Question 1

Week # 1 April 28, 2024 - Story by Scott Gonyer

Accepted Answer

Foothills BMX Race Report 
April 28, 2024

What a great start to the 2024 season.  We would see 192 riders and 46 motos that were at Foothills for the Roger Plaskett Memorial Race.  We would start the sunny day with a tribute to Roger and a few tears.  I gotta admit hearing Roger’s voice again over the speakers was chilling but a welcome sound to the first race of the season.  We gifted a new rider with a new bike.  Roger would have loved it.  Adelina Czapiga would be the lucky winner and oh boy did she have a gigantic smile on her face as she came to receive it from Marissa Lyman.  Congrats to Adelina.  We also had another raffle today.  Foothills raffled off a 2024 USABMX membership good for one year.  Wes Hamel would be the lucky winner.  Congrats Wes!  Time to play the National Anthem and start dropping gates for 2024! 
 
4 Balance Bike 
Kashton Gravelle from New York would grab the first win of 2024, but not before some excitement as he would be banging bars on his way to a win.  Isaac “Smiley” Bodwell would grab two moto wins but come up a little shy in the final round.  Cameron Melanson would finish in the third position.  Chase Dugan would come up from Watertown and finish fourth.  Honora Osario would round out the class.

3 Balance Bike 
Sawyer Halla would take the trip south on Route 8 from Granville, Mass. and finish on top of the podium.  Raymond Wade would win one round but would find himself in second place.  Our winner of the New Rider Raffle, Adelina Czapiga would finish in third. 
1-2 Balance Bike 
Skyla Gravelle would skip away to a perfect day and the win.  Walker Wade would get the deuce.  Shannon Steins had her name misspelled on the sheets but that didn’t stop her from getting a third place finish in her debut.  Bennett Markie was a little shy but he got fourth today.

9-10 Open 
Six riders would make up this group.  Johnny Lapenta was running up in the front coming down the second straight when he thought about a different sport.  He would slide out like he was sliding into second base.  He would recover quickly and finish in fifth.  Kris Devaux would bring it home first.  Sebastian Gonzalez would finish in second.  Lucas Wade would finish on the podium in third.  Kira Spence would finish in fourth and Jaxon Krzynowek will try again next week.

13-14 Open 
Matt Horjatschun would grab the win in the teenager open.  Sawyer Spence would follow him to the line in second.  Dion Hurley would join his buddies on the podium.  Noah Hardgrove would cross the line in fourth.  Jayden Mahoney would finish in fifth.  Devon Hurley would round out the open.  Johnny urban would just miss the action.

13-14 Girls Cruiser 
It’s the girls turn!  Kyrie Sweet would round the limestone first today.  Cheyenne Stone would follow a close second.  Raquel Olson was showing some serios speed in third.  Adalyn Nevins will come back strong next week.

17-20 Women Cruiser 
The “girls” all heard Marissa was back from college and they sounded like they were having a sleepover at the track.  Lots of giggles and sharing make up tips as they rounded the limestone track.  Pippa Sweet must have knocked them all out with the pillow as she grabbed the win.  Marissa Lyman was no powder puff in second.  Ella Urban was asking when is the next sleepover in third.  Kelly Theologou said I am more like the exhausted parent from all the girls not sleeping all night in fourth.  Kate Adams said yeah Kelly tell me about it with a toddler at home, I will sit this slumber party out.

8 Cruiser 
Austin Dohan got the perfect score today in this total points race.  Tucker Jones from NY would finish in second.  Third place would go to Caleb Bodwell.

10 Cruiser 
JD Lataille was a ball of blue, yellow, and red flames as he would go supersonic to the finish line.  Sebastian Gonzalez was trying to put out the afterburner but couldn’t quite knock it out.  Third place would be Logan Rice in his new Warped colors.  Reid Waters was rafting it in fourth place.  Kris Devaux was in the dingy in fifth.  Logan Carroll was trying to see if he could find the rubber duck in sixth.  Ryan Roy would sit out the jets and river ride.

13 Cruiser 
Caleb Palmer laid down the hammer and didn’t stammer on his way to the big whammer.  Noah Hardgrove couldn’t quite put the screwdriver to the winner and settled for second.  Thomas Musarella pulled out the tape measure and said he was inches short in third.  Fourth had the safety yellow hard hat of David Chrichton.  Rylan Spence brought out the socket wrenches in fifth.  AJ Torizzo had the adjustable wrench in sixth place.  Ian Dwyer forgot his toolbox but plans to draft a plan for next week.

14 Cruiser 
Brody “ODI” Kesl apparently wasn’t worn out from helping volunteer getting the track ready for today.  Maybe that is the key to success?  He would cross the line first with Sam Bond in a close second.  Gavin Clark would follow them to the line.  Johnny Urban would sit this one out, but the season is early.

16 Cruiser 
Wes Hamel, our USABMX raffle winner would grab the win today.  Damian Conley would just squeak in a second after losing a chain in the third round.  Colin Leblanc would round out this total points race.

31-35 Cruiser 
This was an exciting finish!  Battling out of turn five it would be a drag race to the line between Chris “Sparky” Pedersen and Pete “Boom Boom” Balotti.  At the line there was a little more spark than boom and Sparky would grab the win.  Josh Alstede would have a birds eye view in third.  Will Verbanic in new colors this year would finish in fourth.  Al Torizzo would have his mustache cross the line in fifth.  Joe Broderick was a no show.

51-55 Cruiser 
Kenny Pascoe would come and show them New York boys were here to play.  He would grab the win.  Joe Doherty was looking left and right for a way around but would get towed in for second.  Rick Marceau hung onto the spare tire for third.  Mark Reale was on the hook for fourth.  Chris Bird was at the track but not sure where he was for race time.  Yoga time?
 
5 & Under Novice 
Thirteen little dudes and dudettes would come to race.  They were split into two motos.  Hudson Halla would come to us from Granville, Mass and get a new team (Exit 3) one of their first wins.  Welcome to the “Club”.  Remington Waters would cross the line in second.  Third place would go to Isodora Rohm.  In fourth place would be Addie Jones.  Fifth place had Casey Ouimette.  Sixth place belonged to Kade Laudano.  Seventh place was Enzo Melillo.  Last rider making the main was Masie Jones.  Bryson Fiore, Benjamin Gannon, and Remi Markie will all try again next week.

