AUBURN, Ala. - The SCAD cycling team has officially concluded their pre-season camp with their season opener in Auburn, Alabama.
The team has fervently trained for the upcoming mountain bike season for the past three weeks. Utilizing the local trails on Skidway and Whitemarsh Islands, as well as a trip to Augusta for two days of riding at the Fork Area Trails system, the Bees came out on top at their opening competition with a grand total of six podium finishes and three victories.
"I had a lot of fun riding mountain bikes with the team; it's been too long,"- said Andrew Sparks, Team Captain
"Spark's quote says it best, we've been having fun. The 14 hour + training weeks on the bikes combined with our two to three weight sessions a week in the peak Savannah heat hasn't even seemed like a chore"- Coach Hoover
September 3rd, 2022
The first event of the day- Cross Country. 4.3 miles per lap of rolling, root-impacted terrain with a technical climb held at Chewacla State Park.
The top Results are as follows:
Men's B- Javier Lopez (Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico / Sound Design)- 1st
Women's A- Jette Aelken (Architecture)- 2nd
Men's A- Andrew Sparks (Cape Town, South Africa / Creative Business Leadership)- 3rd
The team then went on to compete in the Dual Slalom Races in the afternoon. Sparks, Aelken, and Dagny Palmer (Phoenixville, Pa. / Design for Sustainability) all qualified for the final brackets/main event and placed top 10 in their respective categories.
September 4th, 2022
The team relay started the day of racing at 8:30 a.m. The relay team of Sparks, Colin Patterson (Palo Alto, Calif. / Design for Sustainability), Aelken, and Palmer went on to take second place.
Following the Team Relay, the team raced the premier event of the day- Short Track.
The top Results are as follows:
Men's B- Javier Lopez- 1st place
Women's A- Jette Aelken- 1st Place
Men's A- Andrew Sparks- 2nd place
Jette Aelken's STXC first place was the first win in program history for Woman's A MTB.
"Great to be back on the mountain bike with the SCAD team, seeing some of the best performances since joining for the whole team, and I'm happy to come away with a second for myself on Sunday"- Andrew Sparks
"My first race weekend with SCAD in Auburn was a lot of fun for me personally, I learned a lot about how college racing works, it's a lot different than what I'm used to. I really like the atmosphere and the team spirit. My cross country race went well, but I didn't have the right hill on the course to win. The dual slalom was something completely new for me, but this was also an exciting and beautiful experience; I would say that I can still improve the most here. The Team Relay was also a lot of fun. I would say my first short race was quite good; I won."- Jette Aelken.
"I'm super happy about my results this past weekend and anxious about what is coming. I was nervous because it was my first XC race in a while, but I trusted what we had been doing. Every day I am feeling more comfortable with the team, and am willing to keep learning and give 120% with this new challenge"- Javier Lopez.
"I couldn't ask for a better way to kick off our 2022-2023 racing campaign. Historically we have never focused on mountain biking as much as we have this season, so it's great to have so much team commitment and success early in the season. The short track races on Sunday were some of the best races I've watched on the sidelines. Lopez, Aleken, and Sparks all put on hard-fought, intelligent efforts in their races for their respective finishes. Excited to keep this momentum rolling"- Coach Hoover
The Bees will continue the mountain bike season at Lees McRae College - Dual Conference with ACCC on September 24-25 in Banner Elk, N.C.
