Middle School Boys C (32 racers)

Graham Copeland: As far as I know, this was Graham’s first time doing a mountain bike race,  but you would never know it – he was very calm and collected.  The kid next to him told him that he could always hop off and run up the hill if it got too hard.  Graham just replied with “We’ll see.” Troy told him to empty some of the water from his bottle since it was only one lap, but Graham gave a clear “I’m good.”  Turns out that this kid is a natural when it comes to racing.  He was in the top third of the group coming up the hill and finished 7th out of 32 racers!

Middle School Boys B (56 racers)

This was a big group of racers, and while Mitchell Hendricks raced in VAHS in the Spring, he is still quite new to racing.  Additionally, not only were there more competitors in this group, but he had to do TWO laps instead of just one.  As he came through to start his second lap, he was looking strong and ready to go again.  Mitchell finished in 36th place, but here’s the thing – his lap time from VAHS improved by 8 minutes!  Good effort, Mitchell!!

Out of our four boys in this category, James Thomas has been racing mountain bikes the longest, but this was his first NICA race.  He’s been following in his big brother’s footsteps and slowly climbing his way to the podium.  As with Mitchell, this was also his first time to race two laps instead of just one.  He knows that getting towards the front is imperative when getting up that hill, and he pushed hard to be in the top 15 going into the singletrack.  As he came around for his second lap, the look he gave was clear:  Do I seriously have to ride a second lap???  But he didn’t slow down at all and finished just out of top ten in 11th place!!  Stokesville is a climbing race, so he will need a lot of cheering to break into the top ten spot.  

Middle School Boys A (32 racers)

Since his first NICA race back in 2022, Jack Thomas has not finished outside of the top 10.  He’s used to being on the podium, and to be honest, we all expect it at this point.  That’s a lot of weight to carry heading into the most competitive middle school category.  In fact, these boys were posting times comparable to the top Freshman, Sophomore, and even JV boys!! He has been doing this a long time, so he knew what his strategy should be, and he looked strong as he crested the hill and entered the single-track sitting in 5th place.  He raced hard, but conceded his spot and ended up in 6th place.  This is not a concern, as we have seen him here before, and Stokesville will weed out the racers who don’t know how to climb.  Jack knows how to climb, and we will surely see him step up to the podium soon!

Middle School Girls B (21 racers)

This was Evelyn Prandi’s first NICA race, and no matter how hard one trains and prepares, the pre-race jitters can affect your plan.  Evie crested the hill ahead of her teammate, Brynn, but she was definitely struggling to turn the pedals over.  As she passed by us, we noticed that she could have gone several more gears up. We tried to yell at her to shift, but the cheering was too loud for her to hear us.  What impressed me was that,  as other racers got off and walked their bikes, even in those tough gears, Evie was having none of that.  It  takes an enormous amount of strength and power to get up that hill even in the easiest gear, so it’s clear that this girl is strong.   Although she was in front of quite a few riders at the top of the hill, the energy it took to get there was too much and she couldn’t hold on.  Evie finished in  20th, but let’s be clear:  once she gets the shifting dialed in, she is going to be rocketing past a lot of those racers!! 

Middle School Girls A (7 racers)

It’s hard to remember that Rachel Reynolds is still in Middle School.  She showed up to her first NICA race in 2022 as a poised and calm 6th grader.  That’s a facade.  She may be sweet off the course, but on the course, she’s a fierce competitor and her results show it. To prove my point, she decided to try her hand at Downhill racing this past Spring and pulled off 4th place overall in the DH series!  Every year she aims for the podium, and she had no intentions of changing that formula!  She crested the hill in first place, but she had her work cut out for her.  She was up against the Kramer sisters, and they are FAST.  While she stayed strong on her second lap, it wasn’t enough to hold off the sisters and she ultimately finished in 3rd place.  She wasn’t far off of 2nd place, so if we cheer hard enough at Stokesville, she might just move into that spot!!