7 Novice 
 Austin Bassett was no hound today as he would grab a win towards moving up towards Intermediate.  Jaxon Krzynowek would bark his way to second.  Jacob Ouimette hung his head out the window in third.  Joseph Torizzo was amazed by the squeaky toy in fourth.  Gemma Dunham was chasing the cat.

8 Novice 
Liam Perrotte would spin those cranks a little faster than everyone else and would grab the win.  Oliver Hurley would peddle into second.  Mattie Doyle would have a crash but recovered quickly to finish third.  Piper Jones will miss the main but hopefully returns next week for vengeance.

9 Novice 
Lucas Wade was on a wave and surfed his bike into first today.  Jensen Stiger couldn’t quite rip that pipeline to the beach and settled for a second.  Lily Torizzo wanted a pink jet ski but had to settle for a solid third.  Keegan Dunham didn’t get the wave he wanted but got a fourth.  Arianna McKay decided to get a tan on the beach but next week wants to ride the big Kahuna.

10 Novice 
Reo Gagnon put the Misfit flannel in the winner circle today.  I hear he is convincing dad to get on a bike.  Hmmm.  Ryder Osorio was enjoying himself out there on the track today and finished with a second.  Archer Wehner was signed up but never made it out on track.  Too many bagels?

13 Novice 
Cason Hurley was on fire.  He would have the perfect day and win each round.  Jordan Beyus would finish second.  Cody Bodwell would not start but he was busy selling our Foothill t-shirts.

14 Novice 
Mason Lakota would join Retribution Race Corps and grab a win.  I would say that was a productive week!  Not bad considering he crashed in the first round.  Olivia Shapiro would come home with a very close second.  Gavin Kesl would round out this total points race.

26-35 Novice 
Nicole Dunham wasn’t playing with the boys today.  She would dominate with elbows out and her head high.  She would win each round and take home the top spot.  Ryan Thomas and Al Torizzo would battle hard for the second spot.  Ryan would finish in P2 in the first two rounds and finish second for the day.  Al would finish second in the third round but finish third.

7 Intermediate 
Becket Brammer would keep his winning ways and grab a win today.  Parker Rohm would put in a valiant fight and finish in second.  Evan Day would finish on the podium in third.  Karter Balotti would cross the line in fourth.  Declan Dunham would just miss the main.

9 Intermediate 
Cameron Peterson would take the ride south of the border today and ride away with a win.  Caleb Bodwell would finish in a close second.  Bodhi Thomas would finish out the main in third.  Kira Spence would just miss the main.

10 Intermediate 
Johnny Lapenta might have slid into second during the open but this time he slid into home when it counted.  He would bring home the win today.  Matty Verbanic would follow the Tsunami to the line and finish in second.  Wyatt Wehner would peddle to a third-place finish.  Cypress Thomas would just miss the main.

13 Intermediate 
Raquel Olson would have lots of pressure from both AJ Torizzo and Garrett Nylund.  Going into the final round both Raquel and Garrett would be tied.  Raquel would crank like this was the last race of the season and grab the win.  AJ would bring it home in third.

15 Intermediate 
Mikey Aubrey would put his DK bicycle in the winners circle today.  Collin Ramsey was knocking on first place but Mikey Scylented that knock.  Steven Anctil would finish in the third spot.  Blake Nevins would just miss the main.

17-20 Intermediate 
Josh Plaskett would pick up a win as a 17-year-old.  All four riders looked like experts as they flew around the track today.  Matt Halla finished at Exit 2 for Exit 3.  Sam Jenkins would put his Full Circle jersey on the podium in third.  Ella Urban must have still been tired from the girl’s sleepover.

36-40 Intermediate 
Dan Sears should be sponsored by Sears Department Stores.  He was packing all the tools to get the job done today.  He would put his Craftsman machine on top of the podium.  Kyle Reese was left to pick up the sockets in second.  Josh Dunham was seen in the appliance department in aisle 3.  Will Verbanic was seen looking for the screws because he got a few screws loose in fourth.  Dan Johnson was seen looking at Will from the jewelry department in fifth.  Josh Dunham was seen pulling on the door to get into Sears but the sign clearly stated push.

46-50 Intermediate 
Art Ramsey was on the throttle hard the first two rounds.  He must have been gassed out by the final round, as he would finish third.  It didn’t matter though because he had the low points and the win for the day.  Rick Cancelino kept getting better each round but would finish in second.  Brian Kesl had a pair of seconds but would finish in third.

14 Girls Expert 
Kyrie Sweet would bring home the win in this total points race.  Cheyenne Stone would bring it to the line in second each round.  Addy Nevins would cross the line in third.

15-16 Girls Expert 
Well isn’t this Sweet.  Pippa Sweet would follow up her sister’s win with a win herself.  Liz Doyle would finish in second and Sarah Gonyer in third for the day.

17-20 Girls Expert 
Marissa is back!  And she definitely didn’t forget how to win.  Amanda Rock would finish in second by a cat’s whisker.  Kate Adams would bring her daughter to race for the first time and Kate would finish in third.

8 Expert 
Austin Dohan was a rocket today.  He would win each round and sit high on the podium.  Tucker Jones would follow him to the line for second.  Third place we would find Bentley Clark.

9 Expert 
Reid Waters was another young dude who was unstoppable today as he too would win each round.  Logan Carroll would start out with a third but come back the next two rounds in second.  He would finish in second for the day.  Jack Wendt would finish in third.
 
10 Expert 
JD Lataille would lead all six riders to the finish line today.  Sebastian Gonzalez would bring home another second-place finish today.  Myles Rohm would join them on the podium in third.  Logan Rice on his new bike would finish in fourth.  Ryan Roy would finish in fifth.  Kris Devaux would just miss the main.

11 Expert 
David Crichton was blindingly fast.  Was it his speed or the bright neon yellow bike?  I think it was the rider.  He would grab the win.  Jayden Mahoney would finish in the runner up spot.  Collin Tindell would round out the total points race.

