Vail Lake - Race #1

The St. Francis GOLDEN KNIGHTS Mountain Bike Team

Vail Lake Challenge, Temecula CA – February 24, 2013

The St. Francis High School Mountain Bike Team competed in the opening round of the 5th season of the SoCal League High School Mountain Bike Series at Vail Lake in Temecula, CA on February 24th. Perfect weather conditions and a fast race course made for an exciting day of racing.

The Golden Knights were well represented with 21 riders showing up for race day – the largest number of Golden Knights ever for any single race. Since December 1^st, the team has trained hard to prepare for the start of this race season where they will compete against other high school students from across Southern California.

In a deep Freshman Division 1 class of 40 riders, the Golden Knights were represented by four new riders who did not have any prior race experience and have worked extremely hard to prepare themselves for their first season of racing. Andrew Schiller rode a very consistent race and was the first Golden Knight home in 8^th place. Andrew Palaski and George Orloff finished together in 18^th and 19^th position, and Michael Vega finished strong in 24^th.   

Five riders from St. Francis represented the Golden Knights in the Sophomore Division 1 class. Nathaniel Blakeley worked hard in the off-season to improve his overall fitness and was rewarded with a hard earned 10^th place. Skyler Payne crashed on the first lap, but battled back to earn 14^th, with Remi Roth close behind in 15^th. In their first-ever mountain bike races, Owen Shain came in 23^rd and Alex Marshall finished in 26^th.

The JV Division 1 race saw the largest field of the day with 54 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 7^th place. Daniel Balsam narrowly missed a top-10 and finished in 11^th. Michael Togneri and Matt Kubly raced side by side and finished together in 19^th and 20^th. (Matt is one of the team’s senior leaders and is competing in his 4^th season). Will Towne and Hunter Nalley finished in 26th and 27^th, with Keenan Koch close behind in 35^th. Carl Demolder repaired a broken chain on the 2^nd lap and worked hard to finish in 45^th. First year riders Kenny Larsen and Chris Perez finished in 46^th and 48^th.

St. Francis junior Sean Bird and senior Scott Marshall represented the Golden Knights in the 4-lap Varsity race. The race started with a blistering pace that saw Bird hang on to the lead group for the first lap. As the race progressed, Bird settled in and finished in a very respectable 8^th place. Scott Marshall had the endurance required for the longer distance of the Varsity class and worked hard for 25^th.

“Since our very first race 5 years ago, every Golden Knight has finished every race, including this one. Our riders worked through broken bikes and tired bodies to persevere. This is an incredible accomplishment in this difficult sport and something that I am extremely proud of”, said Head Coach Lee Bird.

The Golden Knights head to race # 2 in Riverside in two weeks, looking to improve on their solid results with hopes of some podium finishes. 

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, and Crescenta Valley Insurance.  

GO KNIGHTS!

Camp Fire on Saturday Night

Team Dinner

Team Warmup

Nathaniel Blakely

Andrew Palaski

Chris Perez

Remi Roth

Sean Bird

Skyler Payne battled back from a hard crash

Matt Kubly with proud dad (and coach) Rod Kubly

Mt. Wilson!

On Saturday morning, 16 riders and their coaches headed up the Mt. Wilson toll-road with one goal, make it to the top! For the first time in our team's 5 year history, all 16 riders did just that - they reached the top of Mt. Wilson!

I'm so proud of this team. For the rest of their life's, these young men can point to the top of that mountain and say "I rode my bike up there". Very cool!

Vail Lake Campout

One of our favorite traditions is our Vail Lake pre-ride and campout. This fun weekend gives us a chance to see the race course at Vail Lake (sight of our first race) and to have fun camping out and enjoying great meals and friends.

This year Coach Marshall started the weekend off with a great lesson on how to BREATH. Yes, there is a right way an a wrong way to breath. We rode the Vail Lake course for a couple of hours, and then got down to some serious eating - CHILI!

On Sunday morning we awoke to below-freezing temperatures. (28 degrees). Everything was frosted and our 7:30am ride start time didn't seem like such a good idea. After warming up by the fire, most of the guys went out for some more laps. Later that morning we had a great breakfast and then we packed up and headed home.

Thanks parents and coaches for supporting the team and helping make this another fantastic weekend!

 Andrew Schiller

 Brother Chris

 Daniel Balsam

 Sean Bird

 Andrew Palaski

 Warmin' up by the fire

 Kenny races mountain bikes. He's not a receiver on the football team. 

 Dinner, please

 Will Towne - quarterback, who knew!

 More warmin' up by the fire

 Coach Marshall training

 Someone drew on Coach Marshall's shirt

 Ron has somewhere to go

Can't ride until ice is off seats

Yes, we ride in the mountains!

One of my favorite things about mountain biking is....riding in the mountains! This week we made two trips to Upper Brown, including a trip yesterday in some iffy weather. The mist and clouds made for a real adventure. Yes, it's better up in the mountains!

The St. Francis HS Mountain Bike Team Prepares for the 2013 Season

Since December 1^st, the St. Francis Mountain Bike Team has been preparing for the upcoming 2013 SoCal League High School Mountain Bike series, the 5^th season in the league for the Golden Knight cyclists. As a member of the SoCal league, the Golden Knights will compete against 55 other high schools on challenging cross-country mountain bike courses throughout Southern California.

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 2012 season that resulted in 18 podium finishes and 2 podium results at the State Championships. More impressive though is that the team has not had a single DNF in its previous 4 seasons, a testament to the hard work put in by the students. “Each year we have worked hard to improve the infrastructure of this program so that we can provide an environment for the students to learn how to safely and competitively race mountain bikes”, says Coach Bird.

