It was a weekend to remember for the Cochrane BMX Association.
Several of the club’s riders returned home with multiple gold medals after Provincial Races Five and Six in Airdrie over July 23 and 24.
Haylee Laurell (Six Novice Female), Nathan Vlahakis (Seven Expert Male), Jaxson Ross (8 Intermediate Male), Luke Christensen (11 Intermediate Male), Katie Scott (13 Expert Female), and Ayden Schumlick (13 Novice Male), Lisette McCracken (17 and over Novice Female) all managed to bag first in their respective categories.
“It was awesome,” said Brad Christensen, Cochrane BMX Association president. “The club did very well, and BMX as a sport did well. It was great, definitely an exciting weekend for a few of the riders.”
The provincial meet saw a record number of riders take part (540), with the Cochrane club sending 42 riders to the event – also a record.
“Every kid who took part exceeded our expectations,” Christensen said. “We had riders who were competing in their first race this weekend, so just competing was a win for them.
“It’s truly exciting to see some of the young riders from our club who’ve got a long career ahead of them. It’s great for the future of the organization.”
Other riders who managed to nab top three places included Tasha Stephens (third in 10 Novice Female), Koen Stephens-Fjordbotten (second in Five Intermediate Male), Dreven Hamel (third in Six Intermediate Male), Grady Potter (second in Seven Intermediate Male), Mason Pike (second in Eight Intermediate Male), AJ Laurell (third in Eight Expert Male), Keelan Schimpf (second in Nine Novice Male), Caleb Graham (second in 10 Expert Male), Brock Foster (third in 10 Expert Male), Kohen Schumlick (third in 11 Novice Male), Riley Carey (second in 11 Intermediate Male), Tyler Semmens (third in 30 to 39 Male Novice), and Brian Otterson (third in Cruiser 40-plus Male).
Despite being one of the best weekends in the club’s history, Christensen was hard pressed to pick any specific moment that stood out for him.
“The weekend as a whole is one we’ll remember for a while just for the sheer volume of people who showed up,” he said. “I’m so proud of all the riders from Cochrane. They did so well. We had some hard crashes as well, but it was an exciting time nonetheless.”
The club is next sending riders to the Stony Plain meet, which is part of the Provincial Series over the weekend of Aug. 12, after that the club will be sending riders to Nationals in Calgary (Aug 26 to 28), something Christensen is very excited about.
“Having Nationals in Calgary is huge,” he said. “Normally they have it out in Quebec or Ontario, so having them out west for a change is a big bonus for Alberta riders.
“Nationals is the qualifier for Worlds which are in South Carolina this year – the first time they’ve been in the States for a long while, so it’s an exciting opportunity for Alberta.”
