After only three years in existence, the Eureka Springs High School Mountain Bike Team was awarded Third Place Overall at the National Interscholastic Cycling Association state championship race at Centennial Park in Conway on Nov. 5. Bentonville High School came away with first place and Siloam Springs secured second overall in the high school division.
“In mountain biking, there are no divisions for size of school, so very small schools like Eureka compete against much larger schools and composite teams,” Shawna Miller said. She is a Eureka Springs teacher who shares the head coach position with Ricky Waggoner. “Eureka Springs also won first place in Trail Core and the much-coveted Spirit Stick Award – an award given by the Arkansas League Director to the team that demonstrates the most enthusiasm and support for all riders on the course.”
Miller said Eureka Springs had to battle back from a technically difficult third race in Hot Springs in early October to get the third overall spot. In that race, the team’s top scorer, Winona Milwagon, had to take a 10-minute penalty to exchange bikes when her own bike fell apart in the first half mile of the course. Kyler Erickson dislocated his finger after another rider crashed into him but kept going to be the top male Eureka Springs scorer.
“I was expecting Hot Springs to be our strongest race,” Miller said. “We have some of the steepest hills and most technical trails to train on here in Eureka Springs. For some reason, that trail was really hard on our riders. In mountain biking, athletes have to be physically fit, be able to ride technical features, and able to fix their own bikes in the middle of a race.”
For the fourth race at Centennial Park, the athletes and team mechanic Waggoner worked hard to make sure that all of the bikes were in tip top shape, and it paid off. Eureka Springs landed more kids than ever in the Top 10.
Podium placers included Jenna Erickson, fifth among 9th grade girls; Amber Kirk, first in JV2 girls, Shiloh Goodman, second in JV2 girls and Winona Milwagon, fifth in JV3 girls.
Other students in the top 10 included Aubrey Huntley, Janelle Anderson, Brayden Cox and Abi Killion. Rowan Beattie, Kyler Erickson and Alex Tapia all competed in the more competitive JV3 division and finished strong at 11th, 8th, and 18th, respectively.
“The National Scholastic Cycling Association is unique in that it offers points for both performance in races and bicycle related community service,” Miller said. “The members of the Eureka team had an average of 18 hours of community service per person since July 1 – participating in everything from clearing mountain bike trails to teaching first graders how to ride bikes.
“Riley Chapman, team captain, and Winona Milwagon led the group with 46 and 35 hours of community service respectively. NICA encourages its athletes to become true members of their community – giving back in meaningful ways that will truly make a difference.”
Miller said it is almost impossible to describe the enthusiastic support that all NICA riders feel during the races because these events are so much more than a competition to see who gets on the podium. Every rider is cheered on to the finish and every rider is celebrated for his/her accomplishments – regardless of placement.
“The Eureka team lined themselves up for hours at the finish line, cheering and yelling encouragement as hundreds of riders from other teams came across,” Miller said. “At the end of the day, the senior athletes all rode in behind the last middle school rider of the afternoon, demonstrating that the perfect end to a season is not finishing first but helping another rider to finish strong. It is everything that Ricky and I wanted when we started the team three years ago. We wanted to create an environment where students can learn how to bike, get outside, build self-confidence, and be a part of a positive community.”