The St. Francis Golden Knights Mountain Bike Team at the Sycamore Canyon Park Race

It was an incredible day that will always be remembered by the St. Francis Golden Knights Mountain Bike Team for a very special accomplishment. After 6 years of racing in the SoCal League, the Golden Knights would earn their first ever race win! Across rolling fields covered with oak trees and rock gardens, Sycamore Canyon Park is an urban oasis with fast, rolling single-track terrain. The Golden Knights were ready for round 3 of the SoCal league race series.

The race weekend would start with 8th grader, Garrett Hamilton, competing in the first-ever middle school race. (Garrett will be a freshman at St. Francis next year). A pilot program designed to help middle school aged students prepare for high school racing, over 90 middle school students would line up on Saturday afternoon for their first ever 8 mile race. Garrett got the hole-shot at the start and would lead most of the race. Two mechanical issues would hamper Garrett’s race, but he still managed to hang on for a great 4th place finish and the first podium of the weekend for the Golden Knights.

The first race on Sunday included the two Golden Knight freshmen taking on a large field of 45 freshman riders. Charlie Patterson and Evan Tontini have continued to work hard in practice and have begun to learn the ropes of racing. Both would compete their race with respectable finishes in 32nd and 36th place, respectfully.

The fast sophomore group would again provide most of the drama of the day for the Golden Knights. Their race would include three laps totaling over 15 miles of racing. George Orloff, who already has two podiums this season, took off on a mad sprint at the start and never looked back. Riding an impressive race, and increasing his lead each lap, Orloff went on to claim the first ever win for the Golden Knights! Improving each race and getting closer to the podium was Andrew Schiller finishing in 7th. Michael Vega would come back from a first lap crash to finish in 11th, with Andrew Palaski close behind in 15th. In only his second mountain bike race, Nick Perez would complete the challenging course in 36th position. George Orloff’s win would also move him into the series leaders’ jersey, another first for the Golden Knights.

The JV Division 1 race would field the largest group of riders of the day, with 51 students lining up for their 3 lap race. Six Golden Knights would compete in this fast race, with another podium being awarded to the Golden Knights. Skyler Payne raced hard and did everything he could to stay with the leaders, earning him his third podium of the season with a great 4th place finish. Remi Roth and Kenny Larsen would improve on their last race results and came in at 18th and 19th place. Keenan Koch had another solid race to earn 30th, with Hunter Nalley and Chris Perez rounding out the JV racers in 42nd and 46th place.

This year the league has worked hard to make the Varsity race more challenging, and this race would be no different. The Sycamore Canyon Varsity course would be over 26 miles long with 4000’ of climbing – the most challenging Varsity course in the league history. Sean Bird was hoping to improve on his race results, but had bad luck with a flat before the race even began. The bike wasn’t right and Sean struggled for the whole race, but finished in a respectable 17th place. St. Francis junior and fellow varsity rider Austin Hamilton is learning a lot this year, and again showed grit and determination to battle in a hard race for 24th place.

The Golden Knights reached an important milestone with their first win, something that all Golden Knights before them can take honor in knowing they helped earn. It has taken a true team effort from all of the students, parents, and coaches to get the team to where they are today.

The 6-race season continues with the fourth race at Keyesville Recreation Area in Lake Isabella on April 6th.

The Golden Knights mountain bike team are very grateful for all of the support they have received from the school, parents, alumni, and their generous sponsors, including: Design Imports, Hollandays, Merchants Building Maintenance, Mountain Pine Shutters, Strategic Law

Partners, Nu-Hope, Kevin Martin/UBS, Stratz & Company, Financial Guaranty Insurance Brokers, Lucas Horsfall Murphy & Pindroh, Lantern CycleWorks, Montrose Bike Shop, Crescenta Valley Insurance, Church and Larsen, JoBesh International, and Sport Chalet.