurie O'Brien

Varsity Girls podium.

The Varsity girls were the first to hit the course and take on the challenge. Sharon Hart (Columbia River Mashers) wore the leaders jersey and knew that the overall series was hers, but that didn't stop her from putting in a valiant effort against the eventual winner and State Champ Mikayla Davis (Eastside Composite). Finishing a mere 40 seconds behind Davis, Hart would stand atop the podium as the overall series winner. The third step on the podium went to Fiona Bennitt (Emerald City Composite) who had a great ride but couldn't hold the pace of Davis or Hart.

VARSITY BOYS

Photo courtesy of Laurie O'Brien

Varsity Boys podium.

The Varsity boys started off with a small field but a scorching pace as Nolan Brady (Olympia Composite) led the pack on the first lap. As he had in his previous two wins, Brady would lead from the gun and would take the honors for the State Championship race. Current leaders jersey holder David O'Brien fell prey to a mechanical on lap one and never saw the front runners again. Newcomer Cody Cupp (Independent) came close to holding Brady's pace but fell a minute short to take second on the day. Rounding out the podium was Jake Therrien (Skyline HS) who had another solid ride.

JV GIRLS

Susannah Hart (Columbia River Mashers) won the first three races of the year - two in the Frosh/Soph category and then her first JV race. She showed up to the State Championships ready to make it four-in-a-row and by over three minutes, she did just that, earning herself a State Championship title. Lydia Weyend (Bainbridge HS) started the day in the leaders jersey and cranked out yet another solid performance holding onto that jersey and taking the overall title. Lauren Paulsen (Skyline HS) completed her season with another podium after very consistent riding all year.

JV BOYS

Miles Frank (Emerald City Composite) dominated the field and held the leaders jersey after three straight wins coming in to the State Championship race. With the weather playing a role and other racers form coming around, the question of the day was whether he could hold off the field and make it four straight. Frank started out hot on lap one and the distance he put into the field would hold up til the end earning him a State title and keeping the leaders jersey. Zach Vergillo (Camas Composite) put in a smoking' second lap to nearly close the gap but fell a bit short to take second spot. Theo Arden (N. Seattle Composite) held off a charging Will Meuhlhausen (NS Biking Vikings) to hang on to third on the day and Meuhlhausen's teammate, Brandon Schumacher took fifth to round out the podium.

Photo courtesy of Laurie O'Brien

Frosh/Soph girls podium.

FROSH/SOPH GIRLS

Cassie Ross (Olympic Composite) completed her stellar season by taking a State Championship via her second consecutive win. Delilah Cupp (Independent), in her first race of the season, started slowly but came on strong on the final lap to take the second podium step and an ever-consistent Brooke Brown (Columbia River Mashers) overcame a challenging last lap to round out the podium with third place.

SOPHOMORE BOYS

The tightest race for the overall title was fought in the Sophomore boys division. Coming into the State Championship race Kyle Sweeney (Olympia Composite) had won three consecutive races and held the leaders jersey along with a 59 point advantage over Forrest Montgomery (Olympic Composite). With the small margin, bonus points on the line, and multiple potential winners the pressure was on. Montgomery would go on to win the State Championship title and would come agonizingly close (14 points) to capturing the overall. Sweeney had to settle for second after a last lap mishap cost him time but it was enough to keep him in the leaders jersey. Making the leap of the series, Alex Wynakos (Cedarcrest HS), by virtue of a solid third place finish on the day, would jump from sixth to third in the overall series and land solidly on the final podium.

FRESHMEN BOYS

Milo Steimle (Olympic Composite) completed a perfect season with his fourth straight win and a State Championship as he narrowly beat his teammate Jack Pokorny by 11 seconds in the tightest race of the day. Joseph Tweiten (Olympic Composite) took third and made it a clean sweep for the Olympic Composite team for the category.

OVERALL TITLES AND TEAM TITLES

Congratulations to all the riders and teams that competed in the league this year! Here are your overall champions and team winners:

OVERALL SERIES TEAM PODIUM:

Columbia River Mashers - 8164

Olympic Composite - 8060

Skyline HS - 7867

VARSITY GIRLS OVERALL SERIES PODIUM:

Sharon Hart - 1709

Mikayla Davis - 1150

Fiona Bennitt - 1090

VARSITY BOYS OVERALL SERIES PODIUM:

Nolan Brady - 1700

David O'Brien - 1664

Jake Therrien - 1625

JV GIRLS OVERALL SERIES PODIUM:

Lydia Weyend - 1604

Lauren Paulsen - 1561

Morgan Mackayy - 1477

JV BOYS OVERALL SERIES PODIUM:

Miles Frank - 1650

Will Meuhlhausen - 1572

Zach Vergillo - 1567

FROSH/SOPH GIRLS OVERALL SERIES PODIUM:

Cassie Ross - 1560

Brooke Brown - 1500

Anne Bania - 1431

SOPHOMORE BOYS OVERALL SERIES PODIUM:

Kyle Sweeney - 1559

Forrest Montgomery - 1545

Alex Wynakos - 1434

FRESHMEN BOYS OVERALL SERIES PODIUM:

Milo Steimle - 1575

Joseph Tweiten - 1524

Soren Ferguson - 1496

Full results for the State Championship race and entire season can be found here.

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