The team includes returning seniors Carl Demolder, Matt Kubly, Scott Marshall, and Michael Togneri.  Scott and Matt finished 12^th and 15^th respectively in the JV D1 class in 2012 and look to improve on those already solid results. “Our seniors will compete in the JV or Varsity class this season based on how their training continues to go. They have worked hard and I am hopeful that they will continue to improve”. Carl Demolder and Michael Togneri both had interrupted seasons in 2012 and are looking to represent the Golden Knights throughout the 2013 season.

Representing the junior class and racing in JV for the Golden Knights will be Daniel Balsam, Keenan Koch, Kenny Larsen, Hunter Nalley, Chris Perez, and Will Towne. Daniel Balsam finished 3^rd overall in the sophomore class last year and should be a real threat in the JV class this season. Keenan, Hunter, and Will all return for their 3^rd season of racing and have greatly improved their fitness in hopes of improved results. New this year to the team are juniors Kenny Larsen and Chris Perez.

The Varsity class will be contested by junior Sean Bird. Sean finished 3^rd overall in the JV class last year and 4^th at the California State Championships. Since leaving basketball, Sean has focused his athletic efforts on cycling and has represented the Golden Knights impressively through his two seasons on the team.

Racing in the sophomore class will be Nathaniel Blakely, Austin Hamilton, Alex Marshall, Skyler Payne, Remi Roth, and Owen Shain.  “Our sophomore team is very deep. Nathaniel, Austin, Skyler, and Remi all finished in the top 20 overall last year as freshman with Austin and Skyler finishing 5^th and 8^th respectively at the State Championships” says Coach Bird. New to the team this season are Alex Marshall and Owen Shain. Alex and Owen have shown great improvement in their technical skills through training and should make an impact in the upcoming season.  

The Golden Knight freshman class has always been well represented and the 2013 season should be no different. New to the team this year are freshman George Orloff, Andrew Palaski, Andrew Schiller, and Michael Vega. “I really enjoy working with the freshman class each year. The students are excited to be able to race mountain bikes for St. Francis”, says Coach Bird. Andrew Schiller and Michael Vega both have prior mountain bike experience and have looked very strong in practices. George Orloff and Andrew Palaski 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 our sponsors and 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/.

GO KNIGHTS!    

And...they're off!

Today was our first team meeting of the year, and we are officially on our way! This will be the 5th season of the St. Francis mountain bike team, and by the looks of those in attendance at today's meeting, we should be in store for another fantastic season!

Need a little excitement before we get on the bikes on December 1st? I've uploaded our team videos and they can all be seen HERE.

Our next team meeting is on October 15th at lunch in the Music room. See you there!

Great Results at the State Championships!

State Championships, Los Olivos CA – May 20, 2012

The St. Francis High School mountain bike team competed in the NICA High School Mountain Bike State Championships held on the Chamberlin Ranch in Los Olivos on May 20^th.   The event culminated a hard-fought season of mountain bike racing and featured over 500 high school students from all over the state.

The racing was hot, and so was the weather! Temperatures in the high 90’s forced league officials to shorten many of the race distances, although the athletes still had to work hard to endure the tough racing conditions.

In the Freshman Division 1 class, Golden Knight rider Austin Hamilton completed a stellar season by grabbing the first podium position of the day for the Golden Knights by finishing 5^th.  As he has done all season long, Skyler Payne also finished very well with a strong 8^th place in a deep Freshman field of 56 riders. Remi Roth passed his teammate Philip Saulny on the last lap to finish in 21^st, with Philip right behind him in 22^nd. Rounding out the Freshman class for the Golden Knights were Nick Bedford in 26^th and Nathaniel Blakely in 39^th.  “Our Freshman riders really improved a lot this year, and I know that they will be a force next year in the Sophomore and JV classes”, said Coach Bird.  

The Golden Knights Sophomore Division 1 class, struggled with the heat and a long 3-lap race. Daniel Balsam worked hard to finish in 18^th place. Also competing in the Sophomore class were Hunter Nalley in 45^th, Will Towne in 55^th, and Keenan Koch in 58^th. 

The JV race started at 1:10pm, in the high heat of the middle of the day. Sean Bird had finished off a strong season (3^rd overall in the SoCal season) and was one of the JV racers ready for a fast, 2-lap race. Sean led the JV boys for the first half of the race before being passed by the NorCal and SoCal division winners and finishing with a fantastic 4^th place podium finish. Sean would be the first “non-sponsored” rider on the JV podium. Having his best race of the season and finishing in 14^th place out of the largest field of the day of 62 riders was Scott Marshall. Matt Kubly worked hard for a great 23^rd position. Also completing the State Championship race for the Golden Knights JV team were Cameron Aubert in 33^rd, Connor Haas in 36^th, and Steven Ayoob in 50^th.

Also competing in the mid-day heat were Varsity riders Matt Misetich and Christian Breitschwerdt. Matt would finish in 44^th, and Christian finished in 50^th. This was the final high school race for Seniors Connor Haas, Cameron Aubert, Steven Ayoob, Matt Misetich, and Christian Breitschwerdt. They have all been great team leaders and will be missed next season.

The great results and two podium awards finished a breakout season for the Golden Knight Mountain Bike Team. Again, the team kept their streak alive and completed another race without a single DNF. “The great results this year proved to the team that their hard work will pay off”. “All of our riders improved this season and I know that they will be anxious to compete again next season”, said Coach Bird.

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!

Austin Hamilton - 5th Place Freshman D1 

 Austin Hamilton

 Sean Bird

 Daniel Balsam

Sean Bird - 4th Place JV D1