The Crescenta Valley High School mountain bike club came in a strong sixth out of 24 teams on the grueling course at Vail Lake on April 15, beating out St. Francis High School, a San Gabriel Valley composite team and teams from San Marino, Eastlake, Bakersfield and elsewhere.

In the individual events, Lucas Rowton placed fourth in the varsity boys’ race, and Evan Cobb was fourth in sophomore boys.

Sevag Bosnoyan, a Clark High School student, placed fifth in the sophomore Division 2 race. Alexander DeRoche placed ninth in a large field of freshman boys.  Pamela Bogust placed sixth in the varsity girls race.

All of the riders from CV and Clark finished their races on a course known for steep climbs, fast downhill descents and a complicated finish. The race was the fourth of the SoCal mountain biking league series. The co-ed team that trains with riders from Clark High School will be competing at the SoCal series finals at Pinnacles at Lake Arrowhead on May 6.

“Our young team continues to improve with every race,” said head coach Jim Rowton, himself a former mountain bike racer. “With 17 new team members this year we have had more than a dozen podiums, a very impressive accomplishment for such a young and inexperienced team.”

Last month, CV Cycling finished fourth in the Division I team rankings at Keyesville Wilderness Area near Lake Isabella. In the March 25 event that started out sunny and ended in punishing conditions, Lucas Rowton came in third in the varsity boys’ race and Bogust was fourth in varsity girls. Pereni Eisaeian finished 10th in JV girls. Cobb finished third in the sophomore boys’ race.

Adam Rowton was third and DeRoche was 10th in the freshman boys race.  DeeAnna Lopez finished seventh in the freshman girls’ race.

At the Hog Canyon Classic in Yucaipa, the team finished sixth in the Division I rankings. Bogust placed sixth in the varsity girls’ race. Lucas Rowton placed third in varsity boys. Cobb came in third in the sophomore boys’ race and Bosnoyan finished fourth in the sophomore Division II competition.

Adam Rowton sped to a second-place finish in the freshman boys with DeRoche finishing ninth.

In addition to their training and racing, the cyclists work to maintain the trails they use. On April 7, the team joined forces with several other local high school teams to repair several damaged sections of the Brown Mountain Trail, high above JPL.  The all volunteer group, more than 50 strong, working under the guidance of CORBA the Concerned Off-Road Bicyclists Assn., rerouted the trail away from several dangerous cliff sections and removed brush and rocks to provide for safe two-way passage up and down the trail.

Contributed by Rebecca Bryant