MOUNTAIN BIKING: Local riders strut their stuff at NW Cup

PORT ANGELES — It was a weekend for local riders to shine as 42 Olympic Peninsula riders races and four locals won at the second running of the Northwest Cup at Dry Hill on Sunday.

More than 420 riders from all over the Pacific Northwest participated in the races. In addition to the first leg of the Northwest Cup held at Dry Hill in April, that is nearly 900 racers participating in the local races over two weekends.

The Northwest Cup now moves on to Mount Hood, Ore., for the third of eight races this summer.

Winning their events were Sean Rankin, Joe Skerbeck, Bryan Campbell and James Alton, all of Port Angeles. Local riders did especially well in the Cat 2 races, which are intermediate skill riders.

“We did well, especially in that Cat 2,” said event co-organizer Scott Tucker. “A lot of those guys were our trail builders. They were awesome.”

Tucker said a total of 33 Port Angeles riders participated. Several riders from Sequim and Port Townsend also participated.

“Three years ago, we might have had five or six [locals],” Tucker said.

Tucker said one of the high points of the day was 5-year-old Emilie Simeur of Bellingham, who completed the steep downhill course, finishing in second place in the Cat 3 girls 0-10 race. She got a huge ovation at the finish line, he said.

“That was the highlight of the weekend. She was grinning ear to ear,” Tucker said.

Rankin won the Cat 3 (beginners) men’s 15-18 race with a time of 3 minutes, 39.88 seconds, taking first place by just 0.05 of a second over second-place finisher Jobe Androckitis of Port Orchard.

Skerbeck won the Cat 3 men’s 19-29 race with a time of 2:57.29, beating another Port Angeles rider, Zach Fraser, who came in second with a time of 3:01.17.

Campbell won the Cat 2 men’s 30-39 with a time of 3:06.13 in another incredibly close finish. Campbell beat out Nick Felure of Shoreline by .35 of a second to take first place.

Alton won the Cat 2 men’s 40-49 race with a time of 3:03.21.

Other local riders who did well were Travis Bear of Sequim, who finished second in the Cat 3 men’s 40-59 race with a time of 3:46.52; Steven Johnson, who finished second in the Cat 3 men’s 60-plus race with a time of 4:16.55; Talon Northern, who came in second in the Cat 2 men’s 15-18 race with a time of 2:55.25.

In the extremely tough Cat 1 expert category, Steven Lauderback of Port Angeles finished fourth out of 11 in the men’s 19-29 race with a time of 2:43.80; Matthew Mangano of Port Angeles finished sixth out of 22 riders in the men’s 0-18 race with a time of 2:31.26 and James Gardner of Port Angeles finished seventh in the men’s 30-39 with a time of 2:52.20.

Other highlights of the races were the gorgeous, sunny weather and no major wrecks or injuries Sunday, Tucker said.

“There were no red and white vehicles,” he said.

The professional men’s winner was Demetri Traintfillou of Bellingham, who finished with a time of 2:21.00. The pro women’s winner was Claire Buchar of Whistler, B.C., who finished with a time of 2:40.76.

Dry Hill Results

Sunday, May 5, 2019

Cat 3 Boys 0-10 — Elliott Klein, Redmond, first, 4:17.61; Cole Gurney, Vancouver, second, 4:18.39; Christopher Simeur, Bellingham, third, 4:40.86.

Cat 3 Boys 11-14 — Jackson Wicklund, Bainbridge, first, 3:40.41; Seth Fuller, Bonners Ferry, Idaho, second, 3:50.65; Jude Bender, Duvall, third, 3:53.01; Finn Thompson, PA, fourth, 3:53.91; Joseph Ritchie, PA, fifth, 3:53.98; Tanner Jacobson, PA, sixth, 3:54.06; Joseph Clemens, PA, seventh, 3:55.00; Saul Carter, Chimacum, eighth, 3:57.14; Cash Coleman, PA, ninth, 3:57.92; Lincoln Bear, Sequim, 17th, 4:16.92; Ronan McGuire, PA, 18th, 4:18.75; Anthony Jones, PA, 19th, 4:19.40; Cooper Berry, PA, 23rd, 4:28.14; Anthony Brigandi, PA, 4:35.70.

Cat 3 Men 15-18 — Sean Rankin, PA, first, 3:39.88; Jobe Androckitis, Port Orchard, second, 3:39.93; Braxton Kuhl, Snoqualmie, third, 3:43.57; Connor Bear, Sequim, fourth, 3:46.19; Will Roening, PA, ninth, 3:56.97.

Cat 3 Men 19-39 — Chris Waller, Rainier, first, 3:46.84; Aaron Thompson, Olympia, second, 3:47.35; Philip Gilles, Port Angeles, third, 3:48.63.

Cat 3 Men 40-59 — Mike Skrypnek, Squamish, B.C., first, 3:45.57; Travis Bear, Sequim, second, 3:46.52; Michael Gosciniak, University Place, third, 3:50.52; Michael McGuire, PA, fifth, 3:54.08.

Cat 3 Men 60+ — Rick Gale, ZigZag, Ore., first, 4:14.49; Steven Johnson, PA, second, 4:16.55; Curtis Shepherd, Renton, third, 4:34.22.

Cat 3 Girls 0-10 — Nory Klein, Redmond, first, 4:56.43; Emilie Simeur, Bellingham, second, 12:38.80.

