Well, how about that weather plot twist, Sharks! 80 was a bit unexpected, but as always, the theme of the day was overcoming adversity and rising to the occasion. Starting with the 6th, 7th, and 8th graders having to go from 2 to 3 laps on race morning. Life is often about overcoming obstacles, and I won’t deny I was a little concerned for our 6th graders—especially with the heat—but we rallied our middle school crowd with encouragement and confidence in their ability. 

One thing I always remind myself is that everyone is always going through something—this time of year is tough; we have proms, AP and Final exams, and concerts as well as so many Sharks in other sports. I’m so proud of the fantastic performances—our Sharks are dialing in their race day nutrition, hydration, warm-ups, and balancing all the hard work. It’s coming together. Others faced more adversity but never gave up—they kept moving forward, and THAT is something I am super proud of. That being said, please read below for some background in some of the results :) 

My favorite part of the day was the support for each other—I loved seeing all of our Sharks go support each other at each race. That is special.

Here are the race results!  **denotes first NICA Race

5th Grade Girls

• Liliana Jennings — 9th **

• Maya Marsh — 11th **

5th Grade Boys

• Benjamin Anderson - 4th

• Henry Kreso 14th

• Billy Sosville 17th

• Beckham Collins 24th

• Anderson Hager 27th

6th Grade Boys

• Logan Timmerman — 2nd

• Easton Hammer — 7th

• Henry Strong — 9th

• Eli McPartland — 16th **Eli’s first race, he handled not only race day nerves, but also the heat and the climbing. He showed up, he also was brave and we discontinued his race as that was what was best for him in that moment. I can’t wait to see (hopefully) what his next race entails. 

• Cillian Rudnick — 20th - I think this was the first time Cillian didn’t have blood streaming down his legs - but with a BIG crash earlier this week, I was very proud of him for even starting this weekend. While he regrouped after lap 1 in the feed zone, he chose to go back out for lap 2. After his second lap and some messages from the course (thanks Coach Eric!), he came back to the feed zone - we cooled him off, talked and as he wanted to go finish. We wanted to make sure HE was okay, and we sent him to the tent to recover. Sometimes the best thing is to NOT continue.

6th Grade Girls

• Elodie Brown — 2nd

• Clara Kennard — 4th

7th Grade Boys

• Theodore Kreso — 1st

• Liam Ryan — 8th

7th Grade Girls

• Maude Sosville — 3rd

• Alice Schilling — 6th

8th Grade Boys

• Ethan Brown — 9th

• William Marris — 21st

8th Grade Girls

• Hazel Bazzano — 2nd

• Mila Cameron — 8th

Mila has been juggling a lot lately, we knew she was unsure about starting the race, but she did. That’s a BIG step. If you aren’t a racer, there can be a lot of nerves (okay maybe just me). She started, she came into the feed zone to regroup - we chatted and I was so proud that she got back on her bike to ride it for HER. Unfortunately she got sick and pulled the plug (again the correct call) - but to get back on and go - that’s BIG.

Freshman Boys

• Noah Awald — 2nd

• Tristan Drachenberg — 6th

• Matthew Monroe — 11th

• Kai Greven — 13th

• Lennin Mastrangelo — 14th

• Charlie Obernesser — 20th **

Matthew, Kai, Lennin, and Charlie all continued to race and move forward all day despite some bike-related issues. It can be REALLY frustrating when your equipment lets you down and you can’t race to your potential. This was Charlie’s first race - in the staging area his chain broke - with quick thinking, he went back to the tent to see Coach Doug, they fixed it, and then he went and raced - well behind the entire field. He still moved up, raced hard and finished ahead of other competitors. These are the lessons our kids will carry with them - how tough they can be when things are out of their control.

Freshman Girls

• Mae Sosville — 5th

• Ada DeOrdio — 6th

Ada also worked hard, making the brave and correct decision to finish early. Wheezing is NOT a reason to keep going! Also, we wish her good luck today in her conference track meet! 

Sophomore Boys

• Francis Tolman — 1st

• Quintin Goodemote — 2nd

• Benjamin Walz — 4th

• Nathan Corfield — 8th

• Jude DeOrdio — 16th

Sophomore Girls

• Ella Komanecky — 6th

JV Girls

• Eva Rudnick — 9th

• Audrey Poole — 10th

Varsity Boys

• Eli Timmerman — 1st - and his FIRST Varsity win!

• Peter Del Pino — 10th

We welcome Peter back to the Sharks! We love he’s back racing with NICA and in the NICA community - he also got sick and sadly didn’t get to finish his race. 

If you made it this far, THANKS! We love that our sharks are balancing working hard each day while still having fun. This is KEY in creating a safe, fun environment where they ride bikes (hopefully) forever! 

Parents, thank you, thank you. Coaches, thank you! This weekend was smooth and efficient!