Trojan mountain biking ended the season a couple of weeks ago at the state championship race in Tucson. Three riders qualified for the championship, and they all finished the season with a strong showing.  

Coming off of the Spring Service Break, the Trojans were excited to see where they would end up on the big stage of the state finals races. This year the course changed a bit from the year prior, adding approximately 800 additional yards per lap. This year's course took riders through an old western movie set at Old Tucson Studios. This added a new obstacle as this became the longest race of the season. The Trojans didn't back down from the challenge and all took to the line and raced their hearts out.  

Coming into the race, junior Emma Clark had a bit of a target on her back as she was the defending varsity state champion and went the entire season undefeated. But she didn't back down from the challenge. She led the whole race from start to finish, battling her competition the whole way. On the last lap she launched an attack on the downhill which was enough for her to take the win and go back-to-back as varsity girls state champion.  

Next, senior Liam Clark came into his race optimistic on how he would fare. Last season he ended up second at state and this year he was hoping to end the season on top. On the first lap he ended up crashing but was able to remain in the chase group for first. But unfortunately, on the second lap he suffered a tire puncture which took him out of contention. He was able to battle his way back to 7th and finish the race strong.  

Lastly, Freshman Kate Schumann finished the season racing in the freshman girls state championship race. This was only her third ever mountain bike race and she killed it on a very technical course. She ended the day 14th in a very strong freshmen girls field.  

The Trojans, although small in numbers, ended the season strong and finished ninth in a field of 16 schools at the Division 2 state races. The Trojans are all hungry for more and are very excited to see where next season takes them.  

You can catch two of their riders Liam and Emma Clark May 8-12 before next season at the Pan-American Championships at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center in Wasatch County, Utah. Wish them luck as they line up to compete against riders from more than 40 other countries.  

Let's Go Trojans!