Before we get into the Addison Oaks recap, we have to start with our little buddy Alexander, who is still recovering in the hospital. We missed you this weekend, buddy. Your whole Coyote family is thinking about you, and we can’t wait to see you back out ripping trails with us soon. 💛💙
Addison Oaks had a little bit of everything.
Saturday included racing, breakfast for dinner, sandwiches…mmmm….and a bag of gummies that somehow ended the day with only four little gummy arms left in it. No bodies. No explanation. Just four arms. Which honestly felt appropriate because we could have used a few extra hands around the tent anyway.
Then we came back Sunday and had breakfast for dinner again. At that point it wasn’t a meal choice anymore. It was a lifestyle.
We also had a record number of little Coyotes line up for the balance bike race. This year the course came right through the tent area instead of going over the bridge, which was really cool. The littlest riders came flying through with the whole team right there cheering for them. Some of them were very focused. Some were just vibing. Both are legitimate race strategies at that age.
You could see that same team culture all day Saturday. A bunch of our older riders hung around the tent together and cheered for the elementary kids out on course. Nobody had to make them do it. They were just there for the younger Coyotes, and honestly, that says more about this team than any result ever will.
Sam finally switched to tubeless tires this weekend, joining technology that most of the mountain-bike world has enjoyed for roughly a decade. He also had his best finish ever. Maybe it was the weight savings. Maybe it was the extra traction. Maybe carrying inner tubes inside your tires has been holding him back this entire time.
We can’t prove any of this, but we also can’t ignore the evidence. Welcome to 2015 Sam.
Cam, meanwhile….rolled in with a very sweet new Supercaliber. Like, legitimately sweet. I asked his dad if he was hiring because apparently I need to get on that payroll. He asked if I wanted to be claimed as a dependent instead. I mean…maybe? If new bike days are part of the benefits package, I’m listening. Where do I sign?
We also had Ray back racing after spending this season mending his back, and apparently he had some wheelies stored up. We’re not sure we’ve ever seen this dude pull the front wheel up that many times during a race.
He did have a slight issue during warmups when the BOA strap on his shoe broke, but Coach Jeff saved the day with some electrical tape. Because if electrical tape can’t fix it, it probably wasn’t meant to race that day anyway.
The other major development was the return of Jakob’s Elsa bike. It was found, brought to the race and immediately became more popular than bikes costing about 30 times as much.
Other riders were sending it around the tent, and Coach Chris even tried riding it on the trainer. “Riding” might be generous. The bike is a little small, his knees were nearly in his chest and nobody learned anything useful, but we got the video, so it was absolutely worth it.
Anneke said she was going to race it, so we asked about her strategy. “Let it gooooo.” Honestly…no notes. The Frozen bike had full main character energy all weekend.
Reese and Cruz had a slightly different kind of weekend. They raced Gravel Nationals in Minnesota on Saturday, then their families packed everything up, drove back to Michigan and lined up again at Addison Oaks on Sunday.
That’s a lot of racing, a lot of driving and a lot of work from the parents behind the scenes to make any of it happen. Huge respect to Reese and Cruz for getting back on their bikes Sunday, and to their families for looking at a perfectly reasonable weekend schedule and deciding it wasn’t quite chaotic enough yet.
Through all of it, our Coyotes raced hard, supported their teammates and represented the team the right way. That part matters to us.
We want our riders to compete, but we also want them to race clean, respect the course, respect the volunteers and treat the riders around them the way they’d want to be treated. The same goes for our coaches. We’re there to keep kids safe, encourage them and help create a great race experience. We can be loud, competitive and fully invested without making ourselves part of the race.
Because this is still a kids’ race. The kids should always be the story.
And our kids gave us plenty to celebrate. This weekend, elementary won, middle school tied for the win and high school won.
In the overall series standings, we’re currently leading elementary and high school, while middle school is sitting just eight points behind Huron Valley.
Does that mean anyone should start talking about brooms?
No.
Put the broom away. There is still plenty of racing left, and nobody needs that kind of pressure.
So that was Addison Oaks. Great racing, two nights of breakfast for dinner, sandwiches, four unexplained gummy arms, a whole lot of little Coyotes on balance bikes, Ray back racing and apparently trying to wheelie the entire course, Sam finally discovering tubeless tires, Cam making the rest of us question our current employment situation, a Frozen bike taking over the team tent and two riders squeezing Minnesota and Michigan racing into the same weekend.
A lot of fast riding and just enough nonsense. Pretty standard Coyote race weekend.
