by Eric Mace, Meghan Kincheloe and Pam Lusk
The Sedona and Mingus School Mountain Bike Club had another successful and fun weekend competing at the second race of the Arizona Cycling Association series on Sept. 20 and 21. Racers competed alongside athletes from 74 other teams from across the state over the course of two days at Pioneer Park in Prescott.
The team enjoyed a fun trail ride on Saturday morning while the south conference teams competed. On Saturday night, the coaches prepared healthy pre-race meals and offered racing support, advice, and strategies after pre-riding the course together. A fun night of camping together is always a great way to build camaraderie before race day.
Middle school riders set the pace for the day, kicking off the north conference races on Sunday morning. In the seventh-grade boys’ race, Jaxson Campbell earned 15th after suffering a crash on the course, and Hunter Brady moved up two positions to take 35th place. The sixth-grade boys showed their strength, with Max Holton making a leap of nine spots to finish in eighth place; Korbin Nelson holding on to 18th place; and Theo Wilkins moving up to 26th from his prior race, where he finished in 31st place. In the seventh-grade girls’ race, Rowyn Mandeville moved up two positions from her first race, securing 11th place.
High school riders hit the trail next, riding a different course than the middle schoolers. Varsity rider Greyson Stevens moved up two positions from his last race to finish just shy of the podium in sixth place. In the Junior Varsity 1 field, Quincy Mabery secured an eighth-place finish after narrowly avoiding a crash ahead of him on his second lap, and Logan Jankowski pedaled hard for 12th place.
Sedona and Mingus riders competing in the Junior Varsity 2 field were equally impressive. Talon Mandeville moved up three spots from the previous race to take second place, amazing his teammates and coaches. New team rider Tyne Brady ascended five spots, securing 17th place. In the girls’ JV2 division, Danae Deardan came back strong after an injury ended her race a few weeks ago to finish in eighth place.
For the last race of the weekend, the podium was dominated by the freshmen boys. Cormac Kincheloe held on to second place, Noah Nelson maintained the third spot, and Vincent Pugliano finished in fifth place — a strong showing that brought home several team medals. Joseph Weiss moved up an impressive three spots to finish in 14th.
It was a fun, exciting weekend that brought racers and their families together to work and play hard. The next race was held on Saturday, Oct. 4, in Snowflake, where the course offered similar terrain to Sedona trails, putting Sedona and Mingus team riders in a strong position.
Eric Mace, Meghan Kincheloe, and Pam Lusk are the coaches of the Sedona and Mingus School Mountain Bike Club.
