SEASIDE, Calif. – Two months of practice got put to the test on Sunday, March 1, as the Clear Lake and Kelseyville High School Mountain Bike Teams competed in their first race of the season.

Approximately 667 riders in the NorCal Cycling League competed over the course of the two-day weekend at Fort Ord, a decommissioned US Army base turned National Monument just north of Monterey.

Conditions were close to perfect on Sunday due to rain showers the day before. Athletes competed on the five-mile course wrapping thru coastal oak, rolling grasslands and vernal pools.

The sandy soil proved well packed and smooth providing for fast conditions as the riders raced two to five laps, or 10 to 25 miles.

Experienced veteran riders proved to have the most success out of the 10 locals to compete.

Two Clear Lake High riders stood atop the podium at the awards ceremony helping to put CLHS in fifth place out of 31 teams in Division 2 of the NorCal North Conference.

Nathan Barnett, a CLHS senior racing in the highly competitive Varsity Category, placed second out of the 26 racing for five laps.

Barnett and another rider broke away from the main group creating a good-sized gap by working together. In their first lap, they set a new course record lap time of 17 minutes, 30 seconds.

Unfortunately near the end of the fourth lap, while Barnett was leading into a downhill, he shifted into a higher gear, “went over a breaking bump and my chain came off the front chain ring. I had to get off my bike to fix it and saw my opponent attack to create a gap on me. I tried to make up time but it just didn’t work out.”

Jeffrey Morton, a CLHS junior, placed fourth in the JV category out of 76, the largest field of the day.

Despite having mechanical problems as well, Morton was able to pull back up and gain a place by the end of his four-lap race.

Solano Dominguez, CLHS sophomore, placed seventh of 56 in the sophomore category.

Other racers of the day included Kelseyville High riders Craig Andre, Mike Pease, Jadon Lindsey (12 of 56 in JV) and Kia Kohler, and CLHS riders Gabe Wind, Taylor Buchholz and Zoë Cramer.

With race No. 1 complete, eyes were opened, new goals set, and sites are set on the March 14 race at Granite Bay State Park on Folsom Lake.

To learn more about the team and see more pictures, like them on Facebook at Lake County High School Mountain Bike Teams, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-High-School-Mountain-Bike-Teams/445252418916518 .

For further information about the NorCal Cycling League, visit www.norcalmtb.org .