The LCHS Mountain Bike Team recently had their first race of the season at Lake Perris, with five members reaching the podium at the end of the day’s event.
It is one of five races in the season, with the culmination of the SoCal High School Cycling League State Championship scheduled in May.
“I’m really pleasantly surprised by the results,” said coach Bill Barker in a statement. “Our riders placed quite well and we are still in our endurance phase of training, we haven’t even begun to add speed. There’s huge potential for the rest of the season.”
In total, the team consists of 67 riders from La Cañada High School, LCHS 7/8 and sixth graders from three elementary schools in the district.
Twenty-two racers from the team competed at Lake Perris, which is a much less technical course than the next four of the season.
There were two podium finishes in the high school category.
Danny Castano took third place in the boys’ freshmen race, and Ella Andrews placed fourth in the girls’ junior varsity division.
From LCHS 7/8, Jonathan Contes took third place and Finn Ramsey placed fifth in their respective eighth-grade races, while Jason Cho finished runner-up in their seventh-grade event.
The team will next compete at Vail Lake in Temecula on March 9.
First published in the March 7 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.
