Okay Merrell…
Our home course, our biggest race weekend of the season and the one where Coyotes seem to be everywhere at once. We needed all of them too, because 115 riders rolled to a starting line over two days. That’s 115 Coyotes racing, cheering, looking for snacks, asking when they race, forgetting when they race, fixing things that were fine when they left home and making the team tent look like a small town with absolutely no zoning laws.
We knew we were in for a weekend when we caught Jakob warming up on the trainer with his actual mountain bike and asked the obvious question…what happened to the Elsa bike?
“Stolen”
That was it. No emotion. No additional details. Just a major felony reported with the same energy as someone announcing they were out of chocolate milk.
The investigation remains open. We are not naming suspects, but Curtis the raccoon still owes Jakob $38, has been banned from several Taco Bells and was reportedly asking around about bolt cutters. Again, we are not naming suspects. We are simply sharing facts in a responsible and unbiased manner.
Then Alexander and Everett made it all the way to staging before discovering they were missing bar ends. MiSCA will not let riders start without them because an open handlebar can basically core-sample another human being, which is generally considered bad sportsmanship and creates paperwork.
Coach Ryan and Coach Brett found replacements and got them both to the line because apparently they carry emergency bicycle parts like someone’s grandpa carries loose Werther’s Originals. Alexander had remembered to bring a towel from home to clean his bike, though. A clean bike is a fast bike, and that thing was spotless.
No bar ends. Immaculate paint. You may question the preparation, but you cannot question the aura.
Owen was also with us all weekend after breaking his arm…again. If you know Owen, you know what kind of light that kid brings to the team. Sling or no sling, he was smiling, talking to everyone and cheering for his teammates all weekend. He is simply a delight to have around, and the Coyotes are better whenever he’s there.
We would also like to respectfully ask the writers to stop greenlighting additional seasons of Owen Breaks His Arm.
Saturday belonged to elementary, and they showed up ready to race, cheer, snack and occasionally abandon the entire mountain bike operation to play make large signs in the team tent.
Our PreK and first-grade riders rolled out with a drone overhead and parents cheering like someone had handed out Olympic medals at the creek. The fourth grade riders were moving through the woods in packs, Coyotes lined the course and nobody wearing blue and gold was allowed to pass quietly.
This is elementary race day in its purest form. Some riders are completely locked in. Some are asking about snacks. Alexander is cleaning his bike with a towel from home. Two girls are conducting important horse-related business in the sand.
Everyone understood the assignment. The weather held, the bikes mostly worked and nobody was power walking toward the MiSCA tent with a radio in one hand and a concerned look on their face. Everything felt strangely normal.
Everything felt strangely normal….we should have known it was a trap.
Sunday woke up and immediately chose violence.
Thunderstorms rolled through early, lightning moved the start back an hour and, for once, the delay was announced before most families had left home. Mountain bike parents were handed the rare and precious gift of one more cup of coffee before driving to a race.
Except the Weavers. They were already halfway to Merrell. Apparently Coach Paul and Coach Kristi had coffee in the vehicle, so at least they were fully caffeinated when they learned they had gotten up early to drive halfway to a race that was no longer starting on time. The early bird gets the worm. The Weaver family got a lightning delay and additional windshield time.
Back at home, riders returned to bed while parents refreshed the radar and coaches stared at the giant green blob like we had advanced degrees in atmospheric science. Coach Jeffy kept assuring everyone that it might break up before it reached Merrell. It did not break up. To be fair, he never specified which year.
The blob continued toward Merrell despite multiple refreshes, several screenshots sent to group chats and enough amateur meteorology to earn us continuing education credits. By the time everyone arrived, the trails were soaked and MiSCA had a decision to make. They rerouted the course and pulled Sawtooth before racing began, which was absolutely the correct safety call.
That said, we do have questions…
Several witnesses reported seeing the Sawtooth troll leaving the MiSCA tent shortly before the announcement. He was wearing sunglasses, carrying an unmarked envelope and for reasons nobody could explain, a light blue T-shirt.
The troll had spent the entire week threatening Coyotes in interviews. Then race morning arrives, the course is mysteriously rerouted and he gets to sleep beneath the bridge until lunch? Follow the money.
The Sawtooth Troll played the long game….zero laps completed, zero volunteer hours reported with WMMBA and maximum impact. Honestly, the whole thing smells worse than a pair of muddy race shoes left in a hot truck (IYKYK).
When racing finally started, Merrell’s black mud entered its villain era.
If you have never ridden that stuff, it doesn’t look particularly scary. It just sits there quietly pretending to be dirt. Then a tire touches it at the wrong angle and suddenly physics has left the chat. One second a rider is carrying speed and looking completely locked in. The next, the bike is going one direction, the rider is going another and both are reconsidering the relationship.
