Race 1: East Garrison at Fort Ord
Podum Finishes start of the MTB Season!
Welcome to the 2016 NICA/NorCal Mountain Bike Racing Season! It started on the (welcome back, El Nino!) well-drained (in most spots…) sandy soil of East Garrison at Fort Ord. It’s a five-mile loop with 650 feet of elevation climb just outside of Monterey. Wave 1 of the racing weekend started with the girls. Siena McGibben placed seventh in her 20-rider field, with a two-lap (10 mile) time of 50:13, only five minutes behind the leader. Siena’s goal is to podium next race, and we all know she can do it! Next was wave 2, including 58 riders in the ten mile (two lap) D2 Freshman Boys race. Among them was our own Kyle Hammer, who finished in 37:15 to earn 5th place and a spot on the podium in his first MC NorCal race! Way to go, Kyle! He finished three minutes behind the leader, and already has his eye on that leader jersey! Wave 3, starting in early afternoon, included our three JV athletes among the 73 racers in this packed D2 category. Senior Morgan Schmitz placed 32nd with a 1:29:08, junior Nick Abell placed 30th with a 1:28:15, and senior Drew Nash led the trio with a time of 1:25:35. That’s 20 miles over four laps, and all three finished in the top half. At the end of the long (but blessedly not too wet) day, Marin Catholic placed 15th among NorCal’s 33 teams in the D2 North category. Overall, a good start to a season. For the two seniors, this was probably their last race on this course over their four years racing for MC, a theme that may develop over the season.. Coaches Gaston and Yoham guided the day, with the invaluable help of our awesome parent community.
675 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, Kentfield CA 94904 Phone: 415-464-3898 | Email: admissions@marincatholic.org
