The results are in and Drake is leading the NorCal High School Cycling League after completing 4 out of the 5 2012 season races!
We are ahead of Redwood by a slim margin — just 12 points, meaning that our final race on May 6 will be season defining.
Results for the Boggs race had us coming in first ahead of Salinas and Redwood by 57 and 87 points respectively.
Mackinzie Stanley and Lucas Newcomb were our Varsity leaders, coming in 5th and 4th respectively in the girls and boys Varsity races.
See all the results here and look for more race reports and coaches reports coming soon!
Cool Data from Coach Dan
Some cool data to consider:
1. We had NINE official scorers at Boggs instead of 8! How, you ask? Nicolette and Alli Jo both had 444 points for their respective 5th place finishes, and the 444 was the 8th and final score kept for the NorCal team competition. So which one gets to be the official scorer? Both! Even though 444 points gets added only once, they both get credit for it.
2. That makes 4 boy scores and 5 girl scores! Nice!
3. 3807 points between the 8 kept scores make 475.88 point average among scorers. That’s our third best race of the season among scorers.
4. There were 32 Drake MTB racers. That’s our smallest race roster this year.
5. Our 32 riders scored 12347 pts. An average of 385.84 pts per rider. That beats our previous best of 370.97 pts per rider…making Boggs our best overall team performance of the season so far!
6. 20 of our 32 riders had personal best performances at Boggs…the improvement trend continues!
7. Carson won! That’s the first Drake MTB victory this year. Whoo hoo!
8. Want more comparative data? See the results spreadsheet here.
Roll Pirates!
Dan
Race Report: Mackinzie Stanley
NorCal Race #4 – Boggs mountain
Varsity Girls, Placing 5th
Boggs is always my favorite NorCal race. The course is technical, there is sustained climbing, swooping turns and the weather always finds a way to make a presence. This year, the weather was beautiful but the course was super muddy and slick, almost to the point of being slimy.
The morning of I had a hard time waking up and getting motivated- it was probably the one time before racing that I really wanted to just go back to sleep or just be a spectator. Nevertheless I warmed up and rode over to the line and slowly my mind started to get into race mode.
We started off the line and I fell into 5th going into the single track. I played a little leap frog with Sofia villafane through the Tamarancho-like section. Up the fire road climb she pulled away a little as i tested out my legs and found that they felt a little sore and decided to find a good pace that I could hold and not just go as hard as I could for as long as possible and hope I could last. Once I reached the top, I gained all the time back on the descent, catching up to her wheel heading onto the fire road.
At this point, I was feeling pretty strong and ready to make a move going into the second lap, plus I was hearing Shayna wasn’t too far ahead. I slipped a little back on the road but then quickly caught back up on the single track. Soon after catching her wheel again my chain slipped off to the outside and I was spinning in air, not making any progress and feeling fairly frustrated. Hopping off my bike quickly, I was able to shove the chain back on and get going again, probably only losing 15 sec. Working to catch back up, I made some stupid mistakes and made two new friends. They were a couple of friendly natives of Boggs. Mrs Rocks came along first and I met Mr Tree 1 minute later down the trail. Although my encounters with them both were brief, they made a lasting impression and I came away feeling humbled and a little out of sorts. The rest of the lap was spent trying to recover from the two encounters and get my confidence back. I spent a good deal of time giving myself pep talks and encouraging myself to move past and focus on the race ahead. By the end of the lap, after a fun stretch of downhill, I was focused, determined to make up time, and ready to finish out the race in style.
I went thru the feed zone, picked up a much needed water bottle-especially since last time around I conveniently forgot the feed zone existed- and downed a gu. Feeling pumped and ready to hit the last lap super hard, I flew into the single track, repeatedly reminding myself to be smooth. Smooth is fast. Smooth is fast. I made sure to be extra focused as I maneuvered myself past my two new friends and no further mistakes were made. On the extended climbs in the middle of the lap, I forced myself to push a little harder and really make it hurt. Then came the downhill to the finish line and I bombed down it, pinning all the corners and narrow alleys thru the trees. I felt exhilarated by the time I came into the final twists and was met with a crowd of folks cheering me on. Charging thru the finish line was very satisfying in a ‘I’m glad that race is over’ kind of way. I loved the last downhill, but it was definitely hard to come back from the crashes and get back into the right frame of mind. It was nice to finally be done and able to relax and enjoy the rest of the day, supporting and cheering for the rest of the team.
The race course was fun and although the race didn’t really go according to plan, I felt very confidant about the last lap and it was nice to end on a high note.
Congrats to all the racers, it took the whole team to pull off that win. Also, the food and pit area was amazing. It’s always harder when camping to make everything work as smoothly so a big thank you to all the parents and coaches who helped set up, clean up and maintain the pit area and campsite- its really appreciated.
The cheering was also very welcome-its very encouraging and for those of you who haven’t found time to get out on the course and cheer…it’s very rewarding and fun for those cheering as well.
Looking forward to Stafford lake and some new trails- should be sweet!
Let’s keep the momentum going,
Mackinzie