12 Expert 
Devon Hurley would win all three rounds and grab the win today.  Shaun Rohm would take home the second-place trophy.  Rylan Spence would finish in third.

13 Expert 
Caleb Palmer should be called lightning since he seems to be faster than thunder.  He would win all three rounds.  Thomas Musarella and Noah Hardgrove would battle hard for the second place.  When the dust settled, we would see Da Moose in second and the Bobblehead in third.

14 Expert 
Matt Horjatschun was like a guy hopped up on sugar.  He was spinning them legs so fast you could measure amperage.  He would grab the win.  Body Kesl was trying to find a way to put the ohms to him and would finish in second. Sawyer Spence had the voltage for third.  Dion Hurley was feeling the resistance in fourth.  Sam Bond forgot his batteries.

16 Expert 
Wes Hamel was nothing but smiles all day from atop the podium.  He would grab another win today.  Hunter Dye would finish in the second-place position.  Chris Strandberg would join them on the podium in third.  Dan Sears would finish in fourth and Toby Schoonmaker would just miss the main.

17-20 Expert 
Chris “Sparky” Pedersen has joined the boys of destruction this year as he is now seventeen.  He would not disappoint as he would grab a win.  Dylan Barker would follow him to second.  Josh Alstede would round out the total points race.

26-35 Expert 
Chris Gravelle and Geoff Schreiner would have the track to themselves as Joe Broderick was a no show.  Chris would win the first two rounds and secure the victory.

41-45 Expert 
Is it getting Hotte in here?  Dan Hotte would heat things up as he would grab the opening day win.  Shane Wehner would finish in second.  Gary “Clydesdale” Nylund must have slipped in some oats as he would look more like a drunk donkey coming out of the gate.  He would hee haw to third.  Cliff Benoit was having some power issues and missed out today. 
 
Well, that’s a wrap on the first race of 2024.  Welcome to our new riders.  A few recommendations for those who are new is to read the USABMX Rulebook and become familiar with it. Make sure your number plate is legal (especially color, number size, non-obstructed, and correct number.  Those that are on a team please make sure your info is updated in registration.  Many changed teams or joined a team and we would love to know. Do as much or as little racing as you like.  And most important HAVE FUN!  Congrats to our Raffle winners!  Don’t forget about the New Rider Clinic coming up with Marissa Lyman.  It is $25 per session or $100 for all five.  The dates for the clinic are in May and June.  If you are interested, please see Marissa or registration on Sunday.  We also have a BMX Summer Camp with Chris Pedersen and Brody Kesl.  The dates for that is July 1, 2, and 3.  Also August 5, 6 ,and 7.  The cost is $120 per three day session.  You can see registration if you are interested in either event.  If you are interested in sponsorship here at Foothills we would love for you to join our team.  We also are always looking for volunteers to join the team.

Question 2

Week # 3 May 12, 2024 - Story by Scott Gonyer

Accepted Answer

Foothills Race Report 
May 12, 2024

Happy Mother’s Day to all the BMX moms! BMX moms are the backbone to any racer. They volunteer, wash our smelly clothes, feed us snacks, make sure we hydrate, our personal paramedics, chauffeur, and so much more. And that is just race day! Thank you to all the moms out there and thank you to my mother for all she taught me. If you haven’t hugged your mother go do so right now! We would have special awards for all the racers to give to their mothers today. The weather was interesting as a few showers brushed us early, but the sun would come out for the race.
 BREAKING NEWS FLASH: The 51-55 Expert class disappeared from the last race report. Well so did the riders this week. The old men of BMX were so upset they were missed in the last race report that they were seen down at the local Walmart today holding up signs in one hand that read “We are the forgotten ones, and we don’t remember what we were forgetting”. The Walmart employees were seen handing them Geritol and fish oil for their old men joints. Here ya go guys… 51-55 Expert Kenny Pascoe would be the elder statesman and lead the guys all three rounds around the limestone bull ring. Joe Doherty and Rick Marceau would battle for the second spot. Joe would best Rick today. Maybe next week the roles could be reversed?
 Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

4 Balance Bike 
The little tykes on little bikes would put on quite the show today. They would battle hard each round but especially in the second round as they would bang bars and trade push up pops in the last turn. At the end of the day Hailey Kumiega would bring home the top prize. Emillia Unger would take second place. Cameron Melanson would finish in third place with Honora Osario in fourth. 3 Balance Bike Raymond Wade would finish in the runner up spot in the first round but would cross the line first in the two subsequent rounds and grab the win today. Ben Leger would grab the firstround win but would follow up in the runner up position today. Adelina Czapiga would finish in third. John Smith would miss all three rounds but must have been getting ice cream from Pete Doda’s Ice Cream.

1-2 Balance 
Bike Logan Unger would gain a new nickname today. Riding with plate number 666 he was deemed the “Little Devil”. Well his little horns with a halo above must have been good luck as he would win all three rounds. Nick Smith would finish in second. Walker Wade would join them on the podium. Bennett Markie would get some assistance from dad and sis to finish in fourth. Shannon Steins was feeling the chill and was seen bundled up like a Hawaiian in Alaska.

9-10 Open 
This moto would have the corner marshals scrambling. Matty Verbanic, AJ Singleton, Kira Spence, john Lapenta, and Drake Herrera would come out of turn one in a tight group. Matty V and AJ Singleton would tangle right behind Lapenta and crash. Lapenta would skate through and grab the win. Kira Spence would swing around and finish in second. Drake Herrera would follow Kira to the line in third. Matty V would recover for a fourth-place finish. AJ Singleton would finish in fifth. Ophelia Brophy would qualify for the main but not start. Bryson Fiore would just miss the main, but I hear there are some plans in the works for him.

13-14 Open 
What a Toxic group. Team Toxic racer Sawyer Spence would hold off teammates Dion Hurley and Devon Hurley. Noah Hardgrove would ruin the perfect Toxic podium with a third-place finish. Dion would finish in second and brother Devon in fourth. Jayden Mahoney would sit out the main.

