High School Team Speedy at Nathrop Worlds

The Taos Composite high school team had a great weekend of racing and so much more at the Colorado League Conference Championships, aka “Nathrop Worlds.” This race wraps up the regular season with podiums awarded for both this race as well as the overall series. The race was the final step for riders to qualify for Colorado League High School State Championships with the top 40 in each category getting to move onto State. But for the team as a whole, this team definitely isn’t just about the racing…

The athletes decided that, since they all missed homecoming because of an earlier race, this weekend would be “formal” attire. Parents and coaches also participated because, who doesn’t love a chance to play dress up while camping? See below for photos of the team’s interpretation of “formal” as we all set up camp and had a delicious dinner al fresco. This was a first and I know many of us hope it becomes a new tradition for the team.

Eleanor Breier, our only Senior this season, Team Captain and Legacy rider (raced all 4 years) was recognized and celebrated during the “Senior Send Off” on race day. It is always bittersweet to see Seniors leave the team and with Eleanor it is no different. She grew into a team leader and was not only part of the team but also a true mentor to new riders.

At each race venue, Colorado League sponsor, Yeti, sets up the “Yeti Skills Challenge.” This is a tight course with several different technical challenges. It is different at each race and any athlete can try it out. If you have followed our team for a while, you may recall recently graduated Taos athlete Isla Chavez (now Middle School Coach) winning this contest several times. This time, Varsity rider Bernice O’Reilly decided it was her turn and she took the win!

We had a large showing of families attend the race since it is our closest race (3 hours from Taos) and the camping is a favorite of many. The leaves were prime, the temperatures were perfect, and the course was as good as it gets. One challenge the racers had to contend with was the wind throughout the day making drafting a strategy on the more exposed, open sections. The course is fast with just under 450 feet of climbing per 6.7 mile lap. All divisions raced 2 laps except Varsity who raced 3.

Food for the race was planned and prepared by Liz and David Gilroy and Andy O’Reilly. The entire group of over 30 athletes, families, and coaches were treated to a delicious meal of Frito Pies with David’s red chile, followed by too many cookies and pie to celebrate Bernice’s birthday. The generous race sponsor was Rodger Thornton (illustrious grandpa of Abby and June), allowing all of this to happen. Thanks for believing in this team, Rodger! Loren, Angie, and Susie were coaches, offering support, warm ups, transportation, team meeting, and managing logistics. Many of the families met the group riding in the FIT van for dinner on the way home to keep the fun rolling. Thank you!

As a whole, the team turned in a 2^nd place result in Division 2 for the day sandwiched between Salida and Grand Junction in a very close competition. The top 10 points finishers for each team are scored to determine the team standings. Both Salida and Grand Junction have more athletes on their teams (23 and 17, respectively), making Taos the underdogs. In a close battle for the overall team standings for the season, Taos finished just off the podium in 4^th place. Varsity riders score more points for their finishes so, with just one Varsity rider on our team this year, Taos crushed it! To race Varsity in the Colorado League, one has to earn high finishes to make the cutoff. Next year, most of the team should be returning and we expect to have 5 Varsity riders, a record for Taos Composite.

Out of 14 Taos athletes who raced in Nathrop, 6 had their best finishes of the season and 2 equaled their best. Nearly every athlete finished higher than or equal to their start position, with Silas Conn and Soren Julinski passing a very impressive 31 and 27 riders, respectively. Additionally, three Taos athletes finished on the podium in the overall: Rio Johnson (1^st JV), Abby Thornton (3^rd JV), and Larka Schultz (5^th Freshman).

The Race Details

In the Freshman boys race, Troy Edmiston had his best finish of the season with a great race (17^th) while Case Cook finished in 37^th.

Our Sophomore boys stepped it up. Olin O’Reilly equaled his best race of the season (14^th) and Soren Julinski had his best finish (24^th) after working hard to calmly pass 27 riders.

Larka Schultz went out fast and didn’t feel as well as she was hoping but still managed a very strong 6^th place in the Freshman girls race. Sophomore Alhiana Quintana de Andres was proud of how her practice is giving her more confidence and finished 18^th. Abby Thornton earned another 3^rd place finish while Senior Eleanor Breier, in her last race in the regular season ever, had her best result (18^th).

The JV boys race (the largest race of the day) had some excitement at the front with one rider staying with Rio Johnson for the first lap until Rio made a decisive move and pulled away at the start of the second lap. Rio took the win and earned the Race Leader jersey by winning all 3 races he attended. Jaden Rand “tried something different” and took off leading the race out of the start, eventually fading just a little to finish in 6^th place. Hank Scanlan’s luck continued to be somewhat lacking as he was not completely over a sickness. He somehow rallied and ended up turning in a negative split on the second lap to take 16^th place. Silas Conn missed race #1, putting him in the position of starting way back in the large JV boys field for the subsequent races. In this race, he finally was able to work his way up into the top 20, finishing 19^th, his best finish of the season while turning a negative split on lap 2. Jonah Gilroy also had his top result of the season, finishing in 40^th, also with a big negative split on lap 2.

Finally, the Varsity girls took off for their 3-lap race. Bernice  O’Reilly was in the mix throughout the race and ended up in 8^th place with her best finish of the season.

Missing from the Nathrop race were first year team riders, Elia Hurtado (JV) and Sophomore Emi Peña. Elia was able to jump into 2 of the 4 races this season and immediately had success with 11^th and 12^th place finishes. Emi did not race this year as she is building skills and had other things going on but we hope she will join us at the races next year!

Next up, Colorado League State Championships in Glenwood Springs, CO on October 24-25.

And don’t forget…Ride the Rift this Sunday October 18!!! All team members, families, friends, and the entire community is invited to come participate in this free community event. See you there. Bring your friends! www.RidetheRiftTaos.com