In the SoCal High School Cycling League season opener on Sunday, the GOLDEN KNIGHTS Mountain Bike Team proved they were prepared and were well represented with four podium award finishers, the team’s best finish ever at a SoCal League race.
Since December 1st, the GOLDEN KNIGHTS have trained hard for the season opener at Vail Lake, including a pre-season team building training camp at the venue two weeks ago. “Vail Lake is a very fast and technical course. I wanted to have a team building experience by doing a two-day camp at Vail Lake. In addition to the camaraderie, it turned out that the time spent on the course really helped our riders” said Coach Bird.
With sunny skies and a breezy wind, the day started off with the freshman and sophomore boys’ race. In a very fast two-lap freshman race, Austin Hamilton and Skyler Payne stayed with the leaders to earn 4th and 5th place podium finishes in what was their first ever mountain bike race. Rounding out a very deep freshman field of 38 riders was Philip Saulny earning a top-10 with a 9th place finish. Also gaining valuable race experience in their first ever races with strong finishes were Nathaniel Blakely in 14th, Remi Roth in 19th, and Nick Bedford in 24th.
The sophomore race was controlled by 4 strong riders battling back and forth, with St. Francis’s Daniel Balsam working his way up to a team best ever 2nd place finish. This was Daniel’s first race at the longer 3-lap distance, and he showed that he belonged. In his first-ever mountain bike race, Sophomore Will Towne finished in 27th, and battling a broken derailleur, Keenan Koch finished in 29th.
The most competitive race of the day turned out to be a slugfest in the JV category. After a fast start, 10 riders worked their way to the front and began an epic duel that lasted all 3-laps. Swapping positions 1 through 5, Sophomore Sean Bird ended the day with a very impressive 3rdplace finish. Not too far behind and rounding out the top-10 for the GOLDEN KNIGHTS was Scott Marshall with a 10th place finish. Showing true grit and determination was Senior Connor Haas who finished in 11th after passing 4 riders on his final lap. Rounding out the top-20 of a deep 38 rider field were Cameron Aubert in 19th and Carl Demolder in 20th. Michael Togneri showed great skills and improvement in a solid 23rd, with Matt Kubly in 26th, and Steven Ayoob in 28th. Matt Kubly earned the “tough charger” award for sticking out a tough race. After breaking his chain and losing more than 7 minutes in bike repairs and penalties, he still worked hard to keep battling back lost positions.
Only the 2nd and 3rd GOLDEN KNIGHTS to ever represent their school in the Varsity category were Seniors Christian Breitschwerdt and Matt Misetich. Both riders learned a lot and paced themselves well to manage the fast and long 4-lap race. Christian Breitschwerdt finished in 23rdand Matt Misetich finished in 24th out of a super-competitive field of 32 riders.
“Our team has always worked hard to not only compete, but to finish” said Coach Bird. “Today we had riders facing their first ever bike race, along with some serious mechanical problems and a few crashes. Yet, through all of this, our guys toughed it out and all 19 riders finished the race. That’s what I’m most proud of”.
The GOLDEN KNIGHTS are back to training for their next race In the SoCal League series in Yucaipa on March 11th.
The GOLDEN KNIGHTS mountain bike team are very grateful for the support that they have received from the school and administration, along with their sponsors: Design Imports, Hollandays, VCA Arden Animal Hospital, Merchants Building Maintenance, Bell Helmets, Mountain Pine Shutters, Strategic Law Partners, Nu-Hope, Kevin Martin/UBS, Stratz & Company, Financial Guaranty Insurance Brokers, City National Bank, and JoBesh International.
GO KNIGHTS!
The new trail (above) really taking shape. 
Back Row, Left to Right: Coach Marshall, Coach Kubly, Hunter Nalley, Matt Misetich, Cameron Aubert, Carl Demolder, Andy Acosta, Sean Bird, Chris Sercel, Nicholas Bedford, Remi Roth, Philip Saulny, Daniel Balsam, Coach Donovan, Coach Bird.
Middle Row, Left to Right: Scott Marshall, William Towne, Christian Breitschwerdt, Connor Haas, Matt Kubly, Steven Ayoob, Austin Hamilton, Skyler Payne.
Front Row, Left to Right: Keenan Koch, Michael Togneri, Nathaniel Blakely, Calvin Lau.
Since December 1st, the St. Francis Mountain Bike Team has been preparing for the upcoming 2012 SoCal League High School Mountain Bike series. As one of the first members of the SoCal league, the Golden Knights will be entering their 4th season racing against other Southern California high schools.
Under the guidance of Head Coach Lee Bird and Assistant Coach Patrick Donovan, the Golden Knights are hopeful that they will be able to continue building upon a stellar 2011 season that saw many podium and top-10 overall finishes, including a 5th place finish in the 2011 State Championships.
The team includes returning Seniors Cameron Aubert, Steven Ayoob, Christian Breitschwerdt, Connor Haas, and Matt Misetich. Christian, Connor, and Matt all finished in the top-10 overall of the D1 JV class in 2011. “Our Seniors have been great role models and leaders on our team. Many have raced since they were freshman and really understand the dedication and hard work necessary in the sport”, Bird says. “I’m hopeful that we will be able to have 2 or 3 of these strong riders represent us in the Varsity class”.
Representing the JV class for the Golden Knights will be Juniors Carl Demolder, Matt Kubly, Scott Marshall, Chris Sercel, Michael Togneri, and Sophomore Sean Bird. The JV team for the Golden Knights is deep, and should be able to post some good results this season. Returning racers Matt Kubly and Scott Marshall both finished in the top-10 overall of the D1 Sophomore class and Sean Bird was 5th overall in the D1 Freshman class in 2011.
Bumping up to the sophomore class will be Daniel Balsam, Keenan Koch, Calvin Lau, Hunter Nalley, and Will Towne. Daniel, Keenan, and Hunter all raced as freshman and have improved significantly. Calvin and Will are new to the team this year and have worked hard in training to get themselves prepared for the upcoming season. “Daniel and Hunter really push each other hard in the practices and races, and Keenan has shown incredible improvement over the last year. I’m really excited to watch the three of them battle it out with the other schools this year”, says Coach Bird.
Representing the Golden Knights in the freshman class will be Nicholas Bedford, Nathaniel Blakely, Austin Hamilton, Skyler Payne, Remi Roth, and Philip Saulny. “It’s exciting to see the new talent come into the program each year. Students are excited to be able to race mountain bikes for St. Francis”, says Coach Bird. Austin and Skyler both have prior mountain bike experience and have looked very strong in practices. Nicholas, Nathaniel, Remi, and Philip are working hard on the skills necessary to compete on the mountain bike and will be strong contenders for the Golden Knights.
“I am very grateful to the administrators and staff of St. Francis for supporting our team. The school sees the value of our program and has really supported us since the beginning”, says Coach Bird. “I am also grateful to the parents and parent coaches for all of the time that they have put in to help make this program strong. Because our races are all over 2 hours away, there are lots of logistics and coordination that requires many volunteers. I’m grateful for their help”.
Follow the Golden Knights all season on their website at http://stfrancisracing.blogspot.com/.
