Putting an end to a spectacular regular season, the Pagosa Springs DUST2 high school mountain biking team attended its last race of the regular season in Nathrop, Colo. (elevation 7687 feet), on Saturday, Oct. 4.
The course is located at the base of Mt. Princeton, creating striking views across the venue. The course features a 6.7-mile loop running counterclockwise with 443 feet of elevation gain per lap, including a mix of sandy, cactus-lined singletrack; technical downhills that plunge into the beautiful bottom of Chalk Creek; and pedally double and singletrack to end the course.
Varsity raced three laps of the course and the other categories raced two laps. The theme of this race was “Bike Rodeo,” and all of the DUST2 members made sure to show off their western attire. On Saturday morning, the racers prompted a flash mob in which they danced one line dance and one western swing dance to try to win the team spirit contest for this race.
The freshman boys began the exciting day of racing bright and early.
At 8:30 a.m., the freshman boys began their race with four Pagosa racers and 67 athletes overall.
The first to race in was Max Roukema in 31st position with a time of one hour, seven minutes to score 326 points for the team. The next to come in was Ward Halterman in 38th position with a time of 1:10, scoring 306 points. Amon Phillips raced across the line in 41st position, earning 300 points, with a time of 1:12. Drake Anderson came in shortly after in 64th position, earning 272 points, with a time of 1:46.
At 10:15 a.m., the Colorado High School Mountain Bike League recognized all of the 2026 seniors with a senior sendoff where all of the seniors rode through the pit zone areas receiving applause and recognition from everyone present. Pagosa has two seniors, Kaylee Hensle and Weston Phillips, who are both legacy riders (they have raced all four years of high school). Since Phillips and Hensle are legacy riders, they received gold race plates at the beginning of the season, and commemorative belt buckles.
The next categories to race were the junior varsity, sophomore and freshmen girls at 11:05 a.m., with a DUST2 racer in each category.
Hensle sped in with a time of 1:25, placing 24th and scoring 392 points for the team. In the sophomore division, Gianna Shaeffer came in fifth out of 18 girls with a time of 1:09 and scored 464 points for the team with the only DUST2 podium finish of the day. In the freshmen category, Quinn Howard placed 11th out of 29 girls with a time of 1:14, scoring 420 points.
The JV boys were the next division to roll out at 12:30 p.m. with four Pagosa athletes. The first to come in for Pagosa was junior Justin Sewell in 26th with a time of 59 minutes (384 points). Shortly after Sewell, junior Jackson Chaney came in with a time of 1:01 to place 32nd (363 points). Junior Aaron Sowle was the next Pagosa rider to come in at 43rd place with a time of 1:02 (336 points). Junior Van Halterman came in shortly after with a time of 1:09 to place 78th out of 114 participants (298 points).
The last category of the day to roll out was the varsity division, racing three laps at 1:55 p.m., with two representing Pagosa athletes. In the boys’ division of 36 riders, Weston Phillips came across the line in 27th with a time of 1:28 (415 points). In the girls’ division, Adelyn Hittle finished in eighth position out of 17 girls with a time of 1:36 (516 points).
When asked about how the team did and what the athletes’ training was like to get to this race, coach Janine Emmets responded, “It’s been amazing to watch our team race this year. We started our training two weeks earlier this year and the results were evident. We placed fifth overall in our division this season, and had athletes finishing in the top 10 at every race. What sticks out the most about our team is the support that they show each other. If they aren’t racing, they are at the sidelines cheering on their teammates and waiting at the finish line to congratulate them. The team camaraderie is such a joy for me to see.”
Overall, the race day was another huge success filled with grit, support, dancing and fun. Most of the athletes rushed home to finish the full day with the Pagosa Springs High School homecoming dance, making it a day to remember.
The athletes are excited to compete at Glenwood Springs for the state race to finish out the season on Oct. 18 and 19.
