You could say we had a pretty good showing at the 2018 State Championships in Petaluma.
The State Championships bring together the NorCal and SoCal leagues. Additionally, these two leagues are split into separate conferences. For example NorCal has North and South conferences, each racing on a different day of the weekend, but not at State Championships! Everyone rides together making for fields of 100 riders compared to the usual 30. There are new riders to race against, unknown quantities. Its what makes the State Championships something special.
The Woodside Beasts were one of the top teams at the 2018 State Championships in terms of top 3 placings. That’s an achievement that will be hard to repeat and all the results came from our group of sophomore boys (we’re actively recruiting girls, know any?)
Cameron Adams – 1st Place Junior Varsity
Cameron won the Junior Varsity. We knew he was coming on form and in with a podium chance but the win was unexpected. Here’s his words from the race:
“For my race, it went way better than I expected. The first lap was hard and it was anyone’s race, but as we climbed the first hill, people started making mistakes, especially on the downhill, so at the garden, it ended up just being myself and two others. By the time we started climbing for our second lap, it was just me and my race leader and two year “frenemy” Alex Akins from the Lightfighters. I took the lead and picked up the pace and by about half way through the climb managed to open a gap. I tried to keep up that pace all through the second lap (getting the 3rd fastest lap time of the day, something I’m super stoked about), and by the third lap I was grinning up the hill as my dad and teammates cheered me on. One kid from another team got a picture of me crossing the finish line, and in it describes just how happy I am. Going back to the beginning of the season, I was off the bike for a few months until about a month and a half before the season due to injuries. My first race, I got 7th, and from that moment on decided I would train. What I think makes this race so much more important to me is that I proved that you don’t have to be a ‘god’ or a ‘mutant’ with good genes or super strength to win, you just have to have the heart and motivation to get better. So in the end the title of State Champion means so much more to me than just a race that I won. To me it represents all the sweat and effort that I put in these past few months to get to where I am today.”
Cameron on lap 2 of 3 in the lead, catching a rider from the earlier starting D1 category.
Quinn Felton – 2nd Place Sophomore
Quinn had been on a storm all season, leading the NorCal sophomore category from the very first race. For much of the race he was just behind the eventual winner Levi Mason from the SoCal league who proved to be just a little bit stronger on the day.
Here’s a section from the NorCal race report. “This is what happened at the front of the Sophomore D2 field with buddies Levi Mason, Santa Maria Valley Composite [SoCal] and Quinn Felton, Woodside Beasts [NorCal]. These two have been friends for a while, and they ride together, but they race for two different leagues so it was time they try to distance themselves from one another in this race. Levi had a strategy of hanging with his friend on the climbs and trying to take him on the descents. Even though Levi took the victory, he and Quinn have embodied the sport we all love by “just riding bikes together.” ”
Quinn’s improvement over last year has been phenomenal. For perspective, his lap time improvements over the previous year were 4 mins for the first lap and 3 minutes for the second, plus he had an extra lap to do. Its a testament to what can be achieved when you set a goal and work towards it.
Quin on his way to second place with no one in sight behind him.
Blaise Baker – 3rd Place Sophomore
Its always nice when a rider gets a results which you didn’t expect. But then looking back, it should really should not have been a surprise as his results were consistent and he was also coming into form. Blaise lives up to “Beasts” name; sitting on his wheel in a training ride is a beastly experience. What’s more, he’s a soccer player so its scary to think what he might do if he focused on cycling.
Blaise rode a very smart race. Quinn and Levi were too far ahead so he played the waiting game with another two riders, making the effort on the final long climb to round out 2nd and 3rd for the Woodside Beasts.
From the NorCal race report: “Another Woodside Beast was nipping at Quinn’s heels, and that was teamie Blaise Baker who said, “I really can’t believe it. I was hoping for like a top 7, but I knew it was a stretch for 3rd. I always do a lot better on courses with lots of climbing so States was basically a perfect course for me. After the first climb I was able to stay with the second group and throughout the race we kept dropping people until I was the only one left. I am just really stoked. We did so well as a team and I can’t wait till next year when we have a girl (or more) and we can go for a team award.”
Blaise passing a rider from a another category with the 4th place rider, a leader from a SoCal conference behind
In Summary
Cameron, Quinn and Blaise will all be racing Varsity next year (and for the year after). That’s a whole new level that will bring in new challenges but I’m confident they’ll be able to step uop to that challenge.
In total we had 11 riders at the State Championships. Everyone has their own goals, not every one has to be, a state champion. Many turned in performances that met their goals and everyone had a great time and that’s what really counts.