Photo: Mary McLarnon Varsity Girls Win

The Steamboat High School Mountain Bike team took home wins in three categories, twelve top-10 finishes, and first place in Division 2 at the second race of The Colorado High School Cycling League race series on Sunday, September 8, at Showdown in the Boat on Emerald Mountain in Steamboat Springs. 394 racers competed in the Yampa Division race on Sunday, with 37 riders from the Steamboat High School and Steamboat Mountain School composite team. Riders raced two or three laps of a 5.5-mile course, including a mix of singletrack, double track, and dirt roads. The girls dominated again, with Mary McLarnon winning the varsity category, Whitney Warnke in second place for junior varsity, Allie Reznicek in first place for the sophomore girls, and Sydney Soard with another win for the freshman girls. Other notable results include Thomas Agosta in 8th in varsity boys, Jesse Weaver in 5th junior varsity girls, Lindsay Berke in 10th for sophomore girls, Schuyler Biglow in 5th and Oscar Liban in 9th for sophomore boys, Lucia Magnotta 4th in the freshman girls category, and Robbie Wodnik 4th, Odin Gruben 5th, Quinn Dressen 6th and Caleb Walker 9th in freshman boys.

It was another beautiful day in the Yampa Valley, beginning with the sophomore boys racing two laps on Emerald Mountain. Steamboat’s Schuyler Biglow was the first to podium for Steamboat in 5th place in his category. (Colorado High School Cycling League recognizes the top five in each category for the podium).

Junior Varsity boys were next, and Ian McLarney was the top Steamboat finisher for the JV boys in 16th place Ian is a Legacy Rider from Steamboat Mountain School, meaning he has competed all four years of high school in the Colorado League. Steamboat High School and Steamboat Mountain School athletes train and compete together in the Yampa Region as part of the Steamboat composite team. Steamboat High School’s Elliot Nance rode a personal best in the junior varsity race and came in 47th.

Varsity boys and girls race three laps of the course instead of two for all other competitive categories. Steamboat powerhouse and multi-discipline cyclist Mary McLarnon took first place for the varsity girls in a gritty effort. For the boys, both Thomas Agosta and Luke Bedell scored points for Steamboat, placing 8th and 16th respectively.

Temperatures were getting pretty hot when the next wave of racers in the junior varsity, freshman, and sophomore girls started, but the riders were lucky to have a light rain to cool things off for their second lap. Steamboat girls turned in excellent performances and showed promise with junior varsity riders Whitney Warnke, 2nd, and legacy rider Jesse Weaver, 5th, both on the podium. Allie Reznicek took over the series points lead and won the sophomore category. Current freshman points leader Sydney Soard defended her standing with a commanding first place finish and Lucia Magnotta moved up to the freshman podium coming in 4th.

The day ended with a large contingent of freshman boys. The Steamboat freshman boys finished 4-6 in their category, led by Robbie Wodnick in 4th place. Odin Gruben was also on the podium with 5th place and Quinn Dressen just missed the podium in 6th but received the race’s Slingshot Award–an award given to the rider that moved up the most places from his/her start position–for moving up to 6th in Steamboat from 60th place in the first race after a flat tire forced him to run a good portion of the course.

Probably most importantly, our community stepped up along with the athletes in a big way with volunteers to help make the event run as smoothly as possible. The Steamboat High School Mountain Bike team’s next race is on Saturday, September 21, in Eagle at the Haymaker Classic, where the team is poised to pull ahead and take the overall series team lead for the Yampa region.

Race results can be found here:
https://my.raceresult.com/307699/results

Varsity Girls
1 - Mary McLarnon

Varsity Boys
8 - Thomas Agosta
16 - Luke Bedell

Junior Varsity Girls
2 - Whitney Warnke
5 - Jesse Weaver (LEGACY)
32 - Anna Boness

Junior Varsity Boys
16 - Ian McLarney (LEGACY)
47 - Elliot Nance
54 - Jackson Sloop
106 - Xavier Knott (LEGACY)

Sophomore Girls
1 - Allie Reznicek
10 - Lindsay Berke
12 - Zoe Chase

Sophomore Boys
5 - Schuyler Biglow
9 - Oscar Libin
14 - Jackson Rosencrantz
31 - Rowan Hanaughan
32 - Logan Drury
40 - Morgan Garrett

Freshman Girls
1 - Sydney Soard
4 - Lucia Magnotta
18 - Ellis Dressendorfer
19 - Julia Boness
27 - Grayson Wells

Freshman Boys
4 - Robbie Wodnik
5 - Odin Gruben
6 - Quinn Dressen
9 - Caleb Walker
15 - Henry Davis
16 - Fisher Beauregard
20 - Soren Shepherd
27 - Silas Setter
36 - Mitchell McLarney
42 - Daniel Crocker
58 - George Biosjoli
59 - Mason Lipscomb

In the results, Legacy means the rider has raced all four years of their high school career. 

The Colorado League consists of more than 160 high schools. The 2024 race series has four regions: Yampa, Crystal, Piedra, and Platte. Steamboat Springs High School students and Steamboat Mountain School students race in the Yampa division. The Colorado League facilitates the development of interscholastic mountain bike cycling teams for grades 9-12. The program promotes positive youth development through interscholastic mountain biking for high school students in Colorado, southern Wyoming, northern New Mexico, and Spearfish, South Dakota.