From Coach Liesebet
There were several homecoming events happening that evening, as well as closing weekend at Snowshoe, so we missed some of our racers. The good news is that the racers get to drop their worst race. Additionally, if a racer attends all four races, they get bonus points as well!
As noted in the previous recap, Woodberry is the equalizer for all of the climbing at Stokesville. This course is flat and twisty. There are numerous double-tracks and open spaces for passing, but once on the singletrack, it is very hard to pass a competitor. The trails are tight and twisty, so think: Sprint, Brake, Turn…again and again and again. The race starts on a slight uphill on grass which doesn’t seem too difficult until you have to start a race on it! These grassy uphill starts are done on purpose as it slows the racers down, reducing the chance of crashes. It also helps to spread the field out before they get into the singletrack. Once they leave the grass, they get onto a gravel road for roughly 400 meters until they disappear around a bend, so we don’t know what place they are in when entering the singletrack until they emerge from the forest as they head to the finish line. Due to the recent heavy rains, there was a tricky turn that had become a mud pit and needed to be navigated carefully as it was very slick. The best plan was to swing wide just before the mud pit, then turn hard and ride straight through it which allowed the racer to continue onto a straight trajectory when they hit dry ground again. Most riders tended to slow down as they turned while riding through the mud, which caused a bit of slipping and sliding. Then it’s a sprint to the finish (or heading into their next lap). As a reminder, I included two numbers for each category – the first is how many racers showed up to this race and the second is how many racers signed up for that category in total.
Graham Copeland started in 8th place, but had a rough start and lost some ground, falling back to 18th. However, once he got going, he managed to pass a couple of racers and was sitting in 16th as he disappeared around the bend. As I mentioned, it’s very difficult to pass anyone on the singletrack, so he was still sitting in 16th as he came down the grass to the finish line. Given the fact that he placed in or near the top ten in the first two races, which required more climbing and technical skill, Monticello will be a great race for him! He fell back 3 spots overall to 11th place, but he will have a better race at Monticello, and this placement will move up!
Cole Bandy was not able to make this race, so he is now in 33rd overall. However, he gets to drop this race score, so hopefully he will move back up after Monticello.
Mitchell Hendricks started the race in 37th place and was looking pretty nervous at the start. He was about midpack heading into the bend at the end of the gravel road, so it was hard to know where he was when he went into the singletrack. As he came out of the forest, he was sitting in 30th place. He navigated the mud pit perfectly which allowed him to take off as soon as he hit dry ground. Because of this, he was able to pass five racers as he headed into the next lap! That may have gassed him a bit as he ultimately finished in 29th place, but it really let us know that he knows how to strategize and when to kick it in gear. The endurance will come as he continues to train. Mitchell is currently sitting in 29th overall.
James Thomas started this race in 12th place, and looked ready to race. He had a fantastic start and flew up the grassy hill onto the gravel road. He was sitting in tenth place as he rounded the bend, and when he came out of the forest, he was in 8th place with other riders hot on his heels. As he rounded the corner into the second lap, he misjudged his trajectory and narrowly missed running into the fence. This allowed his competitors to pass him, so he started his lap in tenth place again. As in his first lap, he managed to move up again and finished the race in 8th place, and less than TWO SECONDS behind his competitor! I want to make note that James raced this course in VAHS in 2023 and in just over a year, he has improved significantly as each of his laps was almost two minutes faster than the ONE lap he did in VAHS – great effort, James!! He is currently sitting in 9th overall.
Arthur Lugar has had a pretty amazing first season of racing. He started this race in 4th place, which put him on the front line. In all of my years of going to these races, I have never seen a rider in their first year of racing be so relaxed. He was just chatting away to his competitors and acting like there wasn’t about to be a mad dash about to happen! Unfortunately, when the horn went off, he had a slow start and fell back quite a bit. That must have lit a fire under him because he managed to move back into fifth place before rounding the bend. He continued pushing hard before entering the single track because he was third coming out of the woods and into his second lap, but he had two competitors right on his heels! Nothing like a little competition to motivate you to ride hard because Arthur’s second lap was FASTER than his first!!! He managed to hold onto that 3rd place spot as he crossed the finish line, and is currently sitting in 5th overall. This may seem odd since he did better than his last race, but other competitors may have had a combination of better placements.
