• Race 5 SCICL 2022, 11/14/22

• Location: Fants Grove Mountain Bike Trails, at Clemson University, South Carolina

Catawba Ridge Riders (CRR)  Youth Cycling Team, Fort Mill, SC sent their three High School Teams; Fort Mill HS, Catawba Ridge HS, and York County Composite to the final race of the 2022  South Carolina Interscholastic Cycling League Series in Clemson, South Carolina. The Fant's Grove trail system is part of Clemson Experimental Forest. The trails range from fast singletrack and short, steep climbs, to dirt and gravel roads.

As the final race of the season, the overall series championships for each class were decided.  In the Varsity Class, Ethan Blocker took the win for the 5th time in a row.  This was a perfect season for Ethan, as he led every lap of all 5 races to secure the SCICL Series State Championship!

In the hotly contested JV class, Remington Clark, Captain of the Fort Mill HS Team secured the 4th place position on the podium out of 22 racers. This gained him a 5th place podium position for the overall SCICL Series State Championship.

Alexandra Cardozo of Catawba Ridge High School battled Bea Galbreath to earn the win and lock down the SCICL Varsity Girls Series Championship.  Bea put up a good battle in the first two laps of the event. However Alexandra “Dropped the hammer” at the end of lap two, establishing a healthy lead for the remainder of the race.  Truly a terrific matchup between two of the strongest female mountain bike racers in the SouthEast US!  Alexandra proudly wears an Outdoor Master Gem Cycling Helmet for all her races. The excellent fit, MIPS protection system, and vented cooling served her well.  

Sierra Isenbarg, Catawba Ridge HS, locked down the 2nd place series championship position for the five race series!  She attended all the races, and always supports important team logistics.

Lauren Maloney, York County Composite, locked down the 7th Grade championship at the final race with a 2nd place finish.  Finally,  some competition showed up that could keep up with Lauren, as she missed first by only a few seconds. We look forward to some competitive racing in the 8th grade girls' class next season.

Freshman Girls Championship was locked down by Isabella Cardozo, Catawba Ridge HS after her perfect season of wins. Her CRR teammates Luisa Koeppe and Bryn Stickley, representing Fort Mill HS rounded out the top 10 with a 5th and 7th position finish.  Bryn finished 6th for the season.

Becket Herring took the overall series championship in the 7th grade boys class with a 3rd place finish in Race 5.  Becket dominated his class, despite maintaining a race schedule that often involved racing in other cycling events on a Saturday and the SCICL race on Sunday.  In the 6th Grade Boys class, Zachary Martin finished in 5th place for the series championship. A terrific accomplishment for a first year racer!

Willow Anderson, Fort Mill, HS, secured the SCICL Series Championship, with a near perfect season racing in the 6th grade girls class. She is a first year racer, and will undoubtedly be a contender for future class championships. Her teammate Elizabeth Atkinson, Fort Mill HS, finished 7th for the series.  

Jackson Mitten, Catawba Ridge HS won the Advanced Middle School class. Quite an accomplishment for a 6th grader racing against 7th and 8th graders! Beckett Rudnick, YCC also secured a podium position. George Hane, YCC, came in 6th. Carter Mitten, Catawba Ridge HS Team had a flat, but did not DNF, as he ran his bike to the finish!

There were many other terrific performances by the Catawba Ridge Rider HS Teams (Fort Mill HS, Catawba Ridge HS and York County Composite) throughout the five race SCICL Series. 

Many of the racers enjoy Outdoor Master’s Mips Helmets and Eyewear while practicing and racing mountain bikes. Outdoor Master offers quality products, excellent price points, and current styling. Thank you for supporting the Catawba Ridge Riders and all of their great youth racers.

As the days get shorter and colder, we turn our attention to off-season pursuits like snow skiing and boarding. Outdoor Master winter helmets and goggles are appearing on many of our riders' Christmas wish lists.

CRR Race Results:

Team standings (19 teams total) for the season are as follows:

Fort Mill  HS -7th

Catawba Ridge HS - 5th

York County Composite HS - 9th

Fort Mill Middle School - 1st!!

Catawba Ridge Middle School - 14th

York County Composite Middle School - 9th

Please see the detailed race results for all three teams: http://southcarolinamtb.org/

The Champions