The final round of the 2026 OBRA Junior Cyclocross Series (JCS) on Saturday, October 13, welcomed racers with what may be one of our last days of welcoming weather of the year. The combination of warm sun and a bit of residual moisture from the preceding week made for the best conditions of the season—just enough slipperiness to keep things interesting—and a bike wash courtesy of Muc-Off eagerly awaiting post-race cleans.
This year’s Cyclocross Crusade Edgefield course differed considerably from the 2025 vintage. Short laps made for lots of opportunities to try different dismount and remount points, as well as varied lines through myriad turns. Tight racing rewarded bike handling and well-timed bursts of power. Despite some overall podiums still in play, our juniors channelled the spirit of cyclocross and showed up properly costumed!
See galleries of photos from the weekend by Jay Ortiz and Chloë Spritz.
In the Junior Women 9-10, Eliza Hazboun (Corvallis Junior Cycling) took her fifth straight victory over Edith Brown (Fast Fun Nice Racing). Edith’s collection of silvers nabbed her silver in the JCS, and newcomer Eva Thayer-Osborne (Grouptrail Cycling) fought hard for her accompanying bronze. The Open 9-10 saw Wyatt Russell (A&B Racing) speed to a strong win over Nicolas Rinaldi Ceroni (Biciclista) and Oliver Lyttle (Dirty Fingers), with Nicholas only able to exhale in the second half of his final lap. Although he and Wyatt are tied at 116 points from their four best races, Nicholas’ consistent presence at races gives him the win courtesy of a tiebreaker, with Kiger Walters (Corvallis Junior Cycling) in third.
Cyrus Brown, Fast Fun Nice teammate and older brother of Edith, bookended his season with wins in the Open 11-12 field over Everett Hawes (Corvallis Junior Cycling) and Ryan Kraemer Steigerwald. Luka Dedrick (Grouptrail Cycling) had already cemented his JCS victory, and Cyrus and Everett likewise saw no change in their second and third places for the 2026 title. Vivi McManuis, meanwhile, completed a dominant perfect season in the Junior Women 11-12, earning herself another Yakima Hot Lap prize in the process. Phoebe Hogue (Team Booger) battled home for second over Lily Thayer-Osborne. Phoebe’s efforts were not enough to shift the series podium, however, with Vivi winning the JCS, and sisters and Team Booger teammates Bobbi and Willow Buswell in second and third.
The Women 13-14 race consisted of a battle between two newcomers, Iselin Eide (Team Booger) and Evelyn Payne (who represents both Team Booger and Trusty Switchblade). Iselin slowly drifted away courtesy of a few seconds each lap, ending up with a comfortable cushion as she crossed the finish line. Gabby Linn (Mettle Cycling) had already wrapped up her JCS win, but Iselin’s ride nabbed her second place, and Evelyn displaced Bella LaDolce for the final podium position by way of the recency tiebreaker. Another Team Booger rider, Dylan Glazer, took home his third win out of three tries in the Junior Open 13-14 competition this season, with teammate Carter Hayden besting a third Booger, Hudson Gribby, in the race for third. Dylan’s three wins were not enough to beat out the consistency of Benjamin Krawchuk-Miller (Corvallis Junior Cycling) or Eli Baraff (Grouptrail Cycling) for the JCS podium, however. Although Benjamin was fifth and Eli sixth at Edgefield, they had already secured gold and silver prior to the race, with Dylan retaining third over Carter.
Lincoln Sheldon (Team Booger) put in a ride in the Junior Open 15-16 competition that included overcoming an early deficit to Logan Trost (Bicycle Attorney) to earn the victory. Logan’s strong final lap let him secure second over Waylon Johnson, who was closely pursued by Garrett Hawes (Corvallis Junior Cycling), but Waylon was able to clutch out a podium at Edgefield. Garrett’s persistence paid off for the season, though, with a victory over the absent Axel Weaver (Team Booger) in second and Logan in third. With equal points and appearances, Axel’s win at Heiser Farms is all that separates the two.
The final competition of the day saw Jack Abel (Team Booger) ride to a commanding victory over teammate Lincoln Sanchez in the Open 17-18, with Jack’s blazing opening lap allowing him to claim the final Yakima Hot Lap prize of 2026. Jack’s trio of wins places him on the top step of the 2026 JCS podium with Lincoln in second and Bennett Gassner (Team Booger) in third. The JCS individual standings did not change for the Women 15-16 and Women 17-18 categories as there were no racers in those fields at Edgefield. Sunny Wittreich (Grouptrail Cycling), Ari Tabish (Team Booger) and Kadence Helm (Eugene Composite) were tied in points with one victory apiece. Sunny’s most recent participation grants her the series win via a tiebreaker, with Ari in second and Kadence ending up in third. Stella Cafiso earned the Women 17-18 JCS title courtesy of her state championship ride in Independence.
Well, that’s a wrap for the racing portion of the 2026 JCS! Maybe it’s my age, or maybe it’s too many commitments, but this season sure blazed by for me. I hope to see as many racers and parents as possible at our end-of-season awards ceremony on Sunday, November 15, at Steeplejack SW Pizza and Beer, from 12-3 p.m. We’ll award medals and prizes for all podium finishers, jerseys for any leaders who don’t already have theirs and plenty of raffle prizes!
Please note: this is a different Steeplejack location from last year’s awards. The address is 4439 SW Beaverton Hillsdale Highway. If you’re not able to make it and have a racer who finished on the series podium, please arrange to have a friend or teammate grab their medal and prize, or email me at robin@obra.org. If you’re in the Portland area, I’ll drop it off, or I can ship it. Every racer deserves their award!
Thank you to our sponsors: Sellwood Cycle Repair, Castelli, Yakima, and BikeTiresDirect. I also want to express my heartfelt appreciation for the parents who devote an enormous amount of time, energy and resources to help their kids enjoy a sport so close to my heart. None of us could do it without you!
—Robin
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