Middle School Boys A (27, 34)
Jack Thomas was one of my first “students” when I began coaching, and from the beginning, he has always looked to improve. In fact, I can recall a time when the older boys were going to go ride on their own on Mill Mountain rather than practice with us, and young Jack took off with them. Don’t worry, Meg was coaching with us as well and was ok with it. Not only did he hang with the big boys, but they were quick to say that he was ahead of them most of the time! Jack is a climber! He has been on the podium numerous times, but has yet to win. Spoiler alert – he’s still chasing that goal. He was sitting in 4th heading into this race, which meant he was on the front line for the start. Meg said that he ALWAYS has problems with his starts and then he has to play catch-up. I went over to him and told him that he’s at the front, so he has no one in front blocking him. I told him that he’s been doing this long enough that he knows how to start.
No excuses – just clip in and go! And that’s exactly what he did!!! He exploded out of the start and rode hard up that grass hill. He did get passed on the gravel by a couple of racers and rounded the bend in 6th place. He was with a group of two other boys and they continued to switch places throughout the race. He ultimately finished in 7th place, just three seconds ahead of 8th place and three seconds behind 6th place – it was VERY close! This is not in any way a reflection of Jack’s racing fitness. Quite the opposite, in fact. He is a climber and an endurance athlete, so to do so well on a flat, sprinting course is fantastic. As a good reference, he would have placed in the top 5 if he were racing Sophomore Boys! Additionally, I took a look at his times from the 2023 VAHS race, and he has improved his time by almost 3 minutes!! Jack is currently sitting in 6th place overall.
As I was waiting for the gun to go off for this group of girls, I was struck by how small both of our riders are in comparison to their competitors. This doesn’t mean that they aren’t able to hang with the bigger girls, but it does mean that they have to work harder to keep up or even pass. And so they did. Brynne Green started in 15th place and had a powerful start that propelled her into 13th by the time she hit the gravel. She passed another racer somewhere along the course because she popped out of the woods in 12th place with another racer hot on her heels! It was a sprint to the finish, and Brynne managed to hold off her competitor to secure the 12th place spot, which moves her up one place to 14th overall!
My first time meeting Evelyn Prandi was just over a year ago at the 2023 VAHS Woodberry race. She was spunky and full of personality and was just getting her feet wet with racing. She is now a little older and wiser, and because she has raced this course before, she knew what to expect. She started in 19th place, which put her at the very back – a tough place to start because no matter how strong you are, if the riders in front are slower, you can’t explode out of the start. This wasn’t an issue for Evie. She took off and maneuvered around several riders and was looking strong as she rounded the bend. When she came out of the forest, she was riding fast and hard, and didn’t slow down until she crossed the finish line in 17th place. This moves her up one spot to 18th overall. I want to note, though, that Evie has been training hard and she improved her time from her VAHS race by almost a minute! If that doesn’t sound like a lot, try sprinting for a full minute, and you will quickly realize how much of an improvement that is. Well done, Evie!
Middle School Girls A 7 total
Rachel Reynolds made it clear which kind of cycling she prefers, and that’s Downhill at Snowshoe. As I mentioned, it was the closing weekend at Snowshoe, which meant that there was no more downhill biking after that weekend as Snowshoe will be transitioning to ski season. This dropped Rachel back to 6th overall, though that may improve after the Monticello race.
The Freshman Boys had the largest category this year, so to have all of our boys finish in the top half is a testament to their fitness as well as our awesome race coaches! Jackson Hendricks started in 33rd place, which is right smack dab in the middle. If you recall in my previous recaps, being mid-pack or further back in a group as large as this means there is a big chance of getting caught in a pileup. Luckily, that was not the case for him. As best as I was able to count, he was around 30th heading into the bend. He was sitting in 24th as he came out of the forest heading into his second lap, but he was passed by several racers in his second lap and ultimately finished 29th. The crazy thing is that, after the race, he said he felt better on his second lap than his first! When I went to check his times, he had actually raced FASTER on his second lap!