And now…the Racing
We had 72 Coyotes line up at Addison Oaks, so let’s fire up the imaginary engines, thank our sponsors and talk about some racing. This portion of the recap is brought to you by electrical tape, tubeless sealant and breakfast for dinner. Electrical tape, of course, being the correct replacement part whenever the actual replacement part is three business days away and your race starts in 20 minutes.
Varsity Male
The varsity boys had 19.3 miles on the advanced course, which is three laps of your legs slowly questioning how they became involved in any of this.
Tristan Hubbard missed the win by 0.164 seconds and finished 2nd. That is barely a gap. That is two riders arriving together and forcing race officials to break out the serious math. Shake and bake, baby.
Easton Roberts came across 8th, Cam DeJong put that sweet new Supercaliber to work in 14th and Will Hughes took 21st. New bike day is worth at least 20 extra watts, by the way. There’s no science behind that whatsoever, but it is something dads tell themselves while entering a credit card number.
Ray Muehlenz was back after spending the season getting his back healthy and finished 24th, although his front wheel seemed to complete fewer miles than the rest of his bike. We haven’t seen this dude wheelie that much during a race before. The course did not award style points, which feels like an oversight, but it was wheelie good to have him back.
Varsity Female
Reese Drajka raced Gravel Nationals in Minnesota on Saturday, made it home for a brief sleep and came straight to Addison Oaks, where she finished 2nd on Sunday less than one second off the win. Most people would call that an exhausting weekend. Reese apparently just called it the schedule.
Sammy Weaver came through in 3rd, so we had two Coyotes among the first three riders across the line, and Ocean Trierweiler finished 8th. Three Coyotes in the top eight. The varsity girls were cooking. Ocean was also making waves, because apparently once you make one terrible dad joke, the rest come much easier.
Junior Varsity 11–12th Grade Male
Sam Bazuin finally switched to tubeless tires and promptly had his best finish ever in 5th. We’ve been told correlation does not equal causation, but that sounds like something said by people who don’t fully appreciate weight savings.
Kellen Rottier came through in 11th, making it a strong day for both of our senior JV riders. Somewhere, Sam’s old inner tubes are collecting dust and wondering what they did wrong. It wasn’t personal. It was just time.
Junior Varsity 9–10th Grade Male
Tyler Veley finished 2nd by 0.351 seconds, which is another gap that probably requires equipment more precise than anything we own under the team tent.
Sawyer Willink followed in 9th and Jakob Boer took 10th, putting three Coyotes inside the top 10. Tyler Whipple finished 23rd and Calvin Host came across 33rd in a field so large it probably should have had its own ZIP code.
That gave us five Coyotes, two Tylers and one advanced course that woke up Sunday and chose violence. Everyone got across the line, although their legs may have filed complaints afterward.
Junior Varsity Female
Harper Roberts raced to 5th and Kaitlyn Tungl finished 14th after two laps and nearly 13 miles on the advanced course. Thirteen miles later, we assume snacks were the next order of business. That’s not expert race analysis. That’s just teenagers.
Advanced Middle School Male
Cruz Woodbury raced Gravel Nationals in Minnesota on Saturday, traveled back to Michigan and won at Addison Oaks on Sunday.
Cruz control…engaged.
Look, that joke was just sitting there. As dads, we were legally required to use it.
Behind him, Ryland Modzeleski took 3rd, Easton Johnson finished 4th and Max Clemo came through 5th. Four Coyotes in the top five starts to feel less like race results and more like a hostile takeover.
Michael Eicher finished 14th, James Broughton took 17th and Gunnar Larson came across 22nd. Seven Coyote finishers in one category and enough points coming home to make the team spreadsheet start smoking.
Advanced Middle School Female
Hadley Ruch raced to 3rd with Lola Clemo right behind her in 4th. That’s one podium spot and the piece of real estate immediately next to the podium.
Both of them showed up, went fast and handled business while the adults stood around discussing tire pressure for the 47th time that morning. There are only so many possible answers, guys.
Intermediate 6–8th Grade Female
Jeannie Reckner crossed the line in 18th, Alida Ward finished 22nd and Anneke Willink took 23rd.
Anneke did all of that after considering the Elsa bike and unveiling her “let it gooooo” race strategy. She ultimately chose a bike with gears, suspension and adult-sized wheels. Probably the correct decision, although it offered considerably less princess-based aero.
Would Elsa have been faster? The cold never bothered her anyway….
Sorry. It had to be done.
Novice 6–8th Grade Female
Emily Eckert took the win. No decimal points or photo-finish equipment required this time. Just 1st place and the top step.
Fiona O’Byrne finished 10th, putting both Coyotes inside the top 10 and giving us what racing experts call a pretty darn good day. Those experts are dads, obviously. Their credentials include cargo shorts and an alarming amount of confidence around tire pressure.