Freshman Boys (66 racers)

This was the race I was looking forward to as we had the most racers from our team in this category. I got to know Jackson Hendricks at the VAHS races in the spring, where he raced for the first time.  None of us knew what middle school category he should be in, so he raced MS B and did right well, placing in the top 20 (out of 60+ boys). However, he is now a Freshman, and this is a much faster group of boys!  He was mid-pack coming up the hill, which is not easy in a pack of 66 fast racers!  Unlike many of the other competitors, he had a good cadence and managed to keep that cadence throughout the race, which allowed him to have a considerably faster second lap.  He was able to hold his position until the very end where he finished a very respectable 31st place. 

I do not coach the race team as I work with the kids who are still learning to mountain bike, so there are a few racers I am not familiar with.  Ryan Arthur is one of them, and since this was his first race with us,  I didn’t know what to expect.  I spied him about mid-pack coming up the hill, riding right next to Mitchell.  Ryan looked strong coming through the first lap, but he had fallen behind Mitchell quite a bit. It seemed that he still had energy to spare, though, because he was neck and neck with Mitchelll as they came out of the finish line.  He put the hammer down and just beat Mitchell by a nose to snag 30th!  Quite an exciting finish!

Rowan Clark is not new to racing.  In fact, I have a picture of him and Sardine when they were wee little ones racing at the Fishburn races.  He used to race XC, but gave it up several years ago and has been focusing his energy on racing Downhill…and growing taller (6’2” and still growing).  He is one of my favorite people to be around because he is one of the most positive, happy-go-lucky people I have ever met.  And have you seen his huge smile?? You can’t help but be in a good mood around that boy!  He decided to race NICA because he thought Sardine would be racing (oops!), but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Rowan had planned on riding his Enduro bike, which is very heavy, but since Sardine wasn’t racing, guess who got to ride Sardine’s brand new carbon-fiber full suspension XC bike?? That’s right!  Rowan raced last weekend at the Explore Park race on his Enduro bike.  He came in last place by a considerable amount, grinning and waving hello to everyone. Kristine McCormick said it was so fun to watch him having fun at that race! This bike was not going to help him THAT much.  Except it did.  He came up the hill in roughly 20th place, came through the first lap, grinning from ear to ear saying how much fun he was having, and finished in a very strong 17th place!  All he kept saying on the drive back home (I got the privilege of his company on the way back) was how much fun he had and how he’s going to actually start working harder at practice.

This was going to be Noah Johnstones race.  He had been training all summer, he had a new XC bike and his grandparents flew all the way from Scotland just to watch their grandson win the first race of the season.  Well, they probably had these tickets booked well before the NICA schedule came out, but I’m sure this is what they told Noah.  Nothing like a little extra pressure to get the adrenaline going, eh?  Sardine and I were standing on the hill when I thought I  noticed Noah’s father, Scott (yes, Scott from Scotland – his father apparently has a great sense of humor) across the field sitting on a bike and taking pictures.  Sardine noticed as well and said that it couldn’t be Scott because that looked like he was sitting on Noah’s bike, and Noah was already lined up and ready to race.  But it was Scott, and it WAS Noah’s bike.  It turns out that Noah had a flat right as he was about to be called up.  Scott jumped into action and put the race plate on his own bike and gave his bike to Noah to race.  And that is why Noah came in  6th place instead of 1st.  Less than 20 seconds separates him from the 3rd place winner.  Noah is a climber – so much so that none of the coaches can keep up with him, so Stokesville will most definitely be his for the taking!

Freshman Girls (17 racers)

Lila Nicely has put her stamp on the middle school races as a top contender, but this year, she moved up to the next level and with that move, upped her game as well.  She was hot on the wheels of the 3rd place girl and went into the single-track sitting in the 4th spot. She put in a huge effort on that first lap and pushed up into 3rd as she went into her second lap.  Unfortunately, there were two girls that were chomping at the bit and gave Lila a lot of competition.  As they came out of the woods, one of those girls pulled ahead, leaving Lila and the other girl to sprint for 4th.  Lila put everything into that sprint, but the other girl just barely edged her out.  Sometimes that happens.  She crossed the finish line in 5th place and is now aware of how these girls pace themselves.  She’s been doing this long enough that she will adjust her tactics and be ready for Stokesville!

