Mountain Bikers Enjoy Great Day At North Shore Championships

Collingwood's mountain bike team has a storied past. It has always been a small but hearty group of young men and women. It is a team that is not always in the spotlight, but it is a team where all have been welcome and where our athletes have always thrived. This year's team has done very well. Here is a season recap from Coach Ramsden:

The mountain bike team was an example of extremes this year. The weather was either beautiful and sunny or rainy and very cold. The athletes were either in Grade 12 or in Grade 8 (except for our lone Grade 10 Jaedon Chase).

The Grade 8's took a decisive lead of the league standings at the beginning of the season but were passed in the last couple races by a very strong Windsor team. Drew Mozell earned second in every race this season and edged closer to the leader as the season progressed. These strong and consistent results helped him secure second overall for the season.

Matteo Zumpano also improved throughout the season and had a personal best, 9^th place at the Whistler race. He also ended the season 9^th overall. Nico Spadavecchia, Rhys Caplan and Jacob Bond rounded out our strong Grade 8 team bringing home consistent and decisive results to help the boys team secure second place overall. Nico earned 15^th overall, Rhys earned 29^th overall and Jacob earned 35^th overall this season.

Our senior boys also had a very strong season. The veterans, Evan Mant and Edward Coleman, improved throughout the season ending with season best results in Whistler, 1^st place and 3^rd place respectively. Peter Konigsmann was a key addition to the senior boys team and his consistent top 15 results helped earn valuable points for the team. Jaedon Chase raced up this year to help round out the senior team, he was the only grade 10 boy racing against the grade 11 and 12's.

At the North Shore Championships, the team finished their season on a high note. Drew Mozell won the Grade 8 race with an amazing sprint finish. Edward Coleman gave the coaches a scare with a flat tire 10 minutes before the start. He managed to change it in time and race to first place in his final high school mountain bike race ever. The remainder of the Collingwood team continued their dominant season and brought home strong and consistent results once again.

We would like to thank the seniors Edward, Evan and Peter for their leadership this season and thank the Grade 8's for their enthusiasm even during the wettest training days.