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Cycle Dawgs persevere in Castaic Lake race

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“Perseverance” was the word head coach Robert Grace used to describe the Ramona High School Cycle Dawgs mountain bike competition in Castaic Lake.

Despite a flat tire, broken chain, other mechanical problems and hydration issues, the team saw four top 10 finishes and maintained its seventh overall place out of the 14 teams in Division 1.

Cycle Dawg team parent Caron Cappos said maintaining seventh place is fantastic, “considering we’re probably the smallest D1 team.”

This weekend the Cycle Dawgs will compete in the SoCal High School Cycling League’s “Cruise the Keys” at the Keyesville Special Recreation Area at Lake Isabella.

“We’re looking at some amazing competition ahead of us,” said Grace.

At the March 29 “Dam the Torpedos!” race at Castaic Lake, sophomore Gwendalyn Gibson took first place on the girls junior varsity team, finishing 5 minutes ahead of the second-place JV winner. Gibson is three for three in first-place finishes.

“Gwendalyn’s goal is to beat the varsity girls’ times,” said Grace.

The varsity girls start five minutes before the JV cyclists. Gibson’s time put her 1:20 behind the last-place varsity girl, Grace said.

In the boys varsity race, Jaron Cappos pulled off a fifth-place finish even though the chain on his bike fell off 100 yards from the starting line. He fixed it and raced his way from dead last.

Jaron’s sister, Stassa Cappos, captured sixth place in the girls Division 1/2 freshman race despite riding a demo bike where the seat became stuck in a pointed-up position, instead of being flat, during the last quarter of the race. She finished the final two miles in a standing position.

According to Grace, having the team practice standing while riding helped Stassa endure the race on the demo bike and finish one spot better than she did at the team’s previous race.

“We’re teaching them to be strong-minded problem solvers,” he said.

For Andrew Finley, having the chain break on his bike did not stop him from completing the boys D1 sophomore race.

He scooted the bike when he could, coasted downhill, and hopped off and ran with the bike to the finish line for a 39th-place finish out of 61 cyclists. Grace said Finley’s football training probably contributed to his endurance.

The unseasonably hot weather that weekend also played a role in making the race more difficult for some.

Although Hayden Ellsworth had hydration issues and got leg cramps during his race, he still finished in 10th place among the D1 sophomore boys.

Other Cycle Dawgs competing in the D1 sophomore boys race were Travis Wagner, 20th, and Sean Duffy, 31st.

In the boys D1 JV race, Ryan Mckinnon took 41st place, Nick Stemper, 68th, Nickolas Verhine, 72nd, and Jaime Leyva, 75th.

In the D1 freshman boys race, Cycle Dawg Joshua Failla came in 15th place, improving his finishing position by six spots from the previous race. Also competing in that race were Seth Levy, 25th, Richard Grend, 44th, and Patrick Myers, 47th.

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