Varsity found it. Advanced middle school found it. JV found it. James found it. The mud did not care about age, category, training plans or how many times anyone had successfully ridden the same corner in practice. It spent the entire morning handing out free soil samples.
Varsity may have gone first, but JV and advanced middle school inherited the same slick course right behind them. By then, everyone knew what the black mud could do. Knowing did not make it any less disrespectful.
The coach radios came alive almost immediately. A rider was down, then another rider was down, and the text messages started coming in. Coaches headed toward the MiSCA tent for updates, walked back to the Coyotes tent and then turned around because another message came through.
Back to MiSCA. Back to the team tent. Across the field. Check the radio. Check the phone. Ask about another rider. Walk back again. At some point, we stopped coaching a mountain bike race and became a very concerned DoorDash operation with walkie talkies.
“Your rider update is approaching”
“Your rider update has been delayed”
“Your coach is making another trip across the venue because nobody knows anything yet”
By the time I left the trailhead, my watch showed 10,337 steps. I had not ridden a bicycle, but I would still like those miles uploaded to Strava.
A few riders used some sort of Gen Z slang to tell the coaches we were cool after all that walking. At least, we think that’s what they said. Nobody over 35 could confirm the translation. It may have been a compliment. It may have been devastating. We accepted it as praise and moved on before anyone could provide context. Our coaching aura was either immaculate or cooked. No middle ground.
James had worked incredibly hard just to be at Merrell. He had not exactly been the president of the Merrell fan club in the past, and he had been very clear about that, but he spent the summer building confidence on Sawtooth. He wanted to race so badly that he convinced Dad to pick him up early from a campout.
That is a full character arc. Of course, the troll got Sawtooth removed before the race because he has no respect for storytelling.
James still lined up, went down in the slick conditions and had a brief visit to urgent care. Thankfully, nothing is fractured. Heal up, buddy. We’re proud of the confidence you built, the work you put in and how badly you wanted to be on that starting line. We will be sending it again soon.
Sam added another chapter to Sunday when his helmet strap broke and he still finished his race. That is tough, that is determined and that helmet is also more finished than Sam was. It has served its final tour of duty and will now retire to a quiet cabin in the U.P. where it can watch the snow fall, eat pasties and think about chin straps.
Sam and Sam’s parents, please bring a new helmet to practice. That part is serious. The helmet is cooked and not Gen Z cooked…actually cooked.
Somehow, in the middle of the mud, crashes, radio calls and troll related corruption, Sammy and Tristan delivered two of the best comebacks of the weekend. Both left Stony Creek with DNFs last week. At Merrell, Sammy took third in varsity and Tristan took second. Apparently Stony was just the soft launch. Merrell was the official drop, and both understood the assignment. No notes. Aura restored.
Once varsity finished and the immediate chaos began to settle, Coach Ryan made hash browns under the tent. Hot, crispy hash browns after a morning of lightning, black mud, crashes and approximately 46 trips across the venue may be the closest this team has ever come to achieving world peace.
They disappeared almost immediately. If you missed them, we’re sorry. Actually…no…you need to be quicker. This is a youth race team that is hungry.
We also need to thank Coach Naum for the return of the frog gummies. Nobody knows where they went, what negotiations took place or what promises were made to bring them back. We are simply happy they are home and the frog gummy economy is stable again.
By the time novice racing began Sunday afternoon, the clouds were gone, the sky was blue and the sun was shining like it had absolutely no knowledge of the morning’s events.
Novice riders rolled onto a completely different-looking Merrell while those of us who had been there since varsity stood around covered in mud, checking our step counts and looking like survivors of a very niche natural disaster. Lightning? What lightning? Black mud taking out experienced riders? Never heard of her. Ten thousand anxious steps before lunch? Couldn’t be us.
The bikes were completely covered in mud, so unfortunately Sunday morning brought receipts.
Across the weekend, 115 Coyotes lined up to race. Not every one of them made it to the finish. Some landed on podiums, some crossed the line covered head to toe in Merrell and some had their day end early because of a crash, a mechanical or mountain biking deciding to humble them for personal growth.
That is part of racing. Sometimes you get the result. Sometimes you get the lesson. Sometimes you get mud in places that should not be physically possible. But all 115 rolled to a starting line and gave it a shot.
Together, they put together an absolutely massive team weekend. High school composite won Merrell by 123 points and moved into the series lead. Middle school finished second by only eight points, while elementary held onto its series lead.
Are we talking about the possibility of winning all three? No. Absolutely not. It’s only Race 2, these are children and creating that kind of expectation would be irresponsible, premature and probably bad karma.
