Of the 34 Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club mountain bike athletes who raced during the season, 23 qualified to compete in the state championship in Glenwood Springs on Saturday, Oct. 22.

Overall, Steamboat athletes earned three podiums with Steamboat Springs High School finishing second overall in Division 2 and Steamboat Mountain School placing 18th overall in Division 3. While the two schools are divided for scoring purposes, the athletes work and train together in the same program.

“At the state championship, 94 teams represented 160 schools, and only 10 of those schools had multiple riders finishing in the top 16,” coach Chuck O’Connell said. “Out of all of those teams, only one program, Steamboat, had at least two riders in the top 16 in three different age and sex classifications. Within that, the JV girls had four in the top 16.”

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For O’Connell, this proved just how deep Steamboat is as a team with contributors coming from all of its classes.

Steamboat freshman Mary McLarnon took first place in the junior varsity girls race, beating second place by well over a minute. McLarnon has been dominant all season and was the only freshman girl from any school competing at the junior varsity level. 

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The junior varsity girls had been Steamboat’s highest scoring class this season and continued that trend at the state championship.

Head coach Paul Majors said several of the junior varsity girls exceeded their expected seedings to help propel the team to second place.

“One great example is (junior) Wren Capra, who all year has been plagued with mechanical problems with her bicycle and was seeded at 108th place,” Majors said. “She did not have any mechanical problems and finished 12th, passing 96 racers, which is amazing.”

For her race, Capra was given the Slingshot award, which is presented to the racer who passed the most opponents. 

Other top racers include junior Aidan Haack and senior Caleb Haack, who finished fourth and 14th, respectively, in the varsity boys race. Eva Minotto took second in the freshman girls race with Anna Rhodes not far behind in seventh. 

The team also said goodbye to its six seniors — Colten Casavecchia, Thomas Cooper, Caleb Haack, Aidan Kerrigan, Caroline Landers and Madeline Rochon — at an end-of-the-year party on Monday, Oct. 24.

O’Connell told his athletes to be proud of themselves and that he was truly astonished by the results. He said this only means good things for the coming years. 

“The message was, ‘It’s not about the points, and it’s not about how well Steamboat did,’” O’Connell said. “It’s about getting out there and participating. When you do that and your friends then join you and you are riding with your buddies, somewhere in there are going to be some stallions.”

Team results
Div. 2: 1. Durango 4768. 2. Steamboat Springs 4581. 3. Colorado Rocky Mountain 4445. 
Div. 3: 1. Crested Butte 2117. 2. Middle Park 2047. 3. Fort Collins 2030. 18. Steamboat Mountain School 1263.

Individual results
Boys
Varsity: 1. Nicholas Konecny, Summit, 1:03.38.80. 2. Kade Kreikemeier, Independent, 1:03.41.66. 3. Landen Stovall, Eagle Valley, 1:05.03.01. 4. Aidan Haack, SS, 1:05.12.37. 14. Caleb Haack, SS, 1:08.11.36. 53. Thomas Cooper, SS, 1:14.46.66. 58. Primo Famiglietti, SS, 1:15.26.53. 
Junior varsity: 1. Finn Veit, Crested Butte, 42:42.44. 2. Austin Leigh, Air Academy, 43:30.05. 3. Emmett McManus, Durango, 43:51.16. 32. Kyan Strong, SS, 48:31.74. 38. Thomas Miller, SS, 49:06.96. 77. Jace Rabesa, SS, 51:21.16. 
Sophomore: 1. Edan Coin, Spearfish, 46:08.87. 2. Tyler Goodson, Boulder, 46:09.19. 3. Grant Espinosa, Discovery Canyon, 47:29.10. 101. Dietze Gibson, SMS, 55:38.94. 129. Ian Mclarney, SMS, 58:20.25. 
Freshman: 1. Ben Garmany, Grand Junction, 46:24.41. 2. Alex Current, VSSA, 47:14.36. 3. Abe Cooley, Fort Collins, 47:20.80. 6. Ryan Montgomery, SS, 48:37.00. 33. Luke Bedell, SS, 51:56.32. 76. Thomas Agosta, SS, 55:43.64. 

Girls
Varsity: 1. Kira Mullins, Columbine, 1:19.07.77. 2. Riley Huston, Durango, 1:19.43.42. 3. Rose Horning, Leadville, 1:19.44.74. 
Junior varsity: 1. Mary McLarnon, SS, 50:19.80. 2. Lucy Perkins, VSSA, 51:33.32. 3. Anna Munro, Boulder, 52:53.86. 8. Abby Olson, SMS, 55:32.48. 12. Wren Capra, SS, 58:02.33. 16. Jesse Weaver, SS, 59:06.21. 28. Liz Lipscomb, SS, 1:01.23.26. 34. Caroline Landers, SS, 1:01.52.55. 41. Aidan Kerrigan, SMS, 1:03.10.56. 64. Madeline Rochon, SS, 1:07.32.48. 
Sophomore: 1. Zoe Hubel, Palmer, 56:55.42. 2. Aila Harmala, Summit, 57:03.54. 3. Zoe Miller, Golden, 57:09.25. 
Freshman: 1. Betty Holcomb, Durango, 53:33.39. 2. Eva Minotto, SS, 54:07.89. 3. Katherine McDonald, VSSA, 54:40.35. 7. Anna Rhodes, SS, 56:04.24. 53. Emma Crocker, SS, 1:13.17.52.

To reach Tom Skulski, call 970-871-4240, email tskulski@SteamboatPilot.com.