OBRA’s junior cyclocross racers were greeted by superb weather for the third straight race at Willamette Superchamps in Eugene. Based on the footage I’ve seen and on-the-ground reporting by my stand-in Taylor, a course that nailed the balance between fun and challenging made for some excellent racing in the third race of the Junior Cyclocross Series (JCS). The closest battle of the day was again between Gabby Linn (Mettle Cycling) and Vivi McManuis (Team Booger) in what is surely developing into a friendly rivalry. As they’re in different age-group categories, they each consolidated their respective, overall leads. In the Women 11-12 competition, Vivi leads Bobbi Buswell (Team Booger) in second and Ella Coombs (Corvallis Junior Cycling) in third. Gabby’s Women 13-14 category victory was uncontested, and she is followed by Bella LaDolce in second for the series.
Eliza Hazboun (Corvallis Junior Cycling) steadily built a lead over Edith Brown (Fast Fun Nice p/b Steeplejack) to place first in the Women 9-10 field. This was the second straight weekend with the same racers in first and second, and thus both occupy the same seats in the JCS overall standings. Series newcomer Kadence Helm (Eugene Composite) snagged the Yakima Hot Lap in our women’s field by a solid 17 seconds, and even managed to take an additional nine seconds off her time in the second lap. The timesheet shows she never let up, and Kadence took the victory in our Women 15-16 race and is now leading the series at its halfway point.
Andy Emmett (CORE Devo) took the Yakima Hot Lap competition en route to a win in the Open 15-16 race over Garett Hawes (Corvallis Junior Cycling). Garrett holds a sizeable lead in the JCS as a whole, though, with Andy, Axel Weaver (Team Booger) and Bjorn Swanson (Dirty Fingers) all tied for second behind him. Team Booger’s Caleb Farley made his first appearance in the Open 13-14 category this year after four race wins and the series victory in the Open 9-12 category in 2025. Caleb claimed an emphatic win ahead of Liam Campaigniac and Benjamin Krawchuk-Miller, both of Corvallis Junior Cycling. Benjamin now leads Eli in the overall, and Caleb is tied with his Booger teammate Dylan Glazer for third place.
The Open 11-12 competition has been tight this season, with Luka Dedrick (Grouptrail Cycling p/b Ruckus Composites), Cyrus Brown (Fast Fun Nice p/b Steeplejack) and Everett Hawes (Corvallis Junior Cycling) trading slots on the podium in all three races. Luka gradually opened up a gap on Cyrus in each of the first two laps, ultimately forcing Cyrus to ease off in the second half of the race, settling for second in the process. Luka now leads the series over Cyrus, with Everett’s bronze on the day consolidating the same position for the season thus far. Biciclista’s Nicolas Rinaldi Ceroni’s mature pacing earned him a second straight win in the Open 9-10 field over Harrison Ellis and Kiger Walters (Corvallis Junior Cycling) in second and third, respectively. Nicolas continues to lead the series ahead of Wyatt Russell (A&B), with Kiger now standing third.
Several of our juniors doubled up on the day! Andy Emmett placed fifth in the Category 5 Open field, and Wyatt Hawes seventh in the Open 1/2 race. Gabby Linn narrowly missed the win in the Women 3/4 field, but held on for silver. Finally, Bjorn Swanson has graduated from the JCS and placed eighth in the Open 3/4 race.
Mike Norton captured the action in Eugene, and you can see his photos on Instagram and his website.
Our juniors have a weekend to exhale before another three JCS weekends beginning with Cyclocross Crusade Heron Lakes on Sunday, October 18. I’m looking forward to being alongside the tape to cheer on everybody as they confront the monolith and an assortment of deceptively tricky off-cambers! In the meantime, though it’s not part of the JCS, the Cyclocross Crusade Coyote Run on Sunday, October 11 provides another racing opportunity. Gratitude is due, as ever, to Castelli, Yakima, BikeTiresDirect, and Sellwood Cycle Repair for their provision of leaders’ jerseys, hot lap goodies and series prizes. Finally, on behalf of all of our racers, for the support of our parents—you’re all helping foster the future of our beloved sport. See you at Heron Lakes!
—Robin
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