We are simply keeping the calculator charged, checking the standings several times a day and measuring the trophy shelf for completely unrelated reasons. Very casual. Extremely chill. Nobody panic.
While all of that was happening, David and Robbie were locked in a much more serious competition…Culver’s chocolate decadence versus crinkle fries. Nobody knows how a frozen chocolate dessert and a potato shaped like a tiny accordion became opposing choices. They have nothing in common. This is like asking whether you prefer lawn chairs or the moon.
So that was Merrell. Two days of racing, 115 Coyotes, huge crowds, missing bike parts, a stolen Elsa bike, a suspicious troll in a light blue shirt, lightning, black mud, crashes, comebacks, hash browns, frog gummies, 10,337 steps and a dessert versus potato controversy nobody asked for.
Somewhere in all of that, the Coyotes kept doing what they do. They raced, they cheered, they picked each other up, they checked on teammates and they came back to the tent muddy, tired and already talking about the next one.
Our trails. One team and an absolutely unhinged home weekend. Full results below the photo gallery.
Ok…I’m taking the rest of the day off. 😭😂
| Name | Category | Place |
|---|---|---|
| Tristan Hubbard | Varsity Male | 2 |
| Easton Roberts | Varsity Male | 10 |
| William Hughes | Varsity Male | 13 |
| Camden DeJong | Varsity Male | 14 |
| Samantha Weaver | Varsity Female | 3 |
| Reese Drajka | Varsity Female | 4 |
| Ocean Trierweiler | Varsity Female | 10 |
| Carter West | Junior Varsity 11-12th Grade Male | 3 |
| Kellen Rottier | Junior Varsity 11-12th Grade Male | 6 |
| Henry Wert | Junior Varsity 11-12th Grade Male | 8 |
| Sam Bazuin | Junior Varsity 11-12th Grade Male | 12 |
| Alberto Giordono | Junior Varsity 11-12th Grade Male | 17 |
| Sawyer Willink | Junior Varsity 9-10th Grade Male | 3 |
| Tyler Veley | Junior Varsity 9-10th Grade Male | 4 |
| Jakob Boer | Junior Varsity 9-10th Grade Male | 13 |
| Tyler Whipple | Junior Varsity 9-10th Grade Male | 23 |
| Calvin Host | Junior Varsity 9-10th Grade Male | 27 |
| Harper Roberts | Junior Varsity Female | 4 |
| Kaitlyn Tungl | Junior Varsity Female | 12 |
| Cruz Woodbury | Advanced Middle School Male | 1 |
| Max Clemo | Advanced Middle School Male | 3 |
| Michael Eicher | Advanced Middle School Male | 5 |
| Easton Johnson | Advanced Middle School Male | 7 |
| Gunnar Larson | Advanced Middle School Male | 19 |
| Ryland Modzeleski | Advanced Middle School Male | DNF |
| James Broughton | Advanced Middle School Male | DNF |
| Hadley Ruch | Advanced Middle School Female | 3 |
| Lola Clemo | Advanced Middle School Female | 5 |
| David Terrell | Novice 10-12th Grade Male | 5 |
| Robbie Scholz | Novice 10-12th Grade Male | 8 |
| Declan Vandewarker | Novice 9th Grade Male | 1 |
| Leo Stoddard | Novice 9th Grade Male | 15 |
| Anneke Willink | Intermediate 6-8th Grade Female | 16 |
| Alida Ward | Intermediate 6-8th Grade Female | 19 |
| Jeannie Reckner | Intermediate 6-8th Grade Female | 22 |
| Emily Eckert | Novice 6-8th Grade Female | 1 |
| Fiona O’Byrne | Novice 6-8th Grade Female | 8 |
| Michael Count | Intermediate 7-8th Grade Male | 2 |
| Dylan Grenier | Intermediate 7-8th Grade Male | 3 |
| Wyatt Kirsch | Intermediate 7-8th Grade Male | 9 |
| Ethan Kirsch | Intermediate 7-8th Grade Male | 10 |
| Franklin Erb | Intermediate 7-8th Grade Male | 25 |
| Huxley Jantz | Intermediate 7-8th Grade Male | 29 |
| Jack Witte | Intermediate 7-8th Grade Male | 35 |
| Caleb Rottman | Intermediate 7-8th Grade Male | 40 |
| Spencer Bundy | Intermediate 7-8th Grade Male | 42 |
