To end this incredible mountain bike race year, eight of Pagosa Springs’ DUST2 athletes competed in Glenwood Springs for the Colorado State Championship.
The team trained very hard throughout the season leading up to this event. Practices included grueling road rides, technical trail rides, mentally challenging skill work and tough gym workouts. The team also learned to focus on nutrition and recovery leading up to the races.
The event consisted of two amazing days of racing at Colorado Mountain College in Glenwood Springs.
This race was huge, with 906 participants. The course included fun downhills, big berms and rocky climbs. In total, the course was 5.6 miles long with 653 feet of elevation gain per lap. All athletes completed two laps of the course with the exception of varsity riders, who completed three laps.
Athletes who raced in the morning both days competed in cold weather requiring lots of layers, while those who raced later in the day experienced sunny skies.
Adding to the overall excitement of the race, team spirit and morale were very high. The theme of the race was “disco,” so the team rocked afros, bell bottoms and fur jackets. In addition to the festive outfits, the team tent was also decked out in shiny disco balls. Both days, team mechanic and coach Jake Emmets cooked pancakes, bacon and burgers to keep the racers well fueled.
At 8:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, Quinn Howard, the team’s only freshman girl, began her two laps around the course. Howard finished 42nd out of 74 participants with a time of 1 hour, 14 minutes, 41 seconds. Howard contributed 298 points to the team.
Next up were the freshmen boys, competing in a field of 148 riders. Both of Pagosa’s freshmen boys finished very close to each other. The first across the line for Pagosa was Max Roukema, coming in 99th place with a time of 1:03:39 and scoring 237 points. Right behind him was Amon Phillips, finishing with a place of 101 in 1:03:54, scoring 235 points.
To finish off the day, the JV boys took on one of the largest categories with 146 racers. The first to finish was junior Justin Sewell in 41st place with a time of 55:22 and 340 points. Shortly after was junior Jackson Chaney, completing the course in 57:53, coming in 84th and scoring 292 points for the team. Chaney worked hard to pass a total of 58 athletes, earning him the coveted Slingshot award for the day.
Early the next morning, the sophomore girls kicked off the day with two chilly laps. Gianna Shaeffer was the team’s only sophomore girl competing in a field of 71 participants. Shaeffer finished in 23rd place with a time of 1:07:07 and scored 356 points for the team.
Concluding the races was the varsity category, in which the girls raced first. It is important to note that this category is the most competitive and you must meet strict qualifications to race varsity. Pagosa’s only varsity girl was junior Adelyn Hittle competing against 70 other riders. Hittle completed the race in 1:30:16, placing 26th and scoring 419 points.
Next up was varsity boy and legacy rider (someone who has raced all four years of high school) Weston Phillips. He raced against 136 other riders and completed the race in 1:28:29 to score 287 points. This was Phillips’ last Colorado League race, and it was a great effort to end the season.
This weekend was capped off with a bonus race in which one coach from each team was selected to represent the team in a coach race. Pagosa sent head coach Oliver Phillips to represent the team. The coaches completed one lap of the race course. This was the loudest cheering yet, for the team was thrilled to watch their own coach compete in this fun race. Oliver Phillips finished 40th out of 83 coaches.
Possibly the most impressive part of the weekend was Pagosa’s five total appearances at the award ceremonies.
On Saturday, Weston Phillips and Hittle both stood on the podium for winning the Yeti Skills Course (a timed technical skills course). The next appearance was Chaney’s Slingshot award, for which he received a special jersey. The Slingshot award is for the racer that improves the most in their placement during a race. After this, the whole team got second place for the “Golden Pick” award. This award is for the team with the most trail work hours per athlete, and Pagosa had 6.19 hours per person and 105.25 hours combined this year. On Sunday, coach Janine Emmets won the Yeti Skills Course for coaches, so she also received an award.
When asked about the team’s performance this weekend, Oliver Phillips stated, “As head coach of the Pagosa Springs/DUST2 bike team, I could not be more proud of the way our student athletes performed this last weekend at the state championship race. Each athlete displayed a high level of physical and mental strength that most people do not understand. Mountain bike racing is not for the faint of heart; it requires grit, strategy, fitness and positivity, all of which were on full display last weekend by each of the Pagosa Springs riders. The culmination of 13 weeks of official practices, and months of prior riding by students on their own, proved to be enough for everyone to finish their race and set several personal bests. From all of the coaching staff, we want to thank our student athletes for their dedication to personal improvement over this season. We have seen incredible growth this year.”
The team placed 15th overall out of 26 Division 2 teams. Overall, the team did an astounding job working up to this race. The weekend was full of liveliness, challenges and encouragement. This race ended the season on a high note, and the team is very excited about all that they accomplished this season.
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