Randolph, KS – The second race of season six of Kansas NICA’s mountain bike race series was held at the scenic venue of Fancy Creek State Park at Randolph, KS. Nestled among the breathtaking landscapes of the Flint Hills north of Manhattan, the athletes experienced an exhilarating mix of challenging terrain, scenic beauty and wet trails from a previous rain the night before. The ‘Crankin’ the Creek’ NICA race was held on April 12th and hosted thirteen teams from various areas of Kansas. Student athletes joining the Raptors came from Topeka, Emporia, Hutchinson, Lawrence, Manhattan, Wichita, Louisburg, Lindsborg, Great Bend, Colby, Hays and Johnson County with 199 athletes racing bikes.
The festivities began at 9:00 a.m. with Braeden Alvis, 5th grade, completing one lap for a 6th place finish. The middle school boys were the next category with Adam Palen racing 2 laps and finishing in 10th, Braxton Sumpter
in 18th (2 laps), Max Adams in 22nd (2 laps) and Logan Justus in 34th, one lap. The race laps were approximately a 2.5 mile loop of single track, winding through trees with additional spots of technical rocky hill climbs with muddy conditions in some spots resulting in tougher racing action.
Racing for the lady Raptors with a first place podium finish in the JV2 girls category was Addisen Schreiber completing 3 laps. The JV3 girls followed with Elizabeth Palen in fifth place with 3 laps and Vanessa Underwood in
17th with one lap. Marissa Jeardoe concluded the ladies with an 11th place finish in the middle school category with 2 laps.
The Varsity boys race was next with Colton Jeardoe coming in 9th with 5 laps. Brodey Schreiber led the JV3 category finishing in 5th with 3 laps, Clayton Underwood in 10th (3 laps) and Luke Hartsock in 16th (3 laps).
“The ‘Crankin’ the Creek’ mountain bike race held at Fancy Creek State Park was an excellent venue for our second race. Our Raptors rode tough, experiencing some technical features some of them saw for the first time and muddy, wet conditions added more to the challenge,” commented Coach Craig Underwood.
For more information about joining the team or to join as a coach, visit www.facebook.com/NCKRaptors. For more information about the Kansas League, visit www.kansasmtb.org.
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