With win in finale, Santa Cruz’s Jacob Albrecht becomes NorCal High School Mountain Bike season champ

Area riders Tom Foxx, Steffen Andersen, Maddie Ortenblad also win divisions

After a season of battling for first, it came down to a sprint to the finish line.

Santa Cruz’s Jacob Albrecht went into the NorCal High School Mountain Biking League’s championship fighting to narrow an 18-point gap between himself and season standings leader Bryan Duke of Salinas. Oddly enough, the way the new league champ accomplished that feat involved some teamwork with Duke.

“On the last lap, me and Bryan Duke pulled away on the last climb, and we worked a little together on the flats just to pull away from everyone,” Albrecht, a Santa Cruz Composite rider, said of the boys varsity race that took place Sunday at Stafford Lake County Park in Novato.

Then came the sprint to the finish.  After completing five laps for about total 26.5 miles, Albrecht had recorded a time of 1 hour, 41 minutes, 51 seconds — a win by just two seconds to become the first-ever league champ out of Santa Cruz.

“I wasn’t feeling too great at the start, but I felt better and better throughout the race,” Albrecht said. “And I tried to push it on the climbs.”

Pushing it paid off in a big way. With his win, came a boost of 550 points and that was enough to slide him past defending champion Duke [1:41:53] in the standings, which are based on points from the best four of five races. Both Albrecht and Duke were also awarded 25 bonus points, which are given to riders who participate in all the season’s events.

Marin’s Taylor Smith placed third overall [2,152] and Santa Cruz independent rider Tobin Ortenblad, the defending state champion who won at Mike’s Bike Cat’s Classic on Saturday, placed fifth [2,067]. Neither Smith nor Ortenblad participated in all five competitions, so their points included only those from the four races they did ride in — with no throwaway score.

In non-varsity races, area winners Sunday were Tom Foxx [Santa Cruz Composite] in the sophomore boys Division 2 race [1:08:26], Steffen Andersen [Aptos High] in the frosh boys Division 2 race [47:38]. Both won their division titles, as did Maddie Ortenblad in the frosh girls division.

Foxx and Andersen each lost only one race this season, both finishing with 2,025 points. Maddie Ortenblad won one race and never placed worse than fourth, finishing with 1,966 points.

Santa Cruz Composite placed ninth in the team standings [7,915 points] for Division 2. The Spartans High School Mountain Bike Composite won the division with 10,148 points, and Sir Francis Drake High School won Division 1 [19,224].

As for other Santa Cruz County-based teams, the newly formed Santa Cruz Mountains Composite placed 14th [6,862] and Aptos High School placed 15th [6,194] in Division 2, and Georgiana Bruce Kirby Prep placed 12th in Division 1 [15,011].

Although the NorCal season has come to a close, the state championship is fast approaching. It’s scheduled for Los Olivos on May 20. Riders must qualify to participate. For more information, please see the NorCal league’s website.

– Christina Gullickson, on Twitter @CGullTweets

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this post did not make clear that both Albrecht and Duke received the 25-point bonus for competing in all NorCal races this season. This version has been updated to reflect that they did. Also, it has now been noted that Smith and Ortenblad had no throwaway scores.

Santa Cruz’s Jacob Albrecht finishes runner-up in Boggs Mountain Classic

Marin Catholic’s Taylor Smith captures the win

Santa Cruz High student and Santa Cruz Composite rider Jacob Albrecht followed up his first NorCal High School Mountain Bike League win of the season with a second-place finish in the Boggs Mountain Classic on Sunday.

Marin Catholic’s Taylor Smith won the 24.8-mile boys varsity race in 1 hour, 46 minutes, 14 seconds, according to results on the NorCal website. Albrecht followed a mere three seconds later. Salinas’ Bryan Duke, the overall standings leader, placed third in 1:46:41.

Duke now has 2,162 points in the standings, Albrecht has 2,144, and independent rider Brandon Dillard is in third with 1,938.

The sole other Santa Cruz County rider at the varsity level, Tobin Ortenblad — the defending state champ — placed eighth after getting held up by a crash near the start and suffering a penalty. He finished in 1:56:58.

In the standings, Ortenblad is ranked 18th with 1,553 points.

The 18.6-mile girls varsity race was won by the Branson Bulls’ Kate Courtney, who crossed the finish line in 1:34:50.

Santa Cruz County did have two winners Sunday, though. They were Aptos High’s Steffen Andersen, who dominated the boys frosh race in 1:04:06, and the SCC’s Tom Foxx, who won the soph boys race in 1:33:02 with almost a full-minute lead over the next closest competitor. The distance in the frosh race was 12.4 miles and the distance in the soph race was 18.6 miles.

The next NorCal High School Mountain Bike League event is the NorCal Championships, which are scheduled for May 6.

– Christina Gullickson, on Twitter @CGullTweets

Santa Cruz’s Jacob Albrecht conquers ‘Hurl Hill,’ wins Laguna Seca Grand Prix

Santa Cruz High student and Santa Cruz Composite rider Jacob Albrecht pulled away from the boys varsity pack on the final climb of the Laguna Seca Grand Prix, dubbed “Hurl Hill,” and held on for the win on Sunday.

The race, at the Laguna Seca Recreational Area in Monterey, was the third NorCal High School Mountain Biking League event and the one with the toughest hills this season.

Albrecht finished the approximately 25-mile trek in 1 hour, 32 minutes, 57 seconds. He was followed by Marin Catholic’s Tyler Smith [1:33:04, second] and Salinas’ Bryan Duke [1:33:14, third].

Independent rider and Pacific Collegiate School student Tobin Ortenblad, the defending state high school mountain biking champion, placed fourth [1:33:23], and the Branson Bulls’ Eliel Anttila rounded out the top five [1:36:02].

