Fun at the Fort – Race #1 of the 2019 Season for the Bishop O’Dowd Mountain Bike Team
The 2019 Norcal mountain bike season kicked off last Saturday for the O’Dowd Dragons in Monterey, California.
On a crystal clear day the O’Dowd racers were ready for what will be another thrilling mountain bike season. Lead by team captain Mia Rahman ’19 the 2019 squad features seven girls and two boys.
2019 Bishop O’Dowd Mountain Bike Team
First up for the day were the ladies, with four JV racers – Mia Rahman, Elise Cypher ’19, Bella Walters ’19 and Holly Teeters ’19. Holly joined the squad as a senior and competed in her very first race, finishing in 35th place just behind both Bella and Mia. Elise lead the JV girls finishing in 14th place near the front of a very competitive JV field.
Holly Teeters ’19 in her first mountain bike race
Lily O’Hare ’21 racing in the sophomore category this year started the season off with a bang finishing just off the podium in 6th place.
The O’Dowd freshman girls include Sarah Tracey-Cook ’22 and Caroline Hendsch ’22. The first freshman race of the season is always full of nerves and excitement. But both Sarah and Caroline had their game-faces on and put down the hammer coming in 7th and 8th .
Bella Walters ’19 out on the Fort Ord race course
The O’Dowd boys are lead by Matthew Justice ’20 who is competing in the JV field this year. Matthew was off to a good start on Saturday leading out the pack and was in the front group when he pulled a calf muscle and had to abandon the race. He is fine, recovering and looking forward to Race #2.
Andrew Fee ’21 had a stand out performance finishing 10th in a very fast and large sophomore category. Starting near the back of the pack, Andrew worked his way through the field, passing over 20 riders.
Andrew Fee ’21 crossing the finish line in the sophomore race
The Dragons compete in Division 2 (small school teams) and in the team competition finished in 4th place just off the podium.
It should be an exciting season as the Dragons compete against rival schools from throughout California and here in the East Bay, including Oakland Tech, Piedmont HS, Skyline HS, and Alameda HS, just to name a few.
Next up is Race #2 at Granite Bay State Park near Folsom on Sunday March 17.