SISS Mountain Biking Champships
The Mount Hutt College MTB team completed an incredibly successful South Island Schools MTB Championships at Coronet Peak a week ago.
The 25 rider team represented the largest MHC team ever sent to the South Island MTB Championships and could have been even bigger with established riders Charlie Leitis and Eilish McKerrow withdrawing late due to injury.
The team had trained together twice a week since the end of January and it showed with some impressive results on the mountain. Across the 3 individual events- Cross Country, Downhill and Enduro the school's riders gained over 15 top 10 finishes and managed to secure 3 podiums throughout the event.
Pacing the team was Tom Currie whose 4th place finish in the Enduro and Cross Country, and 5th place finish in the Downhill saw him place second overall in the Under 14 Boys grade. The Under 14 grade also saw MHC riders Max Coleman (5th overall) and Campbell Copland (7th overall) also place in the top 10.
Baxter Florance earned the first podium of the event for MHC team with a second place finish in the Under 15 Boys Downhill race. Baxter placed 3rd overall in the Under 15 boys division.
The Downhill race in particular was a highlight for the MHC team with every rider improving on their seeding time by between 5-17 seconds.Coach Luke Leitis, identified the progression of all the riders as the key takeaway from the event saying that the event had provided a fantastic foundation for the continued growth of the sport in the school and the wider community.
Flynn Harden was outstanding on and off the trails during the event. Flynn finished 5th overall in the Under 15 Boys division and also came home with the overall sportsmanship award for stopping to help an injured rider during his final Downhill race run.
The team has seen significant support from whānau in the lead up and during the event and are incredibly lucky to have Bike Methven and Big Al’s Methven as key partners.
With the New Zealand Secondary Schools MTB Championships scheduled in Christchurch in October the team is excited about the prospects of gearing up for this event and building on the solid foundation laid at Coronet Peak.