FASTER on his second lap! He did have about three racers hot on his heels when he finished, but it went down like this: Jackson was behind three racers who kept playing musical chairs with each other throughout the second lap, so he just sat on their wheels waiting for the right passing opportunity. It happened as they came down the stretch to the finish line. He flew past them and forced them to give chase, but they couldn’t catch him. That’s how it’s done!! Jackson has moved up to 30th overall.
When we left at 5 a.m. the morning of the race, I asked Sardine why he brought his race bike AND his enduro bike if Rowan (who is using Sardine’s bike for the race) wasn’t even going to be there until noon. If he needed to pre-ride with any of the younger kids, he could just use his race bike. He hadn’t considered that. So we arrived with two bikes. Turns out, it was very fortuitous that he hadn’t used his brain because Ryan Arthur was having some serious issues with his shifter. For the better part of the morning, Todd Burrow, Brian Clark, and Sardine were in the “operating room” trying to do surgery on his bike. Then Sardine realized that he could just take the drive train off of his enduro bike and put it on Ryan’s bike. It took awhile because Sardine has electronic shifting, but he was ready to roll by the time of pre-ride. Ryan was so excited to be able to use electronic shifting!
So Ryan lined up in the 29th spot with his Frankenbike, not sure how this would unfold, but just relieved that he was getting to race. Luckily, he did have time to pre-ride and get used to the new shifting, which allowed him to have a powerful start and move up to 22nd (ish) place as he rounded the bend. Coming out of the woods, he was in 23rd place with another lap to go. He was riding strong when he began his second lap, but somewhere along the way, he fell back to 27th as he came out of the woods flying into the finish line. Considering the fact that he was racing on a drivetrain that had only JUST been installed, he rocked it! Ryan has moved up to 28th place overall.
Despite the fact that Rowan Clark is over 6 feet tall, Sardine says he is a good sprinter, so as he was waiting for the call-up, Sardine told Rowan that he expected him to win. Rowan gave his big smile and said “O.k”. I was chatting with while he was waiting for the horn to go off, and I got a text from Sardine telling me to tell Rowan to bust his ‘butt’ on the start (he used a different word, but this is a family letter). Instead, I told Rowan not to let Sardine down. Big smile and a solid OHKAY!! And you know what? He did exactly that! Despite the fact that he was starting in 18th place, he absolutely flew off the starting line and even passed Noah, who was starting on the front line! Sardine was definitely very proud of that boy. But that powerful start cost him some much needed energy, and he entered into his second lap in 14th place. And he wasn’t smiling anymore. He finished in 16th place, completely spent, and it took him a while to find his smile again. I would like to point out that the last time Rowan raced in a Cross Country series was in 2021, and his Woodberry race time has improved by over 3 minutes! He is currently in 14th overall, and that will be the best he can get because he will not be at Monticello. Rowan, you did awesome in your epic return to Cross Country racing and personally, I will miss seeing your smiling face at Monticello!
Last season, Rowan Poelzing was a bundle of nerves. In VAHS, he had finally settled down a bit and was more confident in his riding. He looked completely chill while waiting for the horn to go, and I asked if he was good to go. He said he was not and that he was pretty nervous. This young man is such a good racer that I’m always surprised at how unnerved he is at the start. Maybe he should be made aware that he was three minutes faster in this race than a year ago – that’s a phenomenal improvement! In this race, he was starting about 3 rows back in 15th place, but when the horn went off, he quickly moved up to 11th place as he headed around the bend. When he came out of the woods, he was sitting in 13th place as he took off for his second lap. Somewhere along the second lap, he was passed and emerged right on the heels of the racer that passed him. He sprinted as hard as he could and they were neck and neck heading to the finish line, but he was nicked right at the end and finished 14th, but less than a second behind 13th place! Rowan moved up one spot to 14th place.
