NICA 2025 Monticello High School

Monticello high School recap from coach liesebet

Our second race was to be at Stokesville, but the weather caused it to be postponed, so Monticello was the next on the list. My re-cap of it was based on my own observation “posts” if you will: Just after the start, the racers hit a paved hill that takes them into the field where they pass through the finish line and around the fencing. At the end of the field, they are “bottlenecked” into a single track going off-camber up a grass hill and into the forest. I would then run over to the other side of the course where, if I got there quickly enough, I could observe them pop out of the forest for a few seconds before disappearing again for quite some time. They would come out again and start the ascent up the paved switchback before going into a steep drop with a sharp curve at the bottom where they disappear from view. I would then run back over to the finish line where they would, once more, come up the paved hill they started on and finish, or, ride through the finish line to start their next lap.

Of note with this course: The pre-ride is misleading as the riders always feel like it’s a good, fun course. Racing this course turns it into a whole other monster and humbles even the fittest rider as it’s just a series of short, punchy climbs. As one parent noted, don’t set up the team tent at the finish line because that’s where the racers puke when they’re finished.

!!! Big thanks to Brittany and Justin for making sure all of our racers were ready at the lineup !!!

** Like my last recap, I have written it in the order of the race and titled each category in this manner:

Category (# of laps) # of racers

MS Boys C (1) 26

Alex Clark was our starter for the Monticello race, and it was not a good day for this young man. He hadn’t been feeling at his best, but decided to try and race anyway. He finished 16th at Miller, so that was his starting spot for this race. His start looked strong and he was sitting mid-pack when he hit the pavement climb. By the time he got to the bottleneck, he had moved up to 13th and was looking good as he disappeared into the forest. By the time I made it over to the switchback, his dad, Mike, was already there looking a bit concerned as many of the racers had passed and still no Alex. Once the 5th grade boys started coming through, we knew something wasn’t right. Mike went back to the starting area and found out that Alex had hit a rut on a berm and went down pretty hard. He was somewhat banged up, with some good-sized scrapes and bumps. Given how he had been feeling that morning, he was in no shape to get up and continue racing.

They left shortly afterwards, but I heard from Mike the next day that he was doing well enough to want to get on his bike again, which is the best way to get past the mental hurdle of a crash. The bad news is that Alex finished this race with a DNF, dropping him to 26th overall. The good news is that it still counts as racing, so if he makes the next two races, he will get bonus points for racing all four races!

5th grade boys (1) 26

We were about 30 minutes away from call-ups when we noticed that the Childers brothers had not arrived to the race yet. This meant that Forest Childers was not going to get a chance to pre-ride the course, which means that he would have to race “blind”. They showed up shortly afterwards and Justin took Forest for a quick warmup on part of the course. While waiting in the call-up area, I went over the race strategy so that he would have his best chance of racing to his full potential. He heard the assignment and was towards the front of the pack when he hit the pavement. At the bottleneck, he was sitting in 9th, well out of bottleneck slowdowns! At the switchback climb, Forest was still sitting in 9th and looking strong up the climb, and never even slowed down into the drop. Because I was waiting for Henry and Kahlil, I was not able to be at the finish line for Forest, but he must have had a strong finish because he managed to pass another racer and finished in 8th place! He is currently sitting in 8th overall, which means he’ll be starting near the front in the next race!

While this was Henry Thomas’s first time racing at Monticello, this was not his first time at the race, so he was already aware of how important it was to get to the front quickly. This was easier said than done as he was starting in the back half in 18th place. He was still in the back half as he hit the pavement, but moved up to mid-pack at the bottleneck, which helped him stay ahead of some of the less experienced kids that would have slowed him down. He managed to pass quite a few racers and was sitting in 11th as he crested the switchback. There was another racer on his tail, so Henry didn’t bother slowing down as he took the drop. He lost a little control and had to brake hard as he skidded around the corner. He was just coming up the last hill into the finish line and had clearly given it everything he had. He crossed the line in 12th place, giving him an overall of 14th!