17-20 Open
 Rock, scissors, paper??? Chris “Sparky” Pedersen would win the first two rounds. I the third round we would see Sparky, Jesse Salva, and Gwen Hall all stop a few feet before the finish line and play rock, scissors, paper for who would cross the line first. Gwen would win the game but lose the battle to Sparky. Jesse would finish in second and Gwen in third.

11 Cruiser 
JD Lataille would lead the freight train from station to station. David Chrichton would ride in the passenger cart in second and bringing up the caboose was Ben Hagan.

13 Cruiser
 Noah Hardgrove would put his Full Circle jersey on top of the podium. Rylan Spence would follow up with a second. AJ Torizzo would finish in the third position.

17-20 Cruiser
 Brody Kesl would be heard making some Bubble Guppies sounds as he led the way around the track. Teammate Sparky Pedersen would follow him to the line in second. Marissa Lyman was asking did you mean Tella Tubbie noises in third. Sam Bond was making some Ninja Turtle noises in fourth. Kate Adams listens to her daughter make all the noises in fifth. Al Torizzo would miss the main and was heard making some strange noises in the registration building.

5 & Under Novice
 Nine little racers spinning their little cranks trying to finish first. We would have two motos and combine in the second round to try to make the main. Hudson Halla for Exit 3 would qualify out in the first round and would sit on top of the podium today. Connor “Vader” Hagan racing for Team Axle Nutts Racing would finish a close second. Enzo Melillo would join the little guys on the podium with a third. Cash Madorran would just miss the podium in fourth. Sam Leger would bring it home fifth. Caleb Darrow would cross the line in sixth. Seventh place would see Bryson Fiore. Sawyer Halla would round out the main. Remi Markie was seen rooting on dad and brother today.

7 Novice
 Have you ever opened up your box of Christmas decorations and what is the one thing always tangled up? Yup, Christmas lights. Well this group was the Christmas lights. They would come down the second straight and tangle with the garland and lights. Domenic Kumiega, Kevin Konopka, and Jaxon Krzynowek would get all in the Christmas spirit. Luckily they all recovered. Austin Bassett would come out of the Christmas box unscathed and finish in the top spot. Konopka would recover the fastest from the entanglement to finish in second. Kumiega would finish in third. Jacob Ouimette would finish in the fourth spot. Krzynowek would finish in fifth. Madoc Konopka would miss the holiday but says she is ready for the next holiday party.

9 Novice
 Jensen Stiger likes to go by the nickname Jumpman. Should be more like The Fall Guy. He would win this episode and finish out this week’s episode with a win. Logan Kumiega would finish in the second position. Oliver Hurley would finish in the third spot. Lily Torizzo would put her pink machine in fourth. Mattie Doyle would round out the main. Ophelia Brophy would miss the main and was hopefully changing her plate to the correct number for next week.

10 Novice
 AJ Singleton, Wyatt McPhail, and Ryder Osorio would make an exciting main event. They would battle the whole way around the track and right up to the finish it was anyone’s win. AJ would nose them out for the win. Wyatt would finish in second and Ryder in third. Drake Herrera would just miss the main.

13 Novice 
Cody Bodwell hasn’t had a win since August of last year, but he would take care of that today. Joining a team (Axle Nutts Racing) he has gained some new speed and man was he gone from gate drop to finish. Cason Hurley would finish in the second spot. Third would go to Jordan Beyus.

7 Intermediate 
Becket Brammer would get his first Expert win today. Turning Expert at Whip City on Friday night he would continue his winning ways today at Foothills. Ryan Unger would finish in the second position. Landon Darrow would finish in third. Nick Davis will return next week to make the main.

11 Intermediate 
Johnny Lapenta was a man on fire today. No fancy spinouts this week. Instead he would look like a rocket and blast to first. Matty Verbanic would put his flannel Misfits jersey in second. Jameson McDermott would round out the total points race.

41-45 Intermediate
Well, we almost had to call the races for the day after this wild bunch. I guess if you run out of breath, are getting to middle age, and don’t agree with scorers you take them out like a botched mob hit. Charles McDermott was the top mob boss today as his hitmen of Will Verbanic, Dan Sears, and Brian Kesl took aim for second. Luckily Will doesn’t have the marksman aim but would finish in second. Dan Sears was seen driving the Cadillac in third. Brian Kesl had his trench coat stuck in the spokes in fourth. Al Torizzo was seen in cement boots that had mustaches on them. Disclosure: No scorers were harmed in this moto. A miss groomed moustache soaked in cement was properly disposed. PETA was on seen for all animal scenes.

15-16 girls Expert
 Liz Doyle would go wire to wire each round and grab the win today. Gwen Hall would finish in second and Sarah Gonyer in third.

17-20 Women Expert
 Marissa Lyman would also go wire to wire and show why she is running some clinics this summer. Amanda Rock racing for Retribution Racing would finish in second. Kate Adams would round out this total points race.

9 Expert
 Dylan McDermott would be the head warrior in this total points race. Kira Spence would bring out the battle axe for second place. Third would see war face Ben Hagan.

11 Expert 
JD Lataille was on a secret mission today. His secret weapon I was told was Lori’s hot chocolate. Sorcerer Lori whipped up a special batch that must have had some NASCAR high ethanol in it because JD was super-fast. David Crichton will be asking for some of that hot chocolate next week. Jayden Mahoney was asking what do I do if its 95 degrees out next week?

12 Expert 
Devon Hurley was seen looking for all the sugar packets in concessions after he heard that’s where all the winners buy their food. He must have found it as he would win today. Jake Stavropoulos was seen snooping around concessions too, but all the sugar was gone. Rylan Spence would settle for Tootsie pops in third. Madison Cioffi said there is no more sugar left and had an apple.

14 Expert
 I guess we need to install some new road signs around the track. Brody Kesl needs either the One-Way Street sign or Bear Right sign. He would be leading the race and then go off track and head back towards the start line. Maybe he forgot something up that way? Whatever it was he went from the penthouse to the outhouse and finished fourth. Dion Hurley would take advantage of Brody’s forgetfulness and finish with the win. Sawyer Spence would finish in second. Noah Hardgrove would finish in third. AJ Torizzo would miss the main. Maybe Brody was turning around to find AJ?

