BENICIA HIGH’S mountain bike team had a nice season debut last Saturday at East Garrison, Fort Ord in Monterey County. The team is (from left) Chris Thatcher, Spencer Cromer, Emily Radtke, Taylor Mari and team captain Hunter Dean.
Benicia High’s mountain bike team had a nice season debut last Saturday at East Garrison, Fort Ord in Monterey County.
Junior Chris Thatcher had a strong finish in junior varsity Division II, placing 12th out of 47 racers. Thatcher completed his 20-mile, single-track race in 1:36:23.
Emily Radtke received a call-up to the first line based on last year’s ranking and was the first team member to reach a podium position, placing fourth in the Sophomore Girls category for her 10-mile race.
Team captain Hunter Dean broke into the top 10 in D-II Sophomore Boys with a time of 1:14:41 on a 15-mile course.
Sophomore Spencer Cromer turned in a strong 19th placement, recovering quickly from a crash with three other racers early in the race. New member Taylor Mari made his racing debut with a solid performance, placing 24th in the Division II Freshman Boys.
Race conditions were challenging, with a drenching downpour hitting the course an hour before the first race. Rains threatened throughout the day but held off until after the award presentations. Benicia’s next race is March 15 at Granite Bay.
For more information about the Benicia High MTB Club and team, visit straitcircle.org. For more information about high school mountain bike racing, visit norcalmtb.org.
Sharing is caring!
Love the article. Those kids ride and train very hard. Good Luck!
Ground-breaking and full of promise!
It is great to see some non-traditional sports being brought into the mix at local high schools. NorCal has many locations that are considered to be mountain biking meccas. Youth development in this sport at the high school level makes a lot of sense.