Los Alamos Mountain Bike Team athletes and coaches at the Hayfield Hustle September 7 in Gallup are, back row from left, Chris McLean, Ian McLean, Calvin Grow, Ezra Kozimor, Quanah Moseley, Sebastian Koglin, Phoebe Reid, Elliot Work, Clay Moseley, and Paul Allen and seated in front is Jim Tyldesley. Photo Courtesy Los Alamos Mountain Bike Club
Sebastian Koglin earned the top spot on the podium for the JV1 category with the fastest lap times across all categories at the 2024 Hayfield Hustle. Photo Courtesy Los Alamos Mountain Bike Club
Phoebe Reid pinning it around the high school loop. Photo Courtesy Los Alamos Mountain Bike Team
Ian McLean leading the JV2 field. Photo Courtesy Los Alamos Mountain Bike Team
Quanah Moseley at the start of the 6th grader race as he quickly drops the field. Photo Courtesy Los Alamos Mountain Bike Club
BY PAULA KNEPPER
Los Alamos Mountain Bike Team
Seven youth athletes along with five team coaches, Jim Tyldesley, Paul Allen, Jason Koglin, Clay Moseley and Chris McLean from the Los Alamos Mountain Bike Team traveled to Gallup Sept. 7 to compete in the New Mexico National Interscholastic Cycling Association’s (NM NICA) season opener, the 2024 Hayfield Hustle.
Quanah Moseley (6th grade Mountain Elementary School), Elliot Work and Ezra Kozimor (9th grade Los Alamos High School), Phoebe Reid (11th grade LAHS), Sebastian Koglin, Ian McLean and Calvin Grow (10th grade LAHS) represented the Los Alamos Mountain Bike Team at the event on Saturday.
A spectacular back drop of wildflowers created a beautiful, almost distracting, environment for the two racecourses specifically designed for middle school and high school athletes. High school fields raced between one and four laps on a 5-mile loop while middle school athletes raced up to two loops on a shorter 3-mile course.
Los Alamos athletes returned with amazing memories, medals and leader jerseys.
Phoebe Reid took first place during her debut competition along with Ezra Kozimor. In the 9th grade division, Elliot Work earned 4th place, despite injuring himself the night before and competing with a set of fresh stiches. Quanah Moseley finished the 6th grade boys race in first place with a lead of over two minutes from the next competitor.
Sebastian Koglin racing up a category in the JV1 division, earned first place with a substantial lead over the field and putting down the fastest lap time across all categories for the event. Ian McLean and Calvin Grow competed in the most contentious and congested category, the JV2 division, finishing with a second place and tenth place, respectively.
“All the racers put in 100% effort and their results reflect their hard work,” Head Coach Jim Tyldesley said after the race.
The Los Alamos Mountain Bike Team will compete Sept. 22 at the Manzano Mountain Madness. New athletes between 6th grade to 12th grade are welcome to join the LA mountain bike team, and information is available at https://newmexicomtb.org.
Hayfield Hustle start line for the Middle School boys field. Photo Courtesy Los Alamos Mountain Bike Club Team