Sophomore Boys (64 racers)

Originally, I didn’t think we had any Sophomore boys since I knew that Elliot Owens wasn’t racing.  I saw Sam Glenn at the race, but just assumed that he was there to support Rowan Clark and some of the other DH racers who were racing XC.  Then I saw his parents, and I realized that he was there to race.  This might seem like no big deal since he races Downhill and used to race cross country YEARS ago.  But I’ve known Sam a long time, and while he enjoys XC riding, he hasn’t enjoyed racing that style.  His focus is on Downhill racing.  I saw him periodically riding for fun with the race team at practice, and again, a lot of his DH teammates were also at the XC practices and he enjoys being around them.  I had no idea what to expect when he lined up as the only Sophomore boy from our team.  I was beside myself screaming when I saw him sitting in 10th as he crested the hill.  I knew he couldn’t keep that pace, but I also know that he is a very smart rider and is in good shape, so I was excited to see how this would unfold.  As I thought, he fell back a few spots to 16th on his first lap, but again, I knew that he had more in him.  That last burst of energy came at the end when he popped out of the woods hot on the wheels of two other racers.  He jumped and due to his fantastic cornering skills, never even braked on the hard turn and he sprinted across the finish in 14th place!  But the kid was SPENT, and while I know he can do well at Stokesville, I think he will need EVERYONE cheering him on to keep his energy level up.

Sophomore Girls (15 racers)

In 2022, Chloe Childers finished 9th in NICA Middle School Girls A at Miller School. In 2023, she moved up to Freshman, which is always a huge jump and finished 5th at Miller School (3rd overall).  She opted to focus on soccer in the Spring of 2024 and skipped VAHS, so she was revved up and ready to race (that was a lot of unintended alliteration there) at Miller. She had already moved into 4th as she came up the hill and into the single track, and she did not look the least bit tired!  She managed to pass another rider and was sitting in 3rd place as she headed into the 2nd lap.  Ava Leslie (Bray’s sister) was not far behind Chloe, so it was nerve-wracking to wait and see what happened in the forest.  Chloe emerged out of the forest still sitting in 3rd place and finished just 30 seconds behind the 2nd place finisher!  

JV Boys (78 racers)

Darren Delby is new to the team and new to racing.  I did not get to spend time with him before the race, so I apologize for having very little information on him.  What I can say is that he was up against the largest group competing at Miller School.  There was a huge pileup shortly after the start, and Darren got caught behind it.  That’s tough to come back from a normal pileup, but when there are 78 racers to contend with, and it’s on the steepest hill in NICA, well, it was a rough way to start his mountain bike racing season.  He was one of the last ones to come up the hill, which meant that his new focus was just to pick off the racers in front of him.  We have excellent coaches and a very supportive team, so I know he had been training hard.  Each lap (3 LAPS!!!!) he was further and further ahead until he crossed the finish line in 59th place.  That may not seem like much until you put it in perspective:  first mountain bike race, caught behind a large pileup while trying to climb a hill, and passing roughly 15 riders.  Well done, Darren!!

JV Girls (22 racers)