16 Expert 
Wes Hamel must have been like a deer in the headlights when Brody was coming head on at him. Well whatever happened it didn’t slow him down on his way to the win. Jacob McDermott would follow Wes to the finish in second. Toby Schoonmaker would find his way to third place. Dan Sears would round out the main. Sam Bond would throw the anchor out.

17-20 Expert
 Sparky would once again show the boys of destruction how its done today. He would put on the afterburner coming out of turn five and meltdown the competition like a nuclear reactor overheating. Jonah Graves was leading right up to about four feet before the finish line. I think he needed some burn cream after that finish. Jesse Salva must have felt like he was avoiding lava in third. Chris Gonyer must have been napping.

36-40 Expert 
Matt Markie surprised this announcer. After running around with both of his littles you would think he was worn out. Nope! He would win each round and grab the win today. Don Hottes would try his best to stay on his back wheel in second. Dan Johnson would round out the total points race.

Well, that does it for our second week. Lots of exciting races so far this season. Foothills is offering lots of camps and clinics this year for our riders. Marissa has her new rider clinics in May and June and also a BMX Summer camp July 17, 18, and 19. Brody and Sparky also have a summer camp on July 1, 2, and 3. They continue with a second one in August on the 5 th, 6th, and 7th. If interested, please see registration before they fill up! The state race qualifier is coming up really soon (June 2nd), so the time is now to get your track time!

Question 3

Week # 4 May 19, 2024 - Story by Scott Gonyer

Accepted Answer

Foothills BMX Race Report 
May 19, 2024

What a gorgeous day!  Mix of sun and clouds and around seventy degrees.  Could not have asked for a nicer day for racing.  Lori would have chicken parm sandwiches and Skittles freezer pops in concessions and boy were they yummy.  We would celebrate one of our riders returning from the World Championships in Rock Hill, SC.  Reid Waters would represent Foothills on the biggest stage.  We are proud of you Reid!  He was all smiles in the announcer’s booth getting to talk on the microphone telling us about how much fun he had.  Maybe Reid can replace me in the tower in a few years.

4 Balance Bike 
Cameron Melanson and Chase Dugan would battle the halftrack.  Cameron would win all three rounds, but Chase was chasing him closely in second.

3 Balance Bike 
Six little racers would put their hearts into it today.  Colton Groeber has been practicing on his peddle bike but today it was his Strider.  He would rocket to the front in his Axle Nutts Racing jersey and win all three rounds.  Raymond Wade would finish in second place and Brian Stevens in third.  Adelina Czapiga would finish in fourth.  Ben Leger would finish in fifth and John Smith in sixth.  All six riders would change positions and bang bars every lap!

1-2 Balance Bike 
Nick Smith and Walker Wade would have nothing but smiles each and every round.  Nick Smith would have his dad running beside him holding his paper plate each round.  Maybe the little less wind resistance was the winning formula today.  Walker would be right there drafting to second place.

7-8 Open 
Kira Spence would transfer out in the first round, and she would go on to take the top spot today.  Nick Davis racing for track sponsor Full Circle Bike Shop would bring home a second place.  Kevin Konopka would join them in the winner’s circle with a third-place finish.  Bryson Fiore on a new bike this week would run up front but fade slightly to fourth.  Madoc Konopka would just miss the main.

9-10 Open 
John Lapenta would make some moves in turn two and get his Powerblock tires to the finish line first.  AJ Singleton would put the heat on Tsunami, but it was extinguished and settled for second.  Matty Verbanic would finish with a solid third.  Lucas Wade would cross the line in fourth.  Ophelia Brophy would just miss the main.

11-12 Open 
Devon Hurley would have a few mechanics check out his bike today.  He didn’t need any tune ups as he would grab the win today.  Mad Max Meinel would cross the line in second place.  Rylan Spence would finish in third.  Jesse Salva finished in the fourth position.  Jayden Mahoney jumped to fifth.  Sparky Pedersen would just miss the main.

17-20 Women Cruiser 
Marissa Lyman would grab the win but not before Cheyenne Stone would grab a win in the second round.  Ella Urban would finish in third.

8 Cruiser 
Hudson “Ice Man” Strickland would take the ride over from Kingston to race at Foothills today.  He wouldn’t be disappointed as he would grab a first-place trophy.  Ben Hagan would show some speed today after some practice early.  He would finish in second.  Joe Torizzo was on the sheet but must have been eating all the ice cream from Pete Doda’s ice cream truck.

10 Cruiser 
JD Lataille must have Jim Thorpe as a relative.  If you don’t know that athlete look him up.  Just like Jim, JD plays many sports.  Is he photocopied to be at so many places at once?  The secrets to be told.  Well he would win today.  Word has it he is looking to master ping pong while racing his bike next.  Logan Rice would come up one “Short Grain” shy of grabbing the win.  Reid Waters the young man of the group would finish a solid third.  Kris Devaux would just miss the main.

13 Cruiser 
David Chrichton would “Destroy” the competition today as he would get the perfect score and grab a win.  Rylan Spence and AJ Torizzo would battle hard for the second spot.  Rylan would finish second in the first two rounds and secure second place.  AJ would grab a second in the third round and finish third today.

17-20 Cruiser 
Chris Pedersen and Brody Kesl would battle back and forth for the win.  Sparky would win the first round and Brody winning the second round.  It would come down to the third round and Sparky would put his Scylent Rage/Assc. Lightning machine in the winner’s circle.  Wes Hamel would spectate in third.

5 & Under Novice 
Eleven riders would make up two racks of action.  In the first moto we would see some action as two separate accidents would occur.  The first one would be coming out of turn three as Kade Laudano and Cash Madorran would get tangled up and both go down fighting up front for the transfer spots.  In the third straight away Callia Strickland would have a solo crash.  Our corner marshal Dan Urban would struggle gently to untangle our two riders.  As of the writing of the report I have heard Cash may have broken his forearm and all of us at Foothills hope for a quick recovery and a safe return.  Get well soon Cash!  The excitement in the main would be no less exciting as eight riders would try to be the highest on the podium.  Remington Waters would get his very first peddle bike win.  Congrats to Remi!  Kade Laudano would recover from his crash to finish in the runner up spot.  Luke Reese would finish on the podium in third.  Connor Hagan would move up through the field for a fourth-place finish.  Sam Leger would finish in fifth.  Enzo Melillo would finish in sixth.  Bryson Fiore would find a home in seventh.  Patrick Burbank in eight.  Sawyer Halla and Callia Strickland will try again next week to make the main and Cash hopefully returns real soon.

