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Cycle Dawgs end Division 1 competition in 3rd place

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Ramona High School Cycle Dawgs, who won the Division 1 third place trophy for the season, will participate in state competition in Los Olivos May 21 and 22.

“This year we have 11 racers qualified to go up against the Northern California leagues,” said head coach Robert Grace, adding that 800-plus mountain bike racers will vie for the state championship jerseys.

Cycle Dawgs qualifying for the state race include:

Andrew Finley, junior varsity boy

Brayden Lessler, sophomore boy

Gwendalyn Gibson, varsity girl

Jaron Cappos, varsity boy

Joshua Failla, sophomore boy

Karson Basore, sophomore boy

Ryan McKinnon, JV boy

Sean Duffy, JV boy

Seth Levy, sophomore boy

Stassa Cappos, sophomore girl

Travis Wagner, JV boy

On May 7, the Cycle Dawgs concluded a five-race series in Tehachapi in fifth place. The high desert winds, dry conditions and high altitude made for some tough conditions for all of the racers, but they raced with unstoppable determination, even with four flat tires, no back brake, rocky single track, 20-plus mph headwinds, and a couple of spills, noted Grace.

The mountainous terrain was a challenging six-mile loop with 700 feet of elevation gain per lap: 24 miles for varsity boys (four laps); 18 miles for varsity girls and junior varsity boys (three laps), and 12 miles, sophomore/frosh boys and girls (two laps).

This was the final National Interscholastic Cycling Association Southern California championships race for Division 1, which has teams of 12 or more racers.

This was the Cycle Dawgs’ second season racing in Division 1. The Ramona team began the season with 19 high school racers and its first middle school racer, Jacob Macias. Six girls raced this year, up from four last year.

Haro Bikes provided team sponsorship — “really fast race bikes that helped our racers get to the podium,” noted Grace.

The Cycle Dawgs earned four team trophies in Tehachapi: one first, one second and two thirds, based on the top eight scorers from each team.

Leader jerseys went to Gwendalyn Gibson, in the varsity girls class; Stassa Cappos, sophomore girls; and Seth Levy, sophomore boys. The team coaches called these phenomenal wins.

The top overall NICA SoCal championship winners over the five races:

Sophomore Boys—First, Seth Levy (champion); second, Brayden Lessler; third, Karson Basore. For the first time, one team dominated the podium.

Varsity Boy—Third, Jaron Cappos, the only four-year team member this season.

Varsity Girl—First, Gwendalyn Gibson. Season: Four wins, a second, and SoCal Girls Champion.

Sophomore Girl—First, Stassa Cappos. Season: Three wins, and SoCal Soph Girls Champion.

JV Boy—Sixth, Travis Wagner

“My most favorite memory about this race was breaking away from the pack. I’ve been wanting that for a really long time,” said Levy. “My favorite memory from this season has to be working with my teammates every race. I feel like if my teammates and I work together, one of us can definitely get it done. On Saturday (May 7), I didn’t like the course, but I found the more I rode it, the more it grew on me. So in the end, I liked it a lot. I liked all the long single track climbs and downhills.”

“This will be the last year our kids, Jaron and Stassa, race together, which has been a wonderful family experience,” said parent Caron Cappos.

Parents and riders agreed that season highlights were the team potluck dinner, family camping and few mechanical problems.

They gave “a big thank you to Haro Bikes, Red Monkey Grips, Nite Rider lights, Webb Construction, CC Cycles and Bike Works for helping us throughout the season.”

Joining Grace as coaches are Ron “Bacon” Bacas, Dave Heiar, Rodney Linder and Steve Vaniolia.

Questions about the Cycle Dawgs Team may be directed to Grace, rgrace@ramonausd.net

Team members included: Jaron Cappos, Gwendalyn Gibson, Sean Duffy, Andrew Finley, Ryan McKinnon, Nick Verhine, Travis Wagner, Marissa Talle, Karson Basore, Josh Failla, Richard Grenda, Brayden Lessler, Seth Levy, Patrick Myers, Stassa Cappos, Della Linell, Braden Brown, Annika Green, Natalie Underwood and Jacob Macias.

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