WUHSMS mountain biking captures the Vermont Youth Cycling Championship
The WUHSMS mountain bike team captured the Vermont Youth Cycling Championship (VTYC) for the second consecutive year at the Mt. Peg trails. A record-setting number of athletes (239) from 13 teams challenged themselves in this enduro-style race on Peg’s most popular trails including Cloud Drop, Sir Berm’s A Lot, James’ Jungle, and Hardstyle.
The atmosphere at Knox Meadow was festive with team tents, a fire pit, and yard games. The Brownsville Butcher and Pantry sold food, and Vermont Farmstead Cheese and McNamara Dairy donated chocolate milk to every racer.
Adding to the excitement was the reopening of the Sir Berm’s A Lot trail which was masterfully remodeled by the Woodstock Area Mountain Bike Association’s trail builders, Gavin Vaughn and Graham Farrington. Farrington is a WUHS graduate and former captain of the team. The trail's berms, jumps, and flow were a highlight of the day for many. Spectators willing to hike were treated to riders carving high-speed berms and launching trail gaps.
This was the final race in the four-race VTYC series. Woodstock entered the day as the series leader and was determined to earn the win on its home trails, and that is just what they did. The Category A boys and girls nearly swept the podiums with Schuyler Hagge and Pea Richardson taking 1st and 3rd for the girls. The boys took four out of five podium spots with Graham Fox (5th), Zev Wysocki (4th), Averill Stevens (3rd), and Quinn Uva at the top of the podium in first place. Chelsea McDermot finished 2nd on the day in Girls B, and Cole Little earned 3rd in Boys B. Seventh grader Micah Mahood had an impressive day, earning his first podium of the season as the 5th place finisher in the Category C boys race. Every racer on the podium was awarded a bottle of Richardson’s maple syrup.
Racers were also recognized for their overall series’ performance The overall girls’ podium featured Luca Morris (5th), Arden Rossi (4th), Pea Richardson (3rd), and Schuyler Hagge (1st). The A boys were also strong, with Averill Stevens (5th) and Quinn Uva taking 1st overall. Co-captains Hagge and Uva were vital to the team’s success by finishing in either second or first place in every race in the series. Seventh-grade racer Calvin Seman established himself in his first racing season by taking 3rd place overall. Isla Segal continued her consistent ways, securing 5th for the C girls.
Co-captain Ada Mahood was recognized by VTYC with the “Fuel More Fun” award for embodying excellent sportsmanship and positive attributes including “looking out for others, encouraging peers, a commitment to bettering the community, self-discipline and perseverance, and asking for help when needed.” Ada truly embodies these attributes.
This team is young and talented and ready to make an impact at the Northern New England Race Series Championship at the Holderness School on October 28th. Woodstock is currently leading its division in this series and is looking to better its 2nd place finish in last year’s championship.