St. Francis Racing: March 2013

Monday, March 25, 2013

Beach to Boulders - Lake Perris - Race #3

The St. Francis GOLDEN KNIGHTS Mountain Bike Team

“Beach to Boulders Race”, Lake Perris CA – March 24, 2013

It was a day of many firsts – the first podium of the season, and the first ever Varsity podium for the St. Francis Golden Knights mountain bike team! Held at the beautiful Lake Perris State Park, the Golden Knights tackled a very unusual mountain bike course, one that featured sand, asphalt, and very fast speeds with each 5.2 mile loop taking the riders from the beach sand to high in the mountain boulders. High temperatures and challenging conditions tested the riders to the fullest.

The first race of the day featured four Golden Knight freshmen taking on 46 other freshman riders from throughout Southern California. In only his 3^rd mountain bike race, George Orloff showed his strength and power and continued improvement with a fine 8^th place finish, his best result yet. Close behind were his teammates Andrew Schiller and Andrew Palaski, in 12^th and 14^th, and battling through the tough conditions was Michael Vega in 20^th. Once again, the Golden Knight freshman team showed great ability and represented the Golden Knights well.

Four riders from St. Francis represented the Golden Knights in the Sophomore Division 1 class. Remi Roth used his climbing talents to full-effect to gain ground on his competitors and end up with his best result ever, a fantastic 7^th place finish. Nathaniel Blakely earned 12^th, and Skyler Payne and Alex Marshall battled through the heat to earn 20^th and 23^rd.

By the time the JV Division 1 race got started at 1:00pm, the temperature had reached close to 90 degrees. Austin Hamilton paced himself well with very consistent lap times within 10 seconds of each other to earn a solid 8^th place. Daniel Balsam was the next Golden Knight JV rider in 19^th. Matt Kubly rode the final mile of the race through sand and deep grass with a flat tire and narrowly missed a top-20 result, coming in 22^nd. Hunter Nalley and Kenny Larsen both had their best results of the season coming in 26^th and 35^th. Will Towne worked hard through the heat for 30^th, and rounding out the Golden Knight JV field were Keenan Koch in 42^nd, Carl Demolder recovering from a flat at the beginning of the race to finish in 45^th, and Chris Perez with his best result of the year finishing in 46^th.

The Golden Knight Varsity team was once again represented by junior Sean Bird and senior Scott Marshall. Sean felt that the fast-paced course would be well-suited to his road race background, and he was right! Sean helped set a very high-paced tempo and led or was in the leaders group most of the 4-lap race. Sean sprinted with another rider out of the beach sand to the finish line and narrowly missed a win, but still earned an incredible 2^nd place finish. This was the first Varsity podium result for the Golden Knights in their 5 season history, and the first podium result for the team in the 2013 season. Scott Marshall also rode a smart race to narrowly miss a top-20 result, coming in 21^st.

The Golden Knights again showed grit, courage, and perseverance to have all 19 riders complete their race. That’s 22 straight races without a single DNF! The Golden Knights head to race # 4 in Keyesville (near Lake Isabella) in three weeks. More intensity in their upcoming training should help them improve on their speed as they enter their final two races and the State Championships.

The Golden Knights mountain bike team is 100% volunteer managed and coached and is very grateful for all of the support they have received from the parents, alumni, and their generous sponsors, including: Design Imports, Hollandays, Merchants Building Maintenance, Mountain Pine Shutters, Strategic Law Partners, Nu-Hope, Kevin Martin/UBS, Stratz & Company, Financial Guaranty Insurance Brokers, Lucas Horsfall Murphy & Pindroh, Lantern CycleWorks, Montrose Bike Shop, Crescenta Valley Insurance, and Church and Larsen. GO KNIGHTS!

Sean Bird gets the Golden Knights first ever Varsity podium. 2nd Place.

Andrew Schiller

Remi Roth has been working hard on his descending. Looking pretty good.

Nathaniel Blakely with his game-face on.

Andrew Palaski

Keenan Koch leading teammate Kenny Larsen

Sean Bird leading the Varsity Boys

Matt Kubly rode the final mile on a flat - huge nail!

Monday, March 11, 2013

Carving Canyons - Riverside - Race #2

The St. Francis GOLDEN KNIGHTS Mountain Bike Team

“Carving Canyons Race”, Riverside CA – March 10, 2013

Under beautiful blue skies with snow-capped mountains in the background, the St. Francis High School Mountain Bike Team competed in the 2^nd race of the SoCal League High School Mountain Bike Series at Sycamore Canyon Park in Riverside, CA on March 10th. Rolling, twisty, trails through meadows and boulder-strewn terrain made for an exciting day of racing. For the second straight race, a large team of 21 riders represented the Golden Knights in a race featuring over 350 high school students from all over Southern California.

46 riders lined up to compete in the Freshman Division 1 class race. Representing the Golden Knights were George Orloff, Andrew Palaski, Andrew Schiller, and Michael Vega. This strong freshman group improved over their first race results, including another top-10 finish. Andrew Shiller came in 8^th, Michael Vega in 15^th, George Orloff in 18^th, and Andrew Palaski in 25^th.

Five riders from St. Francis represented the Golden Knights in the Sophomore Division 1 class. A large accident at the start of the race took down Golden Knights Alex Marshall and Skyler Payne. Both riders battled back, with Marshall finishing in 25^th and Payne, riding on a broken rear wheel for 15 miles, coming from dead last to pass 19 riders to finish in 12^th! Skyler’s battle was one of the most inspiring efforts ever in the 5 year history of the St. Francis mountain bike team. Remi Roth and Nathaniel Blakely both had their best race results ever finishing in 8^th and 9^th place, and Owen Shain ran the final 2 miles with a broken bike to finish in 26^th. These sophomores won’t quit!

The JV Division 1 race saw the largest field of the day with 53 riders. The Golden Knights were a significant contributor with 10 riders lining up for the afternoon race start. Austin Hamilton almost had the Golden Knights first podium of the day and finished in a well-earned 6^th place. Daniel Balsam and Michael Togneri rode in together in 16^th and 17^th, with Matt Kubly not that far behind in 26^th. Will Towne was the next Golden Knight in 31^st, Carl Demolder battled an illness to finish in 33^rd, Hunter Nalley finished in 35^th, Keenan Koch in 38th, Kenny Larsen in 40^th, and Chris Perez finished a hot race in 50^th.

St. Francis junior Sean Bird and senior Scott Marshall represented the Golden Knights in the 4-lap Varsity race. Bird jumped into a fast group of 10 Varsity riders on the first lap and led the group for 2 laps in a break that splintered the field. Bird hung on during a blistering last lap to finish in 7^th. Scott Marshall worked hard all day and made 2 passes on the last lap to get his personal best Varsity finish to date of 20^th.

The Golden Knights again showed grit, courage, and perseverance to have all 21 riders complete their race. 13 of the 21 improved on their results from race # 1 by dedicating themselves to hard work over the last two weeks of training.

The Golden Knights head to race # 3 in Lake Perris in two weeks, and with the team hitting its stride at the middle of the season, they should be able to come away with some podium finishes.

Photos courtesy of Brother Chris. Thank you!