Scott Triplett
Contributing Writer
Pocahontas County’s Youth Mountain Bike Team, The Cheat Mountain Salamanders, continues its successful race season in West Virginia’s NICA League.
The second race of the season took the team to Big Bear Lake Trail Center in Preston County for The Battle at Big Bear Lake. Big Bear is the most technical course on the schedule, but it proved no match for the Salamander Team with seven out of eight riders earning Top 10 finishes. A light rain prior to practice helped the course become just damp enough for fast race times. The Middle School races led off the weekend and the Salamanders began their dominating weekend with Tyler Faulk-nier winning the Sixth Grade Boys race and being the only sixth grader with a fast enough lap to qualify for a bonus lap. In Seventh Grade Boys, Blake Alderman fought his way up to a 10th place finish. In Eighth Grade Boys, Silas Dean rode his way into the Top Ten with an eighth place finish.
Not to be outdone, the Middle School Girls showed they could find the front, as well. Mia Valach finished first in Sixth Grade Girls and Brynn Clutter took home second in Eighth Grade Girls.
The High School Riders also fought hard to earn some good finishes. Ahna Valach broke into the Top 10 with an eighth place finish in JV3 Girls. After being relegated to a back row start, Dawson Deputy passed nearly half the field to earn him a 24th place finish. In JV1 Boys, Carter Faulknier brought home another Top 10, finishing ninth.
Next up for the Salamanders was a trip to the Eastern Panhandle’s Cacapon State Park for the Rock and Roll at Cacapon. Once again, the Middle School Boys got off to a winning start. Tyler Faulknier dominated the Sixth Grade Boys race, easily taking the top spot on the podium and Jaxon Cassell finished just out of the Top 10 at 13th. In Seventh Grade Boys, Blake Alderman raced his way toward the front to earn his first spot on the podium finishing in fifth place. In Eighth Grade Boys, Silas Dean continued his streak of Top 10 finishes coming in ninth. Mia Valach once again earned the top spot on the podium in the Sixth Grade Girls race. A mechanical issue prior to the race forced a back row start for Brynn Clutter. This, however, did not deter her as she raced her way through the field to a scond place finish. Dawson Deputy finished 29th in JV3 Boys. Once again, Carter Faulknier earned a Top 10 and barely missed the podium with a sixth place finish.
For the fourth race of the season the team traveled to the impressive facility at the Summit Bechtel Reserve Scout Camp for Shred the Summit. The Middle School Boys came out strong. Once again, Tyler Faulknier took first place in Sixth Grade Boys keeping his perfect season alive. The Seventh Grade Boys race was an exciting one, after being caught up in an accident, Blake Alderman jumped back in the race losing only one position and held on for a fifth place podium finish, and James Monico made his first start of the season and managed to hold off challenges to finish 28th. In Eighth Grade Boys, Silas Dean reached his goal for the season by finishing in fifth place and earning a spot on the podium.
The Middle School Girls continued their success. Mia Valach finished first in Sixth Grade Girls after a two-lap wheel to wheel battle edging out second place by three seconds at the finish. In Eighth Grade Girls, Brynn Clutter rode away from the field taking first place by more than a minute.
The High School Boys dealt with increasing temperatures in the afternoon. Dawson Deputy battled the heat coming home 29th in JV3 Boys, and Carter Faulknier survived the heat to finish 10th and kept his Top 10 Streak alive.
Next up for the Salamanders is a trip to Southern West Virginia’s Twin Falls State Park and The Brawl at Twin Falls.