This was definitely an exciting race!!  Georgia, Sophie Nicely, and Sophie Childers are all very good riders, and because of the nature of this particular category, I am going to write this summary a little differently.  Sophie Childers also decided to focus on soccer this last Spring just like her  younger sister Chloe did, so it was her first XC race in a year (she won 1st overall in 2023!).  Does that mean she hasn’t been racing?  Not at all.  This young lady joined the Gravity team and raced her first Downhill series in the fall and rocked it!!  Still, I wasn’t expecting her to be in second place as she crested the hill and headed into the singletrack!  Just a few spots behind her in roughly the 8th spot was Georgia Miller, who is also a star wrestler!  Georgia finished second overall for VAHS this past Spring, so we knew this was going to be a tight race.  As she raced towards the singletrack, she managed to pass another racer and moved into 7th heading into the woods.  Sitting in 10th going into the forest  was Sophie Nicely, who had ACL surgery last year. Shortly after she was given the all-clear to ride, she raced in the VAHS this past Spring and pulled off an impressive 5th place finish overall!  She has since been focusing on travel Volleyball and hasn’t been able to make it to many XC practices. Coming into the second lap, we were all screaming our heads off because all three girls were racing together:  Georgia had moved up to 4th, Sophie Childers had dropped to 5th, and Sophie N. had picked off enough racers to sit right behind Sophie C. in 6th place.  As they popped out of the woods for their final sprint to the finish, it was Sophie Nicely (looking as peaceful and unruffled as always) who had jumped into 4th place, followed by Georgia five seconds back in 5th place, and Sophie Childers five seconds behind her in 6th place.  OHHHHH…Stokesville is going to be exciting to watch for this category!!!

Varsity Boys (28 racers)

This category was a foregone conclusion that no one had a chance at winning other than Henry Schumm.  This time, however, there was a new competitor who let Henry know that he was the new King.  This will be good for Henry and he will no doubt be training hard to have a response.  But Henry now races for his high school, North Cross, so our focus was on our RSC racers.

Drew Brislin, unfortunately, was pretty sick, but didn’t want to miss the first race.  His hope was that he would at least finish so that he would get some points.  However, four laps was a lot to ask of someone who is feeling pretty rotten, and he ultimately had to pull out of the race (DNF).

I always make it a point to speak a little to Bray Leslie before each race because I don’t see him very much since he lives in Blacksburg.  He used to race for NRV (his sister, Ava Leslie, still does), but he felt that RSC would give him the training he wanted.  While he is a very polite and engaging young man, there has always been an air of anxiety whenever I conversed with him at the races.  This race, however, he seemed so much more relaxed and confident in his training.  I spoke to his mom while he was racing, and she said that his whole attitude has changed and he seems to be a lot more accepting of where he is in his fitness level.  He had some health scares in the Spring while racing VAHS, but you would never know it by the 8th place spot coming up over the hill!!  He fell back to 11th on the first lap, but continued to look so strong! While other racers started looking haggard with each lap, Bray did not seem to be slowing down a bit, and in fact, kept up the same pace for the entire four laps! He finished just 10 seconds off of a top ten finish in 11th place!

Varsity Girls (15 racers)

Last, but certainly not least, was Ally Burrow.  For those of you who don’t know the history of the Burrow family, they are an extraordinary family who have had an extraordinary journey.  Ally’s youngest sister, Meg, was born with Cerebellar Hypoplasia, which is incredibly rare. She attended many of Ally and her sister Teagan’s races, and even when she was tired, she was always excited to see her big sisters racing.  One month ago, Meg moved on from this Earth, and the Burrow’s life has been changed forever.  We love the Burrows, and it means the world to us that Ally and Teagan continued to show up to practices despite the sorrow they were experiencing.  Seeing them at this race without Meg was bittersweet as we were so happy they were there, but Meg’s absence was heartbreaking.  Ally was supposed to be racing JV, but she had won the Sophomore category in VAHS by such a large gap that she decided to challenge herself and moved up to Varsity.  She’s been through so much, and we were all just so happy to see the family here that it really didn’t matter how well she did.  She crested the hill sitting in the 10th spot, but she didn’t look as tired as the others around her.  She came through her first lap in 7th place and racing hard, and I wondered if she would be able to keep that pace.  She dropped back a little as she came through the second lap in 9th place, but still looked like she had some energy left in the tank.  She left it all out on the course as she came across the finish line in 10th place – impressive for moving ahead a category and given everything she has recently been through.  We know that Meg was riding with her the whole time!