Due to Kahlil Ellis’s flat at Miller, he had to start at the back of the lineup. Because he is new to racing, I gave him the same strategy talk as I did Forest, and then just left him to chill out. What I didn’t mention to him was that he was going to have a much tougher time moving past the slower kids before the bottleneck since he was starting at the back. He did manage to pass quite a few and was starting to catch up to Henry, but before he could, he was held up at the bottleneck by the slower riders. So while Henry was able to keep going, Kahlil had to wait, which set him back quite a bit. At the switchback, he was still quite a ways back, but the kid riding strong and not even breathing hard as crested the hill. He flew down the drop so smooth and perfect, and sped off around the corner and out of sight. He still seemed to have some energy left as he crossed the finish line in 21st place, putting him in 24th overall.

middle school girls B (1) 13

I told Brynn Greene before her race that Brynn rhymes with “win” and asked if that’s what she was going to do. She just rolled her eyes and said nothing. She plays it so cool, but we all know that girl is incredibly competitive. She was starting in 6th place, which put her in the second row. By the time she hit the pavement, she was in third and flying up that hill. She was still sitting in third when she raced through the bottleneck area and disappeared into the woods. When I saw her again at the switchback, she was sitting in sixth and looking like she was fading a bit. She crested the hill and had the fifth place racer in her sight as she sailed smoothly down the drop to chase down the next girl. As she came up the final hill, it was clear she had given the chase all she had and there was nothing left. Brynn finished in 6th, but was only 7 seconds behind 5th, so there’s an excellent chance that she could podium in the next race. She is currently sitting in 5th overall which means she will be on the front line at the next race!

MS Boys A (2) 29

Cole Bandy started the race in 15th, but by the time he hit the pavement, he was pushing hard in tenth place. He held that spot as he came flying through the bottleneck, and racing so strong up the grass hill! When I next saw him, he was looking pretty rough as he came over the hill of the switchback in sixteenth place. However, he is an experienced Enduro rider now, the drop seemed to reinvigorate him and he sped off around the corner. I was a bit worried, though, because he still had another lap to go. He managed to dig deep and push a little harder on his second lap and moved up one spot, crossing the line in the 15th spot, which keeps him in 15th overall. The surprising thing is that Cole has been focusing more on Enduro than XC lately, and still managed to improve his time by more than five minutes from last years race! Good effort, Cole!!

ms boys b (2) 46

In the last race, James Thomas had a commanding lead for most of the race, but another racer was starting to chip away at that lead and managed to finish only fifteen seconds behind James. This meant that James would have to get to the front and take that lead right away as there were too many spots on the course where a racer could be passed if someone was close enough. He jumped in front and was flying up the pavement hill with the number two racer hot on his wheel. Through the bottleneck and up the hill they raced, with James desperately trying to shake his competitor. One thing we have always told our son when he was racing is that you never want to be in the leader position too early because, not only does that put the target on your back, but it also means you have to work twice as hard to maintain that spot. James learned that in this race. By the time he got to the switchback hill, he had dropped back to second and was about ten seconds behind the new leader, but he wasn’t giving up. He flew down the drop and around the corner. I wasn’t at the switchback when he came through the second time, but I was at the finish line when he came up the final hill. He had nothing left and had pushed his limit. He held onto 2nd place, and is now tied for 1st in the overall. James’ training has absolutely paid off because he improved his time by SEVEN minutes from last year and went from 26th to 2nd!!! It looks like the next race will be quite the battle for first!

