Two Cycle Dawgs lead in points; team maintains 7th overall place
Competing at the most challenging course in the SoCal High School Cycling League, the Ramona High Cycle Dawgs maintained their seventh-place overall team position with Jaron Cappos taking the lead in points among varsity boys and Gwendalyn Gibson once again capturing first place among junior varsity girls.
The April 11 and 12 “Cruise the Keys” race was held at the Keyesville Special Recreation Management Area northeast of Bakersfield, 290 miles from Ramona.
Many of the Cycle Dawgs’ families say it’s their favorite race venue because they enjoy tent and RV camping and the camaraderie of teammates, said Caron Cappos, mother of cyclists Jaron and Stassa. The course features boulders, a river crossing, steep climbs, and fast, loose-rock downhills. The day before the race, Cycle Dawg coaches led the team and families on a technical walk of the course, followed by a pre-ride and technique drills — biking the entire course, said Caron Cappos.
Jaron Cappos took third place in his varsity race, his best finish this season, and achieved a historical first for Ramona High by earning the leader jersey with the most points in Division 1 varsity boys. His 2,173 total points bests the second-place leader by 7 points.
“My legs felt really strong,” said Jaron, “and I made an attack and I was in second for the next 2- 1/2 laps.”
On the last hill, however, Jaron said he started getting leg cramps so he slowed down a bit. He finished just 13 seconds behind the second-place winner.
Jaron said he like to be consistent with his lap times.
“I love to get lap times within seconds of each other,” he said.
Gibson has placed first in all four of her D1/D2 junior varsity girls races and continues to lead in points.
“The course was really fun,” she said. “The downhill was definitely one of the biggest highlights. I like going fast.”
In the D1/D2 freshman girls race, Stassa Cappos won seventh place, as she has in other races.
“It’s really exhilarating,” she said. “All the girls are super nice.”
Sophomore Travis Wagner was pleased with his 13th place finish in the D1 sophomore boys race, an improvement from 29th and 31st place finishes in his first two races.
“It’s amazing,” he said. “I’ve never had so much fun doing something before in my life. It’s intense, it’s dusty, it’s cool, it’s gritty.”
Cycle Dawg Hayden Ellsworth came in right behind Wagner for a 14th place finish. Other Ramona cyclists in that race were: Andrew Finley, 22nd, and Sean Duffy, 26th.
Joshua Failla placed 19th in the D1 freshman boys race while teammate Patrick Myers came in 44th.
In the D1 boys JV race, Cycle Dawgs placed as follows: Ryan McKinnon, 49th, Nick Stemper, 63rd, Jaime Leyva, 65th, and Nickolas Verhine, 72nd.
The next race is this weekend at Vail Lake Resort in Temecula.
“Vail is going to be a little interesting because they put in a varsity section, which is pretty technical,” said Jaron Cappos.