Taos Composite High School Team at Colorado League State Championships

Colorado League High School State Championships Race Report but first…

Film Screening This Saturday November 7
Please join Field Institute of Taos at the TCA on Saturday November 7^th for a screening of the film, PRESERVED. This is more than a film, it’s a call to action. We all have a role to play in ecosystem conservation and restoration. Doors open at 6pm, film starts at 7pm. Come early to meet members of the cast and filmmaking team and support Field Institute of Taos. Following the film, there will be a live panel discussion featuring some of the film’s main characters, local legend Dave Hahn, Amigos Bravos Executive Director Rachel Conn, and Field Institute of Taos Founder Susie Fiore. Tickets available at https://tcataos.org/film/ including 50 free youth tickets.

Race Report (scroll all the way to the end for photos)

Field Institute of Taos’ Taos Composite High School Mountain Bike Team wrapped up an incredible, successful season at the Colorado League State Championship event in Glenwood Springs on October 31^st. Though 14 athletes qualified for the event, only 12 were able to attend after the event was postponed one week due to weather. The Colorado League made the magic happen and we were incredibly lucky to have a break in the storms so the event could proceed.

Our team was sponsored by the Scanlan and Holm families for the weekend, ensuring a fun and accessible experience for everyone including a pizza party after the racing concluded. We also had support from the Quintana de Andres family, the Thorntons, and Wilson Scanlan with food as well as other parents and athletes pitching in.

As the team rolled in, ready to compete against the top mountain bikers in Colorado (plus Wyoming and South Dakota), spirits were high for the Halloween weekend racing with the team pre-riding the course in bikini tops to participate in the “Beach Party” theme. The course was in stellar condition with the smooth, packed soil riding fast. With the one week delay due to weather plus another storm rolling towards the area, all 8 races were consolidated to a one-day event. Most of the races went smoothly with the exception of the Sophomore Boys race which experienced cold rain and rapidly dropping temperatures for the second lap.

The first race of the day was the Freshman Boys with Troy Edmiston starting in 78^th position out of 142 racers. He was having a good race but, unfortunately, had a crash early on lap one while trying to pass another rider. His thumb was injured and he could no longer shift but he was determined to finish the race which he did, finishing 134^th.

Next, the JV races took to the course. Rio Johnson had the number 1 call up putting him on the front row of the 134 person field. By the end of the first lap, Rio had a 10 second gap on second place and continued to ride a flawless race to take the win by 29 seconds. Rio has put in endless hours of hard work and was elated to take the Junior Varsity State Champion title. Also racing in the JV Boys race were Jaden Rand, Hank Scanlan, and Silas Conn. Jaden rode as well as possible as he was recovering from an incident (aka crash resulting in some stitches) in his final training ride just two days prior. He finished a very strong 20^th with Hank following in 52^nd (after another over the bars incident) and Silas in 104^th. All of the Taos JV boys had very consistent lap times, a result of their fitness, skill, and experience.

Taos had 3 athletes in the JV Girls race: Abby Thornton, Eleanor Breier, and Elia Hurtado. There were 100 JV Girls in the start, making it by far the largest start of the year for these gals. One great thing about large fields is that there are always other riders around so the racing is much more exciting. Abby maintained her call up position and finished 12^th, Elia moved up from 95^th to finish 57^th, and Eleanor finished her Senior season with pure joy, finishing 83^rd and enjoying every moment. Of note, Elia’s passing nearly 40 people at State is pretty much incredible.

Alhiana Quintana de Andres was our only rider in the Sophomore Girls race and rode with confidence to a 48^th place finish. Alhiana has improved throughout the season and is a rider who is always positive and brings a winning attitude.

The Sophomore Boys race was the only one that ended up battling the weather as the rains came in, temperatures dropped significantly, and the course turned to mud. Olin O’Reilly and Soren Julinski both finished but the cold definitely impacted Soren’s race. Olin was able to hang on and finished 46^th (moving up 10 spots) while Soren had to dig very deep to finish 127, with his second lap 13 minutes slower due to the cold. And yet, he persevered and finished.

Finally, the Varsity riders took to the course for 3 laps. Due to an unrideable section of mud, the course was shortened for this race only. Bernice O’Reilly (our only Varsity rider for 2026) started in 40^th and finished an incredible 20^th. To pass 20 Varsity riders at State Championships was a big win.

In a classy move, Taos Composite alumni who are on national teams (Donovan and Bear National) Keaton Verswijver and Mike Ziomek made the trip from Colorado Mesa University to the Colorado League races to support their former teammates and friends. Their energy and enthusiasm had a great impact on the team. When all was finished, Taos Composite just missed the podium for the race, an incredible feat with one of our highest scoring riders missing and only one Varsity rider (Varsity riders score more points than other divisions). We proudly finished as the top team in our region, beating teams that we had battled with all season in Division 2. We finished 4^th out of 26 Division 2 teams.

Seeing Rio Johnson standing on the top step as the 2026 JV State Champion was absolutely epic but the podiums weren’t quite finished. The Colorado League awards end of season awards, including the “Trail Blazer” award to “recognize an athlete who persevered through challenging circumstances and overcame adversity to become a role model for the entire Colorado League community”. Senior and Team Captain, Eleanor Breier, received this honor in front of a raucous crowd of 700+ athletes, coaches, and families.

Some of the things that made this weekend extra special included the incredible support each rider showed for their teammates before, during, and after the races. Trick or treating in the campground resulted in significant candy hauls. The van rides up and back were filled with music, nonstop conversations, deep topics, entertaining perspectives, snowball fights, and penguin eyebrows.

With Eleanor being our only graduating senior on the team and 5 athletes meeting the very tough qualifications to upgrade to Varsity next year, along with 5 very strong 8^th graders who will move onto the high school team, the future looks very exciting for the team.This team is a remarkable group of hard working, fun loving, kind, silly, inclusive friends and we all love being part of it. As we look forward to the end of season team party, we feel so grateful to all of the families and sponsors who make this possible.

Here is a link to all of the 2026 race reports.