October 10, 2018 at 12:37 p.m.
RHS, RNC teams second again at Nine Mile mountain bike race
RHS, RNC teams second again at Nine Mile mountain bike race
The results shook out as they have most of the season, with both the Rhinelander High School and Northwoods Composite teams finishing second in their respective divisions. Both teams remained second overall in Division 1 and Division 2, respectively, heading into the season finale Oct. 21 in Waterloo.
"It was real convenient having a northern venue and a good set of trails. Nine Mile provides a real good venue," RNC coach Joel Flory said. "They were planning to have a little more single track in the race, but they set up the course wrong, so it was a little bit more of a road race than we'd like. I don't really think it had an effect on where everyone ended up. We had a couple of folks who were down a slot or two from previous races, but I think that might have just come down to some tough racing that took place out there."
All four Northwoods Composite racers reached the podium, placing in the top five of their respective races. Lakeland freshman Jakob Craig essentially locked up the Division 2 freshman crown with his fourth win of the season. He took Sunday's race covering the approximately 11-mile course in 45 minutes, 48.2 seconds, beating La Crosse Central's Therin Smith to the line by 19 seconds. Craig holds a 49-point lead over Smith heading to the final race and, given that each rider can throw out his or her worst race of the year, will be virtually impossible to catch.
The championship chase is tighter in the freshman girls' class where Three Lakes' Megan Lester finished third Sunday for RNC. Her lead is currently 17 points over Fall Creek's Katie Kopp, though independent rider Josie Andre cannot be counted out after scoring her second win in three starts Sunday.
"That freshman race is really a tight group right now," Flory said. "I think if Megan stays healthy and gets through the race, she's got a real good shot at staying No. 1, but it's going to be an interesting finish for sure."
Lakeland junior Johanna Craig was nipped at the finish line to place third in the varsity girls' race, though she still sits second overall in the varsity standings heading to the finale. Grace Dorsey placed fifth in the JV-2 race and sits fourth overall in the class standings.
As a team, RNC trails Wausau East by 98 points overall for first place in Division 2.
"That RNC team, as long as they stay healthy and avoid mechanicals, they're in a great position," Flory said.
The Rhinelander High School squad had nine riders on Sunday, and were paced by several of their female competitors. Alexis Pyrchalla and Emma Hjelle finished sixth and seventh in the JV-3 race and Gwyneth Lowry was eighth in the JV-2 race.
"The RHS girls, we couldn't do it without them. They're the mainstay of that team," Flory noted.
Bridger Flory recorded his best finish of the season in the elite varsity division, placing 12th. He covered 21 miles in 1:28:12.3, and was less than three seconds from finishing inside the top 10.
"Bridger had a really good race," said coach Flory, Bridger's father. "I think he was really lagging coming off that 100-mile race in the U.P. from the week before. I don't think he was at all recovered last week and he felt better going into this one. That was helpful."
Hugh Wiese was ninth in the Division 1 JV-2 race, Freddy Wisner took 13th in the D1 JV-3 race, Madesen Van Order was 14th in the JV2 girls' race, Anna Wood was 17th in the freshman girls' race and Kyle Siefert was 21st in the freshman D1 boys' race.
Overall, Pyrchalla and Lowry sit fifth in the JV-3 and JV-2 girls' division, respectively, Wiese is sixth overall in the D1 JV-2 standings, Hjelle is seventh in girls' JV-3, Wisner in ninth in boys' D1 JV-3 and Bridger Flory is 14th in the boys' varsity standings. Sage Flory, who missed Sunday's race due to illness, is 11th in the freshman girls' standings.
Shorewood has a commanding 710-point lead over RHS in the D-1 standings heading into the final race. The Hodags area 893 points ahead of Mukwonago for the runner-up spot.
In the middle school races, Macy Lester overcame a mechanical issue a week earlier in Eau Claire to claim her third win of the season on Sunday in the sixth-grade girls' division. Joey Belanger was third in the seventh-grade boys' race, Jett Biolo finished 13th in the eighth-grade boys' race, Helena Wisner was 18th in the sixth-grade girls' race and Gavin Denis was 25th in the seventh-grade boys' race.
The team also welcomed a couple of new riders to the starting line on Sunday. Steve Coffen finished eighth in the sixth-grade boys' race while Tyler Marquardt worked his way from the back of an 80-rider field to finish 35th in the eighth-grade boys' race.
"These are Lakeland riders, Steven and Tyler. They sat out the first three races of the season, just getting their feet wet," coach Flory said. "Steven finished only 38 seconds off the podium in the sixth-grade race, and those kids had to start at the back of the field because they had no standing. Tyler was starting in that No. 80 spot and moved all the way up to 35."
The season will come to an end Oct. 21 with the state championships on the proving grounds for the Trek Bicycle Corporation in Waterloo.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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