I know everyone likes to see their own recap, but the real epic battle was, however, happening between Reade Lynch, Jack Childers, and Mitchell Hendricks, and it’s just best if it’s recapped how it happened. In the last race, they finished 12th, 11th, and 9th, respectively, so that was their starting place in this race. When the horn blew, those boys shot off the starting line and at the pavement, Reade was sitting in 11th, Jack in 10th, and Mitchell in 9th. Because there were so many racers in this category, it was imperative that they hold onto that front end until they got through the bottleneck. They did – Reade was still 11th, but Jack had passed a racer and was sitting in 9th, and Mitchell had also made a pass to 8th. I caught a glimpse of them as they popped out of the forest before disappearing again when I was at the switchback. Jack was now leading Mitchell with Reade right behind. As they came up the switchback, Mitchell was riding hard up the hill and had moved ahead of Jack and was sitting in 7th place at the drop. Reade managed to pass another rider and was coming up the hill in 10th. Jack struggled on the climb and fell back to 11th, but he picked up the pace a bit as he headed into the drop. All three boys took the drop perfectly and I hoped that they would be able to keep up their pace through the second lap. Reade and Jack were looking a bit spent, but Mitchell looked like he still had some gas in the tank. Coming up the last hill into the finish line,Mitchell was definitely tired, but he had another racer chasing him down, so he pushed hard and finished just off podium in 6th place! In looking at his time from last year’s race, he improved by over SIX MINUTES!!! Reade wasn’t too far behind and it was clear he had worked hard to keep his10th place spot because he was completely spent as he crossed the line. Jack looked quite strong coming up that last hill and into the finish in 12thplace. To put it in perspective how close this race was for these three boys, 6th through 12th place were separated by exactly one minute! Mitchell is now sitting in 7th overall, Reade is in 10th overall, and Jack is in 11th overall!

Sophmore Boys (2) 58

Jackson Hendricks does not come across as a fierce competitor. He’s laid back, easy to converse with, and a big brother to all of the littles on the team. This character may be his secret weapon because I don’t think his competition have been taking him seriously. He started the race in 6th place, which put him on the second row. He had a solid start and was still sitting in the front pack as he hit the pavement. He had dropped a few spots to tenth as he came through the bottleneck and managed to miss the bottleneck happening behind him. When he started his climb up the switchback, he had moved into 8th and was looking to move past the racer that was right in front of him. One lap to go, and he didn’t look like he was slowing down. He did, in fact, manage to pass that competitor to come up the last hill with a very strong finish of 7th place! In fact, rather than slowing down on the second lap as was the case with most racers, he kept the exact same pace throughout the race! Jackson is currently sitting in 6thoverall.

I am so looking forward to watching Ryan Arthur race Downhill in the Spring. I wonder if he will smile and have as much fun bombing down a mountain as he does racing XC. It started off cold in the morning but was quite hot by the time his race rolled around, and yet he insisted on wearing his downhill pants and long-sleeve enduro jersey. He was pretty confident that he would be just fine, so who am I to judge? He started this race in the 26th spot – not a horrible place, but certainly still leaving a lot of chance for getting caught in the bottleneck or a wreck. He shot off the starting line and was not far behind Jackson when he hit the pavement. He had dropped a few spots by the time he came through the bottleneck, but he had moved up enough to ride through before the racers behind him were bottlenecked. He was still looking strong as he came up the switchback, sitting around 20th place, which surprised me because I expected his pants and enduro jersey would have been affecting his performance. He gave us a big smile and yelled something about having fun as he flew down into the drop. He still had another lap to go, so we all hoped that he would be able to keep up his spirits. When we next saw Ryan, he was sprinting with everything he had to try and catch the racer in front of him, but just couldn’t quite get there before the finish line. He did manage to improve his time by almost four minutes, which is incredible given how hot he must have been! Ryan put in a fantastic effort and snagged the 22nd spot, giving him an overall of 24th.

