St. Francis Racing: Vail Lake - Final SoCal League Race of 2011

The St. Francis Golden Knights mountain bike team recently competed at Vail Lake for the final round of the 4 race SoCal high school mountain bike series. It was another successful weekend of competitive racing for the Golden Knights.

In the Freshman Boys Division 1 class, Sean Bird battled with the overall series leader and held on for a strong 4^th place finish. Sean’s 4^th place result secured his 5^th place overall in the 4 race series. Hunter Nalley rode strong to 10^th place securing a 7^th overall in the race series. Also competing in the Freshman class and doing well were Michael Greenberg in 11^th, JT Ingram in 16^th, and Keenan Koch in 26^th.

Our Sophomore Boys Division 1 team also had a podium finish. Scott Marshall dug deep to secure his first podium finish in 5^th place. Matt Kubly who was not able to attend the race secured a solid 7^th place overall in the series. Colby Koklas had a crash on the first lap but got back on his bike to finish in 21^st.

The temperatures started heating up, and so did the racing as the JV Boys Division 1 team headed out for their race. Matt Misetich and Christian Breitschwerdt dueled side by side as they have done all season, finishing in 6^th and 7^th place. Their results also placed them in 6^th and 7^th overall for the JV boys. Connor Hass rode to another well deserved top-10, finishing in 9^th place. Cameron Aubert and Steven Ayoob have steadily improved all season and finished in 12^th and 16^th.

Our sole Varsity rider, Eddy Kronfli, had his work cut out for him. The Varsity class is filled with pro level riders, and Eddy has worked hard all season to be the best that he can be in a very competitive class. Eddy’s #1 goal this season has been to qualify for the State Championships so that he can represent St. Francis as our first Varsity rider. Going into the race, Eddy knew that he needed to finish in 12^th position or better. On the last lap, after 16 miles of racing in 90 degree temperatures with a little more than 5 miles to go, Eddy was battling neck and neck with another rider for that 12^th position. With all of his coaches and teammates cheering him on, Eddy raced smart and succeeded in holding off his rival to finish in 12^th and qualify for States.

Many of our riders have qualified for and will be competing against riders from all over California at the State Championships on May 15^th in Los Olivos.

Well done Golden Knights!