Albrecht’s victory boosted his points in the standings; although, he’s still in second behind Duke, who won the first two races of the season. The margin between them narrowed, with Albrecht having 1,604 points to Duke’s 1,631.

Albrecht wasn’t the only mountain biker from Santa Cruz County to bring home a win. Tom Fox [SCC] won the sophomore boys’ 15-mile Division 2 race and Aptos High’s Steffen Andersen won the frosh boys’ 10-mile Division 2 race.

Fox’s win came with a decent lead over runner-up and teammate Chance Tiner. He crossed the finish line in 1:02:15 to Tiner’s 1:03:10. Andersen, though, eked his out, edging Santa Cruz Mountains Composite rider Joe Van Pykeren by two seconds, 41:04-41:06.

The girls varsity race was won by Josie Nordrum of Redwood High [1:24:15]. She leads the girls standings with 1,621 points.

In the team standings, Redwood High is leading in Division 1 with 11,533 points. The Georgiana Bruce Kirby team is the sole Santa Cruz County squad in Division 1 and is currently in 12th place out of 14 teams with 8,744 points. In Division 2, the Spartans High School Mountain Bike Composite leads with 6,071 points and the top Santa Cruz County squad is the SCC, in eighth of 32 teams with 4,532 points.

The next NCHSMBL event is scheduled for April 15 at the Boggs Mountain Demonstration Forest in Cobb.

– Christina Gullickson, on Twitter at CGullTweets

Santa Cruz’s Tobin Ortenblad, Jacob Albrecht finish in top 5 of NorCal mountain bike race

Handful of SC County riders capture wins in non-varsity races

Santa Cruz’s Tobin Ortenblad, the defending state high school mountain biking champion, placed second in his return to the NorCal High School Mountain Biking League after sitting out the first race to rest up from the cyclocross season, in which he represented the United States at worlds in Belgium.

The independent rider who attends Pacific Collegiate School finished the Central Coast Classic boys varsity race in 1 hour, 35 minutes, 5 seconds in what was a race to the finish line in Monterey on Sunday.

Bryan Duke, who won the NorCal opener last month, crossed the finish line in 1:35:02 to secure another victory for Salinas.

Third-place finisher Taylor Smith of Marin Catholic finished in 1:35:06, Tamalpais High’s Skyler Taylor was fourth in 1:35:32, and Santa Cruz Cycling Composite’s Jacob Albrecht rounded out the top five in 1:36:57.

In non-varsity races, a handful of Santa Cruz County riders, including Maddie Ortenblad — Tobin Ortenblad’s younger sister — Chance Tiner and Steffen Andersen also found success.

Tiner [Santa Cruz Cycling Composite] won the Division 2 sophomore boys race in 1:03:33 with a two-second lead over teammate Tom Foxx.

Andersen, of Aptos High, won the Division 2 frosh boys race in 43:59 for a seven-second lead over the next closest competitor.

Maddie Ortenblad, who rides as an independent, won the girls frosh race in 50:28 with a 25-second lead over the next closest competitor.

The next NorCal HSMBL race is the Laguna Seca Grand Prix in Monterey, scheduled for April 1 (no joke).

Results included in this report came from the NorCal HSMBL website. Early results are always preliminary. If you see what you think is a mistake, the league encourages you to contact pgoes-at-speakeasy-dot-net.

Neither team results nor standings were available as of the morning of March 21 but will likely be posted in the NorCal HSMBL results area in the coming days.

– Christina Gullickson, on Twitter at CGullTweets

High school mountain bikers Bryan Duke, Jacob Albrecht go 1-2 in opener

Salinas High’s Bryan Duke and Santa Cruz’s Jacob Albrecht [Santa Cruz Composite] dominated the boys varsity race in the NorCal High School Mountain Biking League’s opening event of the season — the Granite Bay Challenge — on Feb. 26. The duo finished within 18 seconds of each other, but more than a solid minute over the next fastest competitor, according to results posted on the NCHSMBL website on Friday.

Duke won in four laps, crossing the finish line in 1 hour, 32 minutes, 31 seconds, and Albrecht followed in 1:32:49. Tamalpais High’s Skyler Taylor followed in third [1:34:07], the Drake Pirates’ Lucas Newcomb followed in fourth [1:36:04], and San Marin High’s Matthew Erbentraut rounded out the top five [1:36:18].

Albrecht’s finish, which came with 540 points, helped pace his team — the SCC — which is now 11th in the standings with 1,488 points. The Spartans High School Mountain Bike Composite is in first place with 2,024 points.

Independent rider Shayna Powless won the girls race [three laps, 1:20:01] and was followed by Redwood High’s Josie Nordrum [1:20:30] in second, the Branson Bulls’ Kate Courtney [1:20:35] in third, the Drake Pirates’ Mackinzie Stanley in fourth [1:26:26], and independent rider Julie Barton in fifth [1:26:33]. No Santa Cruz County girls compete at the varsity level.

Other Santa Cruz County teams in the standings are the Santa Cruz Mountains Composite at 14th after its debut race with 1,395 points and the Aptos High team, which is at 15th with 1,306 points.

Pacific Collegiate School student and defending state high school mountain biking champion Tobin Ortenblad said via Twitter that he was absent from the opener because he was still resting up from the cyclocross season, where he represented the United States at worlds. He does expect to compete in the NorCal league this season.

The next NCHSMBL event, the Monterey Bay Classic, is scheduled for March 18 in Monterey.

–Christina Gullickson, CGullTweets on Twitter.

Editor’s Note: This post was updated at 11:36 a.m. March 4, 2012.