freshman boys (2) 57

Once again, the Thomas family decided to stay the night in Charlottesville rather than wrangle all five kids to leave before dawn. Unfortunately, they were unable to get the pre-ride in the day before, but Jack Thomas has been racing this course for years, and in all types of weather (there was even snow on the ground one year!). He was starting on the front line in 5th, so his chances at moving up were going to be good as long as he raced the way he has been training. He was still sitting in fifth as he hit the pavement and blazed up the hill, but had moved up to fourth at the bottleneck and kept up a fast pace as he went up the grass field and into the forest. As he came up the switchback, he was in fourth, but still racing hard and looking to pass the two riders directly in front of him. He headed down the drop right on the wheel of the racer in front of him and looked to be overtaking him as he rounded the corner. I had no worries about his fitness level and how he would do on his second lap. What I hoped was that he was able to hold off any competitors looking to overtake him. As we waited for him to finish, we saw the first place racer come through and hoped we would see Jack next. We did! And he was racing up the hill like it was a flat finish! He took 2nd place with no one behind him for almost a minute! Well done and well earned, Jack!! He is currently sitting in 3rd overall.

Our sleeper, Grant Clayman, started the race in the second row in 7th place. In the last race, he started towards the back of the field since he had no experience racing and managed to move up to 7th. I was excited to see what he could do when starting closer to the front. He was just as relaxed and affable as he was in his first race, but I expect he must have been a bit nervous now that he realized he had some serious race skills. When the horn went off, he immediately attached himself to Jack’s wheel. Given the fact that Jack has been racing for several years now, that was a smart move. He was sitting on Jack’s wheel in fifth as they flew through the bottleneck. When I next saw Grant, he was coming up the switchback in sixth, but working hard to catch the fifth place racer (who wasn’t Jack anymore) as he headed down into the drop. One more lap to go, and these boys were setting a very fast pace! As I watched each racer finish and counted off the podium spots, I was trying to let myself down easy since it was doubtful that Grant would podium on only his second race. He’s a solid rider, but racing this course is a whole other monster! And yet…he came speeding up the last hill and across the finish line looking ready to go a third lap! Grant took the 5th place podium spot, which also has him sitting 5thoverall!

In the last race, Jason Bruce placed 17th, which was an impressive spot considering he had never raced before, especially when you factor in a solid crash as well! I was excited to see how he would do at a race where he kept both tires on the ground, but Monticello is a tough race and I don’t know where his strengths lie. His start was strong and he hit the pavement holding his position and then starting to move up. At the bottleneck, the riders were packed in, trying to get ahead of each other before hitting the singletrack, but Jason was only a few places behind Grant, so still holding strong. I got a short glimpse of him near the switchback as he popped out of the forest and then back in, and he looked to be sitting in 12th place. That’s where the course begins to test the racers. He was riding hard as he came up the switchback, but had dropped a couple of spots to 14th and was looking pretty tired. I managed to get back to the starting area in time to see Jason begin his second lap in 16th place and looking pretty spent. I noticed, though, that all of the racers coming through after him were looking just as exhausted, so I was hopeful he would keep or improve his placement. As he came up the last hill into the finish line, his face was red and he had certainly given it his all, and kept his 16th place, which moves him into 16th overall! Such a great effort for this new racer!

As noted in the Miller School recap, Arthur Lugar has not been riding much in the last year due to focusing on school. He had started at the back in that race and managed to move up past almost half the riders to 29th, which was where he started this time – middle of the pack, which can be a very difficult spot due to the different speeds and skill levels surrounding him. When I spoke to him before the race, he said his week had not gone well and talked to me a bit about what was going on. He didn’t feel like this would be a good race for him, so rather than tell him that he’ll do great, I just encouraged him to listen to his body and do what he thought was best. He showed up, and that was a good start. Speaking of starts, he flew off the start line and was making his way past several riders as he hit the pavement. At the bottleneck, he had continued to chip away at the racers in front of him and managed to stay just ahead of the group behind him that were, in fact, getting bottlenecked. When I got to the switchback area and saw him pop out and then back into the forest, he looked to be sitting in 20th place, but he still had the climb and a second lap to go. He was slowly gaining on his teammates as he came up the switchback in 19th place, but his drop was a bit out of control and sketchy due to the speed he entered. When he came up the hill into the start of his second lap, he had slowed down considerably and was holding his side. I found out afterwards that he had crashed and his back had landed on a log, causing significant pain throughout the second lap. I encouraged him to take it easy and just ride the second lap. When Arthur came up that last hill for the second time to head into the finish line, he was sitting in the 30th place, but he sprinted all out and would have given the leader a run for his money had he been competing! In looking at last years time, his first lap was only 30 seconds slower, which is incredible given the lack of training he had for a year as well as how he felt starting this race. He is currently in 29th overall, but I think he has a very good chance of breaking top 20!

