Tuesday, May 17, 2011

State Championships!

More than 450 high school students from the State of California met at Los Olivos, just north of Santa Barbara, for the California High School Mountain Bike State Championships. Thirteen students from the St. Francis Mountain Bike team made the journey for the opportunity to compete against the best in the state.

“This is the first time at the State Championships for our team. I am very proud of their efforts this year and hope that this is a good learning experience and a vision of the future for the St. Francis team” Head Coach Lee Bird said.

In a huge Freshman Boys Division 1 class of 60 riders, Sean Bird’s season peaked at the right time and he raced neck-and-neck with the SoCal and NorCal series leaders, ending up with a very strong 5th place result and the team’s lone podium position for the day. Hunter Nalley also rode strong to 28th place and Daniel Balsam raced to 30th, securing them a top 50% result in a deep field of talented Freshman racers. Also competing in the Freshman class and doing well were Michael Greenberg in 47th and Keenan Koch in 55th.

Our Sophomore Boys Division 1 team also competed in a deep field with 48 racers from across the state. Matt Kubly rode hard on the technical and bumpy course to a solid 13th place. Not far behind was Scott Marshall sprinting to 17th. Making the trip after a break away from racing and doing his best was Michael Togneri in 40th.

The JV Boys Division 1 team also raced against a large field of 48 racers. Matt Misetich completed his season with another solid result and finished in 18th. Christian Breitschwerdt made the trip to Los Olivos the morning after attending his prom and finished in 29th. Cameron Aubert rode a steady race to 39th. Not far behind and battling with a stomach bug, but completing the race was Connor Haas in 40th.

Our sole Varsity rider, Eddy Kronfli, had set a goal at the beginning of the season to compete against the best in the state as a Varsity rider. Eddy achieved that goal and finished in 39th position.

It’s been a long season and the St. Francis team has a lot to be proud of. We have achieved a lot this season, including many podium positions and top-10 finishes. Those solid results and experience will catapult us into the 2011-2012 season with renewed energy and dedication.

Well done Golden Knights!

Matt battling for position in the infield portion of the course.

Christian did the whole race with a bloody nose!

Matt Kubly riding strong.

Sean had a great start and was on his way to a 5th place podium.


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