Intermediate 7–8th Grade Male
Dylan Grenier won the category, with Michael Count finishing 2nd less than one second later. Classic shake and bake, except on mountain bikes and without the engines, corporate sponsors or questionable fire-suit choices.
Ethan Kirsch finished 6th, Jack Witte took 22nd and Spencer Bundy crossed in 31st. Brayden Bender recorded a DNF after completing his opening lap.
A DNF doesn’t erase the work it took to get there or the effort that happened after the start. Sometimes race day waves the caution flag. You make the repair, regroup and come back ready for the next one. Assuming you can find the correct tool, which your dad definitely owns but somehow cannot locate right now.
Intermediate 6th Grade Male
Camden Host was the only Coyote in the category and won the whole thing. The Host with the most? Unfortunately, yes…we went there.
Camden showed up, handled business and left us with almost nothing to overanalyze, although we’re coaches, so we’ll probably find something.
Novice 7–8th Grade Male
Evan Schwartz finished 8th and Caleb Heinz took 10th, giving the Coyotes two riders inside the top 10.
May the Schwartz be with you. That reference is older than every rider on the team, which is exactly what makes it a dad joke. The kids would probably say Evan and Caleb cooked. The dads would say they were really motoring. Everyone involved is now slightly embarrassed, so let’s move on.
Advanced Elementary Male
Sawyer Weaver raced to 3rd, Ryder Pankey finished 4th and Raylan Hansma took 6th. Three Coyotes lined up and all three finished inside the top six.
Elementary, my dear Coyotes.
These kids raced three laps and more than 10 miles, while some grown adults need a snack and emotional support before walking around Costco. To be fair, Costco is large and the samples are not always where you expect them to be.
Elementary 5th Grade Male
The fifth grade boys came through looking like a Coyote freight train. Nolan Widmayer finished 7th, Coleman Erb took 8th, Ivan Rookus grabbed 9th and Hunter Heinz finished 10th.
Four Coyotes in four consecutive spots. That isn’t drafting. That’s a rolling team meeting, and somehow it still could have been an email.
Diego Martir followed in 19th, Gavin Ebeling finished 27th, Miles Eicher took 34th and Emmett Katerberg crossed in 38th. Eight Coyotes finished the category, which is enough riders to form a small government, establish a snack committee and immediately disagree over the official Gatorade flavor.
Elementary 5th Grade Female
Rainey Broughton carried the entire Coyote operation in the fifth-grade female race and finished 9th. One rider and one top 10 finish. Very efficient. Somewhere, the team accountant just nodded and opened another spreadsheet.
The forecast called for Rainey with a 100 percent chance of racing. I know….that one was especially bad.
Elementary 4th Grade Male
William Bernatche finished 4th and Jeremiah Fisher took 7th, putting two Coyotes inside the top 10. Caleb Grenier crossed in 26th and Henry Stoddard finished 28th, giving us four finishers in the category. That was two laps and 6.7 miles, and not one of them asked to speak to the race manager. True professionals. Meanwhile, their dads had already asked four questions about parking and at least one about where to find coffee.
Elementary 4th Grade Female
Aspen Trierweiler finished 2nd and Gracelyn Host took 3rd, giving the Coyotes two places on the podium. Lucy Clemo finished 5th, Adalyn Sytsma came through 8th and Winnie Richardson took 11th. Five Coyotes inside the top 11 is a lot of yellow and blue arriving at the finish line in a hurry. The fourth grade girls did not come to Addison Oaks to mess around.
Elementary 3rd Grade Male
Wyatt Johnson took the win, because apparently third grade is old enough to start collecting hardware. Titus Broughton finished 3rd for another Coyote podium, and Lincoln Nemer-Kaiser crossed the line in 18th. All three made 3.4 miles look much more manageable than it really is, especially when you remember their bikes still fit easily into the back of almost any vehicle. No hitch rack required. That’s where the real cost savings are.
Elementary 2nd Grade Male
Ashton Naum finished 7th, Owen Heinz took 14th and Rory Katerberg came through 18th. Three second graders racing 3.4 miles through the woods sounds like one of those math problems where three Coyotes leave the starting line at different speeds and you have to calculate how long it takes the adults to lose track of who is coming next.
The answer is almost immediately.
Half the adults were also exhausted from walking between the parking lot and the tent all day, so let’s be honest about who the real athletes are here.
Elementary 2nd–3rd Grade Female
Lynlee Widmayer raced to 3rd and earned a place on the podium. Adalynn Widmayer finished 7th, while Emalyn