7 Novice 
Austin Bassett would hold off Kai Perkins for the win today.  Abigail Flynn would cross the line in the third spot.  Joe Torizzo would be credited with fourth place.  Madoc Konopka in fifth place.  Kevin Konopka would have a crash and finish in sixth.  Blake Strong will try again next week.

9 Novice 
Jensen Stiger would jump to the lead and not look back as he would grab the win.  Lucas Wade would finish in the runner up spot.  Oliver Hurley would join them on the podium.  Lily Torizzo would be pretty in pink in fourth.  Mattie Doyle would wave to mom in fifth.  Ophelia Brophy would finish in sixth.  Naveh Guzman will try again next week.

10 Novice 
Reo Gagnon and AJ Singleton would battle side by side like two high school kids holding hands between periods.  Reo would break up with AJ and put his Misfits jersey on top of the podium.  Drake Herrera would follow really close for a third-place finish.  Wyatt McPhail would just miss the main.

13 Novice 
Jordan Beyus would make the moves that usually get you into trouble but like a magician would make them appear simple.  He would go so low in turn one during round one he could have won the local limbo contest.  In the second round he would do it again in turn two.  In the third round he just got out front first and grabbed the win for the day.  Cason Hurley couldn’t believe the move worked in second.  Tyson Cox was just as stunned in third.

6 Intermediate 
Becket Brammer would put his mohawk in the winner’s circle today.  Bryce Groeber would put the pressure on in second place.  Hudson Halla would round out the main.  Billy Flynn hopes to join them next week.

8 Intermediate 
Hudson “Ice Man” Strickland would put the chill on the class today.  Beau Brunson was slipping in the ice cubes in second.  Kira Spence was building a snowman in third.  Nick Davis was throwing snowballs in fourth.  Ben Hagan was shown the freezer this week but hopes to thaw out next week.

10 Intermediate 
Johnny Lapenta thought he heard someone say a bear was chasing him.  He raced like he was smeared in peanut butter and that bear was closing in as he rocketed to the win.  Matty Verbanic and Anthony Racine were making dirt bike sounds and said they were KTM bikes.  Matty would find the powerband in second.  Cypress Thomas will tune up his bike for next week.

14 Intermediate 
Austin Montville would power to the front and grab the win today.  AJ Torizzo would come home with a strong second place.  Mason Lakota for Retribution would round out the main.  Gavin Kesl will try again next week.

17-20 Intermediate 
Matt Halla racing for Exit 3 would grab the win in the young “kids” class today.  Josh Plaskett would finish in second.  Marissa Lyman would finish in the third spot today.  Amanda Rock would finish in the fourth position.   Ella Urban would just miss the main.

36-40 Intermediate 
This was also a mixed age class from seventeen through forty-five.  Sparky Pedersen would show how to get it done today as he would grab the win.  Jesse Salva would put the pressure on hard in turn five but would have to settle for second.  Will Flynn would climb the podium to third.  Kyle Reese would cross the line in fourth.  Fifth place would go to Will Verbanic.  Dan Johnson would grab a sixth-place finish.  Ryan Thomas hopes to have a better age gap next week.

46-50 Intermediate 
Art Ramsey and Brian Kesl would have the track to themselves as Chris Bird didn’t make it up to the gate.  Brian was leading in the first round when the announcer reminded him it was his boss behind him.  Art would come around and grab the win.  Second round same results.  Third round Brian would grab the win, but Art had secured the victory for the day.

15-16 Girls Expert 
Cheyenne Stone was a little younger, but she led the race from start to finish.  Liz Doyle held off Sarah Gonyer in third.

10 Expert 
JD Lataille would hold off the hard charging Reid Waters for the win today.  Logan Rice was right there in the battle in third place.  Jack Wendt would cross the line in fourth.  Kris Devaux will join the battle again next week.

11 Expert 
David Chrichton would finish second to Jayden Mahoney in the first round.  This must have fired David up as he would win both subsequent rounds.  David would get the win with Jayden in second and Ava Sisilli in third.

12 Expert 
Devon Hurley would spin his cranks round and round quicker than anyone else and grab the win today.  Rylan Spence and Max Meinel would battle for the second spot.  Max would have a slight crash in the second round and have to settle with a third today and Rylan in second.

16 Expert 
Wes Hamel in CYAA colors would get the perfect score and the win today.  Brody “ODI” Kesl would finish second the first two rounds and then in the third round he would shut it down early.  The announcer would announce Brody ODI is slowie.  Toby Schoonmaker would take home the third-place trophy today.

36-40 Expert 
Last moto of the day but not the end of the excitement.  Don Hottes and Leigh Waters would bang bars, hips, wallets, and anything else that they had coming out of turn five in the final round of the day.  Don would end up winning all rounds and take home the win today.  Gary Nylund would be stunned by the action and take home second today.  Leigh would finish in third after his and Don’s NASCAR style finish.

Lots of excitement this week.  Maybe everyone is gearing up for the State Qualifier here at Foothills in two weeks.  Yup that’s right June 2nd is the first qualifier right here at Foothills!  The next weekend it moves to Falcon and then the next day the Gold Cup Qualifier.  We will be closed for the Gold Cup Qualifier.  Hope to see everyone next week and get wells to Cash!

Question 4

Week # 5 May 26, 2024 - Story by Scott Gonyer

Accepted Answer

Foothills Race Report 
 May 26, 2024

Wow!  Forty one motos on a holiday weekend!  You all rock!  It was a gorgeous day for racing.  We would honor our fallen heroes with a parade lap and American Flags flying all around.  Thank you to all who gave the ultimate sacrifice defending our freedoms.

