The 2019 season is underway for the SLCSE Jackalopes Mountain Bike Team.
After a few practice rides and coaching sessions through the summer, the team’s first race was at Soldier Hollow on August 17th. Congratulations to the five students who participated in their first mountain bike race:
Joe Ball (11th grade)
Zachary Burke (7th grade)
Lukas Mesicek (9th grade)
Jake Schafer (10th grade)
Tyge Thompson (7th grade)
SLCSE MTB Team Video – Soldier Hollow 2019
This video was produced and edited by Jason Ball – one of our team coaches. Thanks for your time and hard work, Jason!
The Soldier Hollow venue presented a challenging course. Riders for each classification were assembled for a mass start and then had to compete a five mile long route with 565 feet of elevation gain. Depending on the rider’s age, experience and ability – each mountain biker completed 1-3 laps.
Unfortunately, on the Tuesday prior to the race, 8th grader Dan Ono Projansky had an injury that will prevent him from racing this season. The team would like to dedicate their season to Dan and are looking forward to having him join the team as soon as he can.
When asked about the Soldier Hollow race, SLCSE junior-devo rider Zachary Burke said “It started with a tough uphill climb, but it was fun because of the downhill parts and the switchbacks. This track had places where you could pass riders or get passed.”
The SLCSE Mountain Bike Team is part of the Utah League in NICA, the National Interscholastic Cycling Association. Founded in 2009 following the success of leagues that originated in California, NICA has teams operating in 24 states across the nation. NICA’s mission is to build strong minds, bodies, character and communities through cycling.
Additional races this season will take the team to Powder Mountain, Vernal, Beaver Mountain, and the state championship event in Cedar City.
Follow the team @jackalopetruth on Instagram.
The team would like to thank SLCSE teacher Steve Hamilton for his years of coaching and managing all of the logistics necessary to get SLCSE students out mountain biking. This is no easy task and the team is grateful for all of the time Mr. Hamilton has dedicated to getting kids outside on bikes.
We’d also like to express thanks to all of the riders’ parents who assist with driving kids to-and-from team practice rides and races.
There are no tryouts for this team and students of all abilities are encouraged to ride. Mountain bikers need to be in grades 7-8 in order to be on the SLCSE junior-devo team. Students in grades 9-12 will be on the SLCSE high school team. Note that riders on the junior-devo team will only be racing in three events whereas high school athletes will be eligible to race in five events. There are registration fees and deadlines associated with joining the team. Registration for the 2019 season has closed, but if you are interested in participating on the 2020 campaign, please contact SLCSE teacher Steve Hamilton.
This year’s team sponsors include: Avora Industrial, Hyland Cyclery, IPG Commercial Real Estate, Pixelcrane, and Rob Jackson Insurance.