On Sunday, Senators Cycling kicked off the 2026 mountain bike season at Kirkwood Mountain Resort with a third place finish in the team competition.
Kirkwood offers the most challenging terrain competitors will face this season with numerous technical descents, obstacles and of course plenty of uphill.
The varsity boys kicked-off racing at 9 a.m. and were quickly followed by the JV, level 5, and level 4 categories, respectively. Both Senators competing in varsity, Seth Chalmers (6th) and Asa Morway (9th) finished in the top 10.
Five Senators competed in the JV category with Jax Huntington finishing 3rd overall. Jackson Isom was the highest placed high school boy for the Senators finishing second in the level 4 boys category.
The high school girls, led by senior Riley Kuhlman, fired off the start line at 10:45. Based on the overall season standings at the end of last year, Riley entered the 2026 season opener as the top seed in the varsity girls category. Through most of the race Riley and one of her closest competitors swapped leads, though in the end Riley opened a one minute gap to cross the line in first.
All four Senators competing in the level 4 girls category placed in the top 10. Syrae Lenz led the way with a second place finish and Lucy Wacker rounded out the top five in fifth. Maddy Cranston (6th) and Mira Orvold (7th) finished their level 4 debuts in the top 10.
Next up, the middle school girls kept the racing going at 12:15PM. The Senators entered 9 competitors, the largest team contingent among the middle school girls. Third-year Senator Evie Huntington finished third in the level 3 category. Competing in her first year of racing, Clover Sibenaller finished fifth in the girls level 1 category and returning athlete Sophia Alferez rounded out the top 10 in the level 2 category.
Eighteen of the 130 competitors in the middle school boys categories were Senators. Of the eighteen, six were competing in their first mountain bike race.
Four races remain, with the next one scheduled to take place at Northstar Mountain resort near Truckee on Sept. 13. After the Northstar Navigator, the Senators host the Capital City Crusher on September 20th on the trails behind Western Nevada College.
The community is invited to come out and cheer on your 2026 Senator Cyclers!
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