PORT ANGELES — More than 480 riders from all across the Pacific Northwest descended on the muddy hills of Dry Hill in the fifth NW Cup Mountain Bike race of the season.
It was the third NW Cup race held at Dry Hill this season. The first two were in May and June with other races in Whitefish, Mont., and Tamarack Ski Area in Idaho. Seeding races were held Saturday with finals on Sunday.
The races were broken down into professional, Cat 1 (expert), Cat 2 (intermediate) and Cat 3 (novice).
Winning the pro men’s category was Demetri Triantafillou of Bellingham with a time of 2 minutes, 35.01 seconds. This race featured some of the top downhill mountain bikers in the Pacific Northwest. Triantafillou came into to the race as the top pro in the NW Cup series and increased his lead with 125 points to take the overall pro championship.
Winning the women’s pro race was McKenna Merten of Tempe, Ariz., in a time of 3:04.30. The women’s overall pro champion was Sydney Haberman of Redmond, who finished second Sunday, 8 seconds behind Merton. She won at Dry Hill in June.
The one local winner was Steve Johnson, riding in the Cat 3 60-plus category. He took first with a time of 4:13.12. It was his second win of the year at Dry Hill.
Powell Jones of Sequim finished third in the Cat 2 40-49 races, with a time of 3:15.55. Jones’ solid race put him in the top 10 overall in the five-race series. He picked up 70 points and finished with 133 points overall.
Lou Geraghty of Port Hadlock finished third in the women’s Cat 3 19-39 with a time of 5:07.24, even though it was her first downhill race of the year.
Bellingham riders dominated the pro and expert races Sunday.
Other winners and local top riders include:
NW Cup Finals, Race No. 5
Dry Hill, Port Angeles
Sunday, Sept. 12
Cat 1
U18 Boys — J.T. Fisher, Bellingham, 2:39.04.
19-29 Men — Simon Patamia, Bellingham, 2:50.35.
30-39 Men — Spencer Baldwin, Bellingham, 2:50.40.
40+ Men — Shawn Anderson, Auburn, 2:57.05.
U18 Girls — Taylor Ostgaard, Selah, 3:01.08.
19-39 Women — Madeline Button, Bellingham, 3:28.55.
40+ Women — Michelle Macartney, Fall City, 3:47.53.
Cat 2
U12 Boys — Travis Maliska, Tehachapi, Calif., 3:10.61.
13-14 Boys — Ryder Lawrence, Menifee, Calif., 2:51.16; Ron McGuire, PA, eighth, 3:09.35.
15-16 Boys — Jagger Bucy, Snoqualmie, 2:52.25; Peter Zelenka, PA, 20th, 3:17.70.
17-18 Boys — Teagan Dervaes, Palmer, Alaska, 2:47.24; Colby Groves, PA, 14th, 3:18.36.
19-29 Men — Braydon Shields, Yakima, 2:56.54; Hudson Soelter, PA, seventh, 2:58.46.
30-39 Men — Sean Hersch, Seattle, 3:05.40.
40-49 Men — Chris Kinerk, Olympia, 3:11.14; Powell Jones, Sequim, third, 3:15.55.
50+ Men — Rich Densmore, Spokane, 3:13.05.
U18 Girls — Lillee Jenkins, Camp Verde, Ariz., 3:19.65.
19-29 Women — Hailee Kadow, Portland, Ore., 3:39.66.
40+ Women — Jayme Hill, Tacoma, 4:06.73.
Cat 3
U7 Boys — Carter Sinclair, Sweet Home, Ore., 4:40.76.
8-10 Boys — Miles Dowling, Bellingham, 4:02.27.
11-14 Boys — Jasper Altendorf, Everett, 3:46.55; Henry Haxel, PA, ninth, 4:04.19; Ethan Babre, PA, 15th, 4:12.12.
15-18 Boys — Ryder McCall, Stanwood, 3:44.05.
19-39 Men — Grant Heisey, Lake Forest Park, 3:50.68.
40-59 Men — Tyler Williams, Snohomish, 3:46.87.
60+ Men — Steven Johnson, PA, 4:13.12.
U10 Girls — Brielle Beougher, Whitefish, Mont., 4:19.72.
11-18 Girls — Leah Macartney, Fall City, 4:15.50.
19-39 Women — Caroline Goyette, Yakima, 4:43.52; Lou Geraghty, Port Hadlock, third, 5:07.24.
40+ Women — Jennifer Watterson, Enumclaw, 4:32.58.
