The Mountain Biking team came back from their first race on September 10-11 where they made the top placements in the JV2 division. Edwin Beltran ’25 also had the highest Brophy placement of 2nd in the boys JV2 division.
“We’re expecting to come back with our first overall team victory this season,” said head coach, Mr. Cooper Davis ’10. “We’ve gotten second for the past few years, and I think this year we’ll turn the corner and get first place.”
The overall team placements are based off of team points awarded to athletes based on their race results, and the team got second overall with a total of 4044 points in the southern division 1 conference.
Mr. Davis said that the he expected a strong showing in the boys varsity event, and that was shown in their opening race at the Fort Tuthill race in Flagstaff, AZ when Jackson Pohlad ’24 got 7th place
Brophy freshman Kolbe Morgan ’26 placed 5th out of 38 people in the D1 freshman event, and he brought back 464 points that contributed to the team’s overall second place.
Mr. Davis said that the athletes this year are producing times that are faster than Michael Hemmerlin ’18 who rode for Brophy four years ago before going to bike and win national titles. Mr. Davis said that he is excited for the year, and the bikers are riding faster than they ever have before.
Hemmerlin went on to ride for the Marian Knights at Marian University, which Mr. Davis described as one of the best cycling schools in the country. He said many other Brophy students are placing well and in positions to go to some of the nation’s best cycling universities.
The team had some of the highest placements they have ever had this weekend.
“The boys have done very well in the past few years, but with the times they are putting down, I think we have a real chance at being the best this year,” Mr. Davis said.