Cat 3 Girls 11-18 — Matilda Melton, Bellingham, first, 4:18.69; Saylor Jackson, Caldwell, Idaho, second, 4:20.81; Mica Erickson, Hayden, Idaho, third, 4:24.35; Natalie Brigandi, PA, seventh, 5:38.40.

Cat 3 Women 19-39 — Thea Ruckhaus, Bremerton, first, 4:07.97; Raelynn Darsow, Columbia Falls, Mont., second, 4:25.25; Erin Lietzan, Anacortes, third, 4:39.65.

Cat 3 Women 40+ — Amy Celeste Carolin, Bremerton, first, 4:07.23; Shannon Lell, Bellevue, second, 4:29.00; Terri Cole, Tacoma, third, 4:32.78; Catharine Copass, PA, fourth, 4:41.77.

Cat 2 Boys 0-14 — Dane Jewett, Squamish, B.C., first, 2:55.68; Etan Bravard, Bend, Ore., second, 2:57.92; Jagger Bucy, Snoqualmie, third, 2:59.61.

Cat 2 Men 15-18 — Henri Vergara-Grindell, Hillsboro, Ore., 2:53.03; Talon Northern, PA, second, 2:55.25; Lantz Harrington, Steamboat Springs, Colo., third, 2:56.67; Henry Manza, PT, 22nd, 3:16.27; Oscar Ruiz, PA, 30th, 3:22.13; Harley Dachs, PA, 42nd, 3:29.85; Colby Groves, PA, 44th, 3:32.87.

Cat 2 Men 19-29 — Joe Skerbeck, PA, first, 2:57.29; Zach Fraser, PA, second, 3:01.17; Craig Frazee, Renton, third, 3:01.67; Matthew Groves, PA, ninth, 3:07.02; Dillon Smith, Port Townsend, 12th, 3:07.53; Hudson Soelter, PA, 15th, 3:11.88; Nathan Denton, PA, 23rd, 3:32.73.

Cat 2 Men 30-39 — Bryan Campbell, PA, first, 3:06.13; Nick Felure, Shoreline, second, 3:06.48; Tyler Johnson, Seattle, third, 3:07.80; James Kauffman, PA, 16th, 3:23.52; Nate Walker, PT, 19th, 3:24.84; Leland Gibson, PT, 20th, 3:27.52; Taylor McCormack, Sequim, 26th, 3:57.57.

Cat 2 Men 40-49 — James Alton, PA, first, 3:03.21; Shawn Anderson, Seattle, second, 3:04.30; Graham Beatty, North Vancouver, B.C., third, 3:06.13; Ron Riggs, PA, eighth, 3:21.49.

Cat 2 Men 50+ — Michael Mooney, North Vancouver, B.C., first, 3:13.00; Jason Gibb, Redmond, second, 3:13.25; Preston Peterson, Kirkland, third, 3:13.95; Will Stevenson, PA, fifth, 3:25.83.

Cat 2 Girls 0-18 — Brooke Anderson, Portland, Ore., first, 3:20.49; Julia Traum Lofqvist, second, 3:28.39; Sierra Semsak, Issaquah, third, 3:28.70.

Cat 2 Women 19-39 — Solene Correard, Vancouver, B.C., first, 3:37.37; Ashley Pascoe, Tacoma, second, 3:49.45; Danielle Spady, Bellingham, third, 3:52.10.

Cat 2 Women 40+ — Susan Walsh, Tacoma, first, 3:42.98; Erika Scholz, Silverton, Ore., second, 3:52.17; Dana Wolf, Seattle, third, 3:55.83.

Cat 1 Boys 0-18 — Jackson Goldstone, Squamish, B.C., first, 2:27.44; Coen Skrypnek, Squamish, B.C., second, 2:27.86; Drew Mozell, North Vancouver, B.C., third, 2:28.63; Mathew Mangano, PA, sixth, 2:31.26.

Cat 1 Mens 19-29 — Drew Boxold, Walnut Creek, Calif., first, 2:33.09; Ben Reeder, Bellingham, second, 2:35.89; Simon Patamia, Burien, third, 2:36.76; Steven Lauderback, PA, fourth, 2:43.80.

Cat 1 Men 30-39 — Don Brockett, North Bend, first, 2:33.93; Michael Klenz, Carlton, Ore., second, 2:37.38; Tom Power, Vancouver, B.C., third, 2:37.44; James Gardner, PA, seventh, 2:52.20.

Cat 1 Men 40+ — Scott Kemp, Shoreline, first, 2:35.57; Chris Canfield, Layton, Utah, second, 2:39.62; Andy Crocker, Gresham, Ore., third, 2:44.40.

Cat 1 Girls 0-18 — Bailey Goldstone, Squamish, B.C., first, 2:51.38; Gracey Hemstreet, Sechelt, B.C., second, 2:58.77; Ella Erickson, Hayden, Idaho, third, 2:59.90.

Cat 1 Women 19-39 — Anna Surowiecki, Woodinville, first, 3:11.31; Connor Shae James, Bellingham, second, 3:15.36; Meghan Dahl, Bellingham, third, 3:25.23.

Pro Women — Claire Buchar, Whistler, B.C., first, 2:40.76; Kialani Hines, Auburn, second, 2:45.28; Autumn Parham, Edmonds, third, 2:55.85.

Pro Men — Demetri Traintfillou, Bellingham, first, 2:21.00; Samuel Thibault, Chambly, Que., second, 2:22.02; Jason Eiswald, Bellingham, third, 2:25.76.