First published in the June 2 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.
A pair of La Cañada High School freshmen shined in the SoCal High School Mountain Bike Championships in Lake Cachuma last weekend and contributed second-place finishes to the program.
Maya DeBrouwer raced to an impressive second-place finish in the varsity girls’ competition and was only 28 seconds behind a senior from Newbury Park High.
North conference champion Arya Namazie was just as impressive in the frosh boys’ race, placing second among 67 of the fastest freshmen in Southern California.
In the JV1 championship race, sophomore Stellan Klemmer pedaled to No. 11 out of 75 racers.
Head coach Bill Barker sees a bright future for his two freshmen. “SoCal championships is a lot like the CIF playoffs in other sports in that you’ve competed in your league, then you have to go against a much bigger talent pool,” he said. “What we learned is that our racers are right there with the best, with Arya and Maya taking second places in their races — and they’re only freshman, so there is a lot to look forward to heading into next year and beyond.”