In 2021, Noah Johnstone competed in his first NICA race. Back then, he was a gangly middle schooler who looked like he was just going for a leisurely ride. His Woodberry lap times were around the 20-minute mark, and he finished well out of the top 20. He had hardly broken a sweat in that race. In 2022, his racing style was still the same, but something had shifted and he put in a little more effort while still managing to look like he was just cruising along. He improved his time to just over 18-minute laps and jumped into the top ten. That lit a fire under this kid! He continued to work hard and moved up a category while putting in 17-minute laps in 2023 and managed to stay in the top ten, though his riding style was still Mary Poppinish.
In the last year, Noah has been training on his own as well as with the team, and the change in him is remarkable. He is no longer a gangly kid, but a tall young man who has become a serious competitor, and his riding style now reflects that change. His lap times at this race improved again to 16 minutes, which is even more impressive considering that he is much better at climbing than sprinting! He started in 7th place and took off hard from the start. I’m sure he was shocked to see Rowan Clark pass him so soon after the start, but you already know how that played out. He fell back to about 9th as he rounded the bend but came out of the woods in 7th place with another lap to go. He is in fantastic shape, so I knew there was a good chance that he would improve his place. As he came out of the woods a second time, he was sitting in 6th place with two competitors right behind him – one of them being Henry Adams. He managed to hold onto 6th and is only 4 seconds off of podium!! Monticello is going to be pivotal for Noah as he is currently sitting in 6th overall!
At Stokesville, Sam Glenn had to borrow Arthur Lugar’s bike, which is a true Cross Country bike. In this race, Sam raced with his own bike which is a fantastic bike, but it is considerably heavier. Good thing this wasn’t a climbing race! Sam started in 9th place, which put him in the second row, and given how many boys were in this race, that was definitely an advantage! He started strong, but not strong enough as the other top racers passed him quickly and he fell back to 20th as he rounded the bend. He was 21st as he came out of the forest and began his second lap looking pretty tired but he was still riding strong. When he emerged from the forest for the second time, he was amongst a group of boys racing hard towards the finish. Sam dug deep and gave one last push as he jumped and managed to pass two riders at the end before crossing the line in 23rd place. Sam was absolutely spent, but once he recovered, he was his usual positive self and knew that he did his best and there was nothing to be upset about.
His attitude is such a great role model for all of the racers! He is currently in 12th place overall, but with enough cheering, we might see him break into the top ten again at Monticello!
If awards were given out to the worst luck, Drew Brislin would be the winner. After two valiant efforts to race while still sick, both resulting in a DNF, THIS was going to be the race where Drew finally got to prove that all of his training and effort was going to pay off now that he was feeling better. Unfortunately, after one lap, he had a significant mechanical and had to pull out of the race. There’s still VAHS in the Spring!
Sadly, Bray Leslie injured his hand significantly enough that he will not be able to race the rest of the series. I hope that he will be at the last race to cheer on his sister, Ava. He is currently in 26th overall.
Sophie Nicely was one of the racers who wasn’t able to make the Woodberry race due to all of her obligations for Homecoming that evening. She is now sitting in 15th overall.
Georgia Miller was on the front row in 5th place but did not have a good start as she had trouble clicking in. Georgia is a powerful racer, though, and it took very little time for her to catch up to her teammate. The gravel road was pretty dusty, so it was hard to see where she was, but definitely up towards the front. She came out of the woods in 6th place and racing at a very strong pace! However, there was another competitor 4 seconds behind Georgia, and that girl was looking to pass her. I do not know what happened on the second lap, but Georgia managed to pass a couple more racers with that same girl chasing her down. She held that girl off and crossed the finish line in 4th place and is in 5th place overall but is only ONE POINT away from 4th!!