4 Balance Bike 
Isaac Bodwell would start the day a little slower than everyone else.  Then in the second round he would put on the afterburners and go from third to first.  Final round he would stay up front and grab the win for the day.  Chase Dugan would finish in second place.  Cameron Melanson would win the first round but would settle for third on the day.  Honora Osario would be on the hill but not start today.

3 Balance Bike 
Adelina Czapiga would zoom zoom zoom all three rounds to the finish line first.  John “Calvin Klein” Smith would rock the 1980s denim jacket in second place.

1-2 Balance Bike 
Nicholas Smith would grab the nick name “Bug Zapper” this week.  He couldn’t be stopped and would win all three rounds.  Bennett Markie would make a brief appearance but must have been scared of the bugs.
 
7-8 Open 
Kira Spence was on fire today as she was all smiles out front.  She would qualify out first and in the main crossed the line first.  Kevin Konopka would cross the finish line in second and Madoc Konopka would round out the main.  Blake Strong would just miss the main.

9-10 Open 
AJ Singleton would put his paper plate in the winners circle today.  Matty Verbanic was all over the back tire in second.  Zack Van Pelt would finish in third with his first appearance at Foothills.  Lucy Muller from New York would finish fourth.  Ophelia Brophy would finish in fifth.  Drake Herrera would just miss the main.

13-14 Open 
This had to be the biggest open in quite some time here at Foothills.  Nine riders would race for the top spot.  Jayden Mahoney would sit on top of the podium today.  Dion Hurley would finish in the runner up spot.  Noah Hardgrove would join them on the podium.  Sawyer Spence would finish in fourth place.  Fifth would be Devon Hurley.  Cole Dziok would finish in sixth.  Liam Baldwin would finish in seventh and Emery Baldwin in eighth.  Nathaniel Alvarado would miss the main.

17-20 Open 
Cole Walker would walk away with this total points race.  He would win all three rounds and take home first.  Chris “Sparky” Pedersen would finish in second.  Mark Aquilio would round out the class.

31 & Over Open 
Wild Bill Verbanic would get the extra giddy up and win all three rounds and take home the top prize.  Kevin Steins would try to be gentle Jordan Steins.  Kevin would get second over Jordan.

17-20 Women Cruiser 
Marissa Lyman would lead the ladies around the track today.  Cheyenne Stone would be cranking in second.  Raquel Olson would join them on the podium in third.  Ella Urban would keep track of dad’s itinerary for the day in fourth.  Jocelyn Orlandi would just miss the main.

8 Cruiser 
Eli “The Rippa” Ruopp would most definitely be ripping as he would grab the win.  Jeremy Ruopp would keep the name alive in second.  Caleb Bodwell would finish in third.  Ben Hagan would just miss the main.

10 Cruiser 
Reid Waters is like on the water flume ride.  Starting from the top and making the big splash at the bottom.  Reid would make the big splash crossing the line first.  Kris Devaux would finish in second.  AJ Anderson would get all wet in third.

13 Cruiser 
Noah Hardgrove would edge out Thomas Musarella for the win.  Cole Muller would stay right on their heals in third.  AJ Torizzo would just miss the main.

17-20 Cruiser 
Wes Hamel would show the “old man” of the group how to get it done.  Steve Healey isn’t really all that old but compared to the class, man he is ancient.  The artifact would bring it home second.  Sparky Pedersen would finish on the podium in third.  Brody Kesl would finish in fourth.  Josh Alstede would miss the main, but I heard there was some sympathy for him from his teammates.

36-40 Cruiser 
Brad Muller would grab the win in the first two rounds.  He would finish second in the final round, but he had the low points and grabbed the win.  Jeff Orlandi would grab himself a second place and Tommy Healey would round out this total points race.

46-50 Cruiser 
Mike Savage would not let anyone pass him in this race today.  Cliff Benoit would look left and right through his goggles, but Mike just made himself too wide to pass.  Al Torizzo was seen trying to use his mustache as a lasso but to no avail.

5 & Under Novice 
This was the smallest showing of riders in this class so far this year but it was an exciting one.  In the first round Enzo Melillo and last week’s winner Remington Waters would crash as they were looking for the transfer spots.  Emmit Walker and Connor Hagan would transfer.  Second round both Remington and Enzo would qualify with Remi Markie joining them.  The main would-be banging bars and back and forths.  Emmit Walker would grab the win as Enzo Melillo would crash and then Connor Hagan would also.  Both riders would recover to finish.  Remington Waters would finish in second.  Remi Markie would finish in third.  Connor would recover for fourth and Enzo in fifth.  Sawyer Halla would need to leave early and miss the main.

6 Novice 
Madoc Konopka would finish in second in the first round but then get two consecutive first and the win today.  Blake Strong would finish in second and Isaac Hernandez would finish in third.

7 Novice 
Kevin Konopka couldn’t be stopped as he would win all three rounds.  Abigal Flynn would finish in second place.  Joe Torizzo would round out the total points race.

8 Novice 
Well, this was a total points race but only two riders would make the gate.  I believe Emanuel Soler had mechanical problems or a crash during practice.  Hopefully everything is good now.  Otto Walker would win all three rounds and have Mattie Doyle in tow for second.

9 Novice 
Lily “Pink” Torizzo would be a ball of pink fire today!  She was unstoppable and would grab the win.  Ophelia Brophy and Juan Hernanadez would battle for the second spot.  Juan would get second even with a crash in the second round.  Ophelia put up a good fight and finished third.

10 Novice 
Reo Gagnon is sitting on nine wins.  The Misfit rider was trying everything to grab his tenth win.  He would lose a chain in the first round.  He would be running up front in the main, but AJ Singleton had other thoughts as he would grab the win today.  Don’t worry Reo it will come.  Wyatt McPhail would have a front row seat to the finish in third.  Ryder Osorio would finish in fourth.  Cheyenne Orlandi would finish in fifth. Drake Herrera would just miss the main.

13 Novice 
Cody Bodwell racing for Axle Nutts Racing would once again keep his winning ways as he would grab another win this week.  His teammate, Liam Baldwin, making his first appearance at Foothills, would finish second.  Jordan Beyus would finish in third place.  Celeste Hernanadez would have a quick crash and finish fourth.  Guadalupe Hernandez would just miss the main.