varsity girls (3) 14

At the Miller School race, the Varsity girls had eleven racers, which included some of the fastest racers in the country. This time, there were three additional racers, one of which is nationally ranked and another is an international pro downhiller. Sophie Childers is an incredibly sweet and lovely young lady, but she does not shy away from a challenge. Remember, she chose to move into the Varsity Girls category specifically to pit herself against these incredibly fast racers. Once more, she knew she had her work cut out for her and wanted to see what she could accomplish. When the horn went off, she quickly moved herself up to fifth when she hit the pavement, but the race was hot and she was sitting in eighth at the bottleneck, though still right in the middle of all of the fast riders. By the time she got to the switchback, she had dropped to ninth, but she needed to conserve her energy because this was only her first lap and she still had two more laps after this.

The next time I saw Sophie, she was heading into her third lap still sitting in ninth, looking tired, but she was riding like she had a little left in the tank. I was thinking that she would be able to keep that spot because the next competitor was almost 30 seconds behind her, but in looking at the lap times, that competitor kicked it into high gear and improved her lap time by almost a minute. Sophie could not have known that would happen as everyone out there was suffering on their third lap. It looks like she tried to respond because her third lap was faster than her second, but ultimately, she finished in 10th place, which she should be very proud of given the level of competition she was up against! She is currently sitting in 6th place overall, so she will need all of our cheering to break into that overall podium spot!!

jv girls (2) 15

At Miller School, Lila Nicely and Chloe Childers battled back and forth for their fourth and fifth positions. Ultimately, Lila started in fourth and Chloe in fifth for this race. They both had excellent starts and each had moved up one spot to third and fourth on the pavement, respectively. As they raced through the bottleneck, they were still in the same placements and eyeballing the first place girl. When I reached the switchback area to watch their quick little appearance before popping back into the woods, Chloe was now leading Lila, who was sitting right on her wheel. They continued in that order as they began the climb up the switchback, but then Chloe made a move and picked up the pace considerably as she headed into the drop. Lila could not respond in kind, but there was another racer closing in on her as they headed into the drop, and I feared that Lila would be overtaken.

I stayed to see how Rachel was doing and wasn’t able to see either girl enter into their second lap, but I was there for the finish. Chloe was looking like she could have gone for a third lap as she came across the finish line in 3rd place, and we were all relieved to see Lila come up the hill only five seconds back and looking strong as she took the 4th place spot! Of note, while the other racers in front of them had slower second laps, both Chloe and Lila improved their times on their second laps! Lila is holding the 4th place overall spot and Chloe is TIED for 2nd overall! Nail-biter!! Juli Black has so many friends in this community, and I know they were missing her at this race, but she had other obligations – Homecoming (she wasn’t missing THAT!). This means that she is now currently in 19th overall.

freshman girls (2) 6

At the Miller School race, Rachel Reynolds was caught off-guard by a tiny little racer who could have been Speedy Gonzales. This race, I could tell that Rachel now knew her competitor a little better and wasn’t going to let her have the win that easily. She stayed right on her competitors wheel as they sped up the pavement and into the bottleneck, with Rachel staring hard at the tiny racer in front of her. I was disappointed but not surprised when I saw the first place girl flying up the switchback with Rachel nowhere to be seen. Rachel, for all of her laid-back attitude and easy smile, is an absolutely fierce competitor and was not going to give up easily. She started her second lap looking tired, but still with some fire left in her eyes as she picked up her pace and continued racing hard. While Speedy Gonzales slowed down on the second lap, Rachel managed to improve her second lap by twenty seconds and finished easily in 2nd place with no one anywhere close to challenge her. She is currently in 2nd overall.