Sophie Childers had a fantastic race at Stokesville, and was looking to continue her momentum in this race. As I said earlier, Homecoming was happening that evening, and she needed to jet out of there right after her race. She was on the front line right next to Georgia for the lineup, and had a terrific start. Again, the dust prevented me from seeing how well she did as she rounded the bend, but she was definitely in 4th place as she came out of the forest and into her second lap. She managed to pass another racer somewhere along the course, and finished in a solid 3rd place! This moves her up to 3rd overall with one race to go!
Lila Nicely has had such a transformation from just a couple of years ago that I had completely forgotten how nervous she used to get before the races. Like, almost debilitatingly nervous. I was reminded of this when I saw her line up for her race and she looked more anxious than I’ve seen her in a long time. She was sitting on the front line in 4th place, so I was able to chat with her briefly and got her smiling, though I don’t think it eased her nerves at all. She had a solid start, but fell back a bit on the gravel and was somewhere in the top ten when she raced out of sight. She was 9th coming out of the forest, but managed to pass several racers before heading into her second lap. Although she ultimately crossed the finish line in 7th place, her second lap was faster than her first, and she was only 12 seconds off of podium. She is currently in 5th overall.
Sophia Hernandez had a strong start from her 6th place spot but fell back a little as she rounded the bend. She started her second lap in 8th place, but she wasn’t far behind a couple of her competitors. If there’s one thing to know about Sophia, it’s that she is a powerhouse, and there was a good amount of passing opportunities before heading back into the singletrack. Sophia has the market cornered on the #6. For most of VAHS, she finished 6th, and this has been her MO for NICA this season as well. So, yeah, she chased those racers down and passed them before heading back into the singletrack. She came flying out of the forest in…6th. She finished 6th and is 6th overall. But get this… as far as I can tell, she is the ONLY racer at Woodberry who had the EXACT same lap times for both of her laps!
Like her sister, Chloe Childers had a fantastic race at Stokesville which put her in 2nd place for the start at Woodberry. She had a very strong start, and just like at Stokesville, the RSC Sophomore girls worked together to stay near the front. Chloe and Julie came out of the forest together and had the exact same lap time as they headed into the 2nd lap. Chloe held on as long as she could but eventually fell back to 5th place. The good news is that she is still sitting solidly in 2nd place overall!
Now we get to our other ringer, Juli Black. She burst onto the XC scene this year as a surprise since many of us assumed she had crossed over to the DH side permanently. Additionally, as mentioned in my previous recap, she was literally 3 days in from getting the all-clear to ride her bike again after a broken clavicle before she showed up at Stokesville. My thought was that, after her DNF last year at Woodberry (that was not a good day for Juli), she had no desire to return to this venue. As it turns out, it was just the opposite – she was determined to come back here and finish what she started. As is the way of Juli, she was sitting in line, chatting away with the other competitors, letting them all think that she was nothing to be concerned about since she was literally at the very back of the lineup. The horn went off, and that girl was like a bullet out of a gun. She was up at the front with Sophia and Chloe before they headed around the bend. I was expecting Chloe to be the first of our team out of the forest, but I was not expecting her to be accompanied by Juli! As stated before, they began their second lap together. It was exciting to see the two girls working together, but it was even more exciting to see Juli blazing through the finish line in 3rd place, with a competitor right on her tail one second behind her! In addition, she was one of the few whose second lap was faster than her first! Total vindication for the 2023 NICA Woodberry race! She has moved up to 14th overall.
Honorable Mention
This isn’t actually honorable, but it’s worth mentioning because it’s so unusual. Several of our racers finishing place is also the same as their overall place:
Mitchell Hendricks – 29th and 29th
Rowan Poelzing – 14th and 14th
Noah Johnstone – 6th and 6th
Sophie Childers – 3rd and 3rd
Sophia Hernandez – take a wild guess… 6th and 6th
Henry Schumm: 3rd place, Varsity Boys
Ava Leslie: 8th, Sophomore Girls
Ian Jora: 16th place, Varsity Boys
Ingrid Jora: out with an injury
Henry Adams: 8th place, Freshman Boys