| Brayden Bender | Intermediate 7-8th Grade Male | DNF |
| Camden Host | Intermediate 6th Grade Male | 2 |
| Simon Stoddard | Intermediate 6th Grade Male | 22 |
| Caleb Heinz | Novice 7-8th Grade Male | 2 |
| Evan Schwartz | Novice 7-8th Grade Male | 5 |
| William Scholz | Novice 7-8th Grade Male | 9 |
| Luke Bonnet | Novice 7-8th Grade Male | 13 |
| Reed Pettinga | Novice 7-8th Grade Male | 14 |
| Christopher Scholz | Novice 6th Grade Male | 3 |
| Ryder Pankey | Advanced Elementary Male | 2 |
| Sawyer Weaver | Advanced Elementary Male | 3 |
| Raylan Hansma | Advanced Elementary Male | 8 |
| Alta Woodbury | Advanced Elementary Female | 2 |
| Coleman Erb | Elementary 5th Grade Male | 4 |
| Nolan Widmayer | Elementary 5th Grade Male | 6 |
| Hunter Heinz | Elementary 5th Grade Male | 8 |
| Diego Martir | Elementary 5th Grade Male | 20 |
| Gavin Ebeling | Elementary 5th Grade Male | 25 |
| Miles Eicher | Elementary 5th Grade Male | 29 |
| Alden Roff | Elementary 5th Grade Male | 31 |
| Emmett Katerberg | Elementary 5th Grade Male | 33 |
| Ivan Rookus | Elementary 5th Grade Male | DNF |
| Elizabeth Schwartz | Elementary 5th Grade Female | 6 |
| Ruth Hales | Elementary 5th Grade Female | 9 |
| Rainey Broughton | Elementary 5th Grade Female | 12 |
| Camille Roff | Elementary 5th Grade Female | 13 |
| Jeremiah Fisher | Elementary 4th Grade Male | 3 |
| Bennett Baker | Elementary 4th Grade Male | 4 |
| William Bernatche | Elementary 4th Grade Male | 7 |
| Bradley Stiles | Elementary 4th Grade Male | 12 |
| Caleb Grenier | Elementary 4th Grade Male | 23 |
| Micah Warners | Elementary 4th Grade Male | 29 |
| Henry Stoddard | Elementary 4th Grade Male | 31 |
| Aspen Trierweiler | Elementary 4th Grade Female | 1 |
| Gracelyn Host | Elementary 4th Grade Female | 2 |
| Lucy Clemo | Elementary 4th Grade Female | 4 |
| Adalyn Sytsma | Elementary 4th Grade Female | 7 |
| Winnie Richardson | Elementary 4th Grade Female | 8 |
| Titus Broughton | Elementary 3rd Grade Male | 1 |
| Wyatt Johnson | Elementary 3rd Grade Male | 2 |
| Jack Baker | Elementary 3rd Grade Male | 4 |
| Zion Woodbury | Elementary 3rd Grade Male | 15 |
| Lincoln Nemer-Kaiser | Elementary 3rd Grade Male | 20 |
| Theodore Scholz | Elementary 3rd Grade Male | 31 |
| Remy Roff | Elementary 3rd Grade Male | 32 |
| Matthew Gallagher | Elementary 3rd Grade Male | DNF |
| Lucas Sytsma | Elementary 2nd Grade Male | 3 |
| Ashton Naum | Elementary 2nd Grade Male | 6 |
| Rory Katerberg | Elementary 2nd Grade Male | 11 |
| Abe Hales | Elementary 2nd Grade Male | 12 |
| Everett Hooker | Elementary 2nd Grade Male | 18 |
| Carter Start | Elementary 2nd Grade Male | 20 |
| Owen Heinz | Elementary 2nd Grade Male | 21 |
| Lynlee Widmayer | Elementary 2nd-3rd Grade Female | 4 |
| Adalynn Widmayer | Elementary 2nd-3rd Grade Female | 11 |
| Jorie Hales | Elementary 2nd-3rd Grade Female | 13 |
| Emalyn Fisher | Elementary 2nd-3rd Grade Female | 19 |
| Emily Schwartz | Elementary 2nd-3rd Grade Female | 25 |
| Annie Rookus | Elementary 2nd-3rd Grade Female | 26 |
| Amada Holton | Elementary 2nd-3rd Grade Female | 30 |
| Charlotte Kazmierski | Elementary 2nd-3rd Grade Female | 33 |
| Ryan Baker | Non-Competitive PreK-1st Grade Male | 1 |
| Daniel Baker | Non-Competitive PreK-1st Grade Male | 8 |
| Alexander Clemo | Non-Competitive PreK-1st Grade Male | 15 |
| Allan Holton | Non-Competitive PreK-1st Grade Male | 21 |
| Benedict Stoddard | Non-Competitive PreK-1st Grade Male | 22 |
| Kason Start | Non-Competitive PreK-1st Grade Male | 24 |
| Alaia Naum | Non-Competitive PreK-1st Grade Female | 8 |
| Josephine Gallagher | Non-Competitive PreK-1st Grade Female | 12 |