36-40 Novice 
Kevin Steins is racking up some wins and today was no different.  He would beat his Misfit teammate to the finish line.  Al Torizzo heard the announcer say it was for all the money and he sped up but came up a little short and was left with the dinner bill.  Chris Bird would race the first round but could not return as he had to post on Facebook some pictures of the best-looking guys in BMX.

5 & Under Intermediate 
Nash Oneill would put his Scylent Rage jersey on top of the podium today.  Billy Flynn would put the pressure on in second.  Hudson Halla racing for Exit 3 would have a nasty crash and have to leave for medical assistance.  Hudson we hope you're feeling better!  Heal up and hope to see you next week.

6 Intermediate 
Becket Brammer would put his mohawk in the winner’s circle today.  Bryce Groeber would cross the line in second.  Emerson Bodwell would finish in third.

9 Intermediate 
Jensen “Jumpman” Stiger must have been jumping up and down in excitement as he would win this crazy main.  Zack “Fuzzy Toes” Van Pelt, Caleb Bodwell, and Kira Spence would all tangle in turn one.  Zack would come out of it as Caleb and Kira would unfortunately crash.  Zack would go to get second place.  Lucy Muller would finish in third.  Kira would recover to finish fourth and Caleb in fifth.  Ben Hagan would just miss the carnage.

13 Intermediate 
Cole Dziok hasn’t been to Foothills in about three years.  It didn’t take long for this Axle Nutt to figure it out.  He would win in dominating fashion.  Raquel Olson racing for Fearless Racing would finish in second.  AJ Torizzo was right there in third.  Emery Baldwin would finish in fourth.  Ian Dwyer would just miss the main.

15 Intermediate 
Cole Walker from Rhode Island would run up front all three rounds and grab the win.  Nathaniel Alvarado would finish second and Olivia Shapiro in third.

36-40 Intermediate 
This race gave everyone a heart stopping moment.  In the first round John Melchor and Will Flynn would slam bars exiting turn one.  Both would go down with Will going from the second straight to the third straight.  He would need some medical attention and was able to walk off the track but would not return for the day.  Will hope all is well and you are recouping.  Will Verbanic would pull out his six shooters and make the shot.  Only a few more robbers away from expert.  Melchor would return from the crash for a second place.  Brian Kesl would finish in third.

15-16 Girls Expert 
Cheyenne Stone would have the perfect day and win all three rounds.  Sarah Gonyer and Liz Doyle would battle for second.  Liz would get it in the first round and Sarah in the second round.  Liz would get second in the third round and finish in second for the day.

17-20 Women Expert 
Devin Murphy would make her first appearance at Foothills this year and she would grab the win today.  Marissa Lyman would follow in close pursuit.  Ella Urban would inform dad that he was to stay corner marshaling and he wasn’t wanted at the after party.  Poor Dan.

9 Expert 
Reid Waters would grab the win fresh off from his cruiser win.  Jack Wendt would finish in second.  Eli Ruopp would join them on the podium.  Jeremy Ruopp would finish in fourth.  AJ Anderson will try again next week.

11 Expert 
Jumpin Jayden Mahoney would leap to great bounds to grab a win in the race today.  He was leaving his shadow behind as he crossed the line first.  Cole Muller would bring home a second-place trophy.  Kris Devaux would get the triple.  Felix Walker would finish in fourth.  Matty Verbanic will push it hard next week.

13 Expert 
Da Moose is loose!  Thomas “Da Moose” Musarella put his bike to the front and never looked back.  Devon Hurley would grab the second-place trophy.  Noah Hardgrove would find himself in third.  Ryker Parkins finished in the fourth position.  Peter Pereira would just miss the main.

14 Expert 
Who doesn’t like sour patch candy?  Most kids do!  Matt “Sour Patch” Horjatschun sure does.  He would make the competion sour as he would win today. Sawyer Spence said he likes Sno Caps in second.  Dion “Jellybean” Hurley would join the movie theater candy on the podium.  Brody Kesl must have slipped in the popcorn as he would crash and blame the movie theater usher named Wes…   Johnny “Flying Pierogi” urban didn’t get the memo that you needed a candy name to get on the podium today.

16 Expert 
Snooze fest.  These guys would bore the crowd with a pump race.  Wes Hamel would glide to first.  Chris Strandberg would yawn to second.  Mark Aquilio was heard with a noise app in third.  Toby Schoonmaker said I was awake for this?

21-25 Expert 
Chris “Sparky” Pedersen once again set the spark on this group of gasoline.  He looked like a roman candle on his way up into the sky.  Steve Healey would try to extinguish the flame, but he left his fire extinguisher back at exit 2.  Josh Alstede said his handlebars were too hot as he rode halfway around the track no handed.  Matt Halla had to leave early to take care of the little guy.

36-40 Expert 
Matt Markie I think was in turn one while the rest of the class was still at the gate.  He was out front from beginning to end.  Leigh Waters tried to lasso him in but would have to settle for second.  Dan King gave Leigh a good run for his money but would finish in third.  Tommy Healey forgot to change his socks to the fast ones today.

41-45 Expert 
Don Hottes sure was hott today!  He would win all three rounds and grab the win.  Lyle Walker would finish in second.  Jeff “The Mailman” Orlandi was like the speed of the mail.  He took three days to arrive at the finish line.

46-50 Expert 
Peter Pereira would say just because my Scylent Rage jersey is yellow it doesn’t mean go slow.  He only seen green and checkered on his way to the win.  Gary “The Clydesdale” Nylund didn’t quite have the giddy up for Pete as he would finish in second.  Cliff Benoit would put his pony in the fight and finish behind Gary in third.  Mike Savage must have been paid off to not make this main.

What an exciting day of racing.  I hope our injured riders are all healed up by the time of this writing.  This upcoming Sunday is the first state qualifier here at Foothills.  I hope everyone is ready and excited.  Don’t forget to get at least your six single point races in before July 15th.  The team series is back this year and that should get exciting as well.  Rest up and see you all Sunday!

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