jv boys (3) 77

Once more, I will need to do a group recap with Rowan Poelzing and Noah Johnstone due to how close they are as competitors. They finished 11th and 12th, respectively in the last race, so that put both of them on the third line at the start. Rowan’s strength seems to be endurance while Noah’s seems to be long, arduous climbs, so it was going to be a toss-up as to how these two boys would finish. The start was fast and furious with all of the boys in a group as they hit the pavement, and Rowan and Noah right in the thick of it. By the time they got to the bottleneck, Rowan was sitting in 10th with Noah not too far behind in 16th, and both boys barely missed the massive bottleneck happening behind them. As they popped out and back into the forest at the bottom of the switchback area, Rowan had moved into 9th and Noah into 14th, and they were both still riding hard. They each had dropped a spot to 10th and 15th as they came barrelling up the switchback and into the drop.

As a side note, Noah has always been a great climber, but has recently started working on his downhill skills and it showed – he made that drop like a pro! Both boys still had more than two laps to go, and their fitness levels are excellent, so I knew this race was far from over. When I saw them again, they were heading into their third lap with Rowan in 9th and Noah in 13th, and both were looking like they could definitely go hard on their las lap. Noah did just that and picked up the pace to try to catch Rowan, improving his third lap by 30 seconds! But alas, Rowan had put too much of a gap between them for Noah to bridge, and Rowan finished with a solid 9th place. Noah battled hard at the finish line with the tenth place competitor, but after putting in an incredible effort on his last lap, he just barely missed the top ten finish and came through in 11th place. Such a fantastic race for both of these young men! Rowan is currently in 10th overall and Noah is in 12th overall. In the last race, Elliot Owens had to start at the very back of the field of 84 JV racers, and while placing 51st doesn’t seem like a big deal, it needs to be noted that in order for him to get that place, he had to pass 30+ racers! So that was his starting place for this race, which still meant that he was towards the back of the field. This also means that, when the first quarter of the field had passed the pavement climb, he was still barely getting started. So it was no surprise that by the time he got to the bottleneck, everything had come to a standstill and his chances of moving ahead were significantly reduced. I was waiting at the switchback and had expected it to be awhile before I saw him climbing up the hill, but he crested the hill sitting in the 39th spot and looking so strong! He still had more than two laps to go, which meant that anything could happen. I was at the finish line when Elliot came through it to start his third and final lap. He had dropped back quite a bit and was definitely looking a less powerful. It was not an easy final lap for him, and although he did his best to pass the racer in front of him heading into the finish, he had nothing left and crossed the line in58th place, which puts him in 52nd overall. This course has very few spots for passing, and those spots are typically on an uphill climb. Elliot is a big guy, so passing on singletrack was very limited for him. The next race venue should be a better fit for him and his racing skills!

Double D!! Actually, that’s what everyone USED to call Darren Delby, but I did not hear anyone call him that at this race. Regardless, he was unable to attend the first race, so where did that place him at the lineup? Yep, the very back. And so it was that Darren had some significant effort ahead of him to move himself up. However, when I spoke with him before the race, he seemed unperterbed about his predicament and said he was super excited about racing! So the horn sounded and Rowan and Noah were off. Eventually Elliot was off. And Darren sat and waited until the group moved forward before he could start his actual race. Needless to say, he got stuck in the bottleneck and, once more, had to stop and wait for 50+ riders to move into single file onto the grassy hill. Things looked bleak for Darren. As he crested the switchback, he was still towards the back of the racers, but he was moving fast and continuing to pick them off one by one with more than two laps to go. As he headed into the third lap, he was creeping closer to Elliot, and while he looked somewhat tired, he looked like he had enough energy to keep chipping away at the racers in front. With energy to spare, he crossed the finish line in 48th place! That means he passed close to 30 racers!! Amazing attitude and even more amazing effort! He is currently sitting in 75th overall, but if he rides this strong in the next race, we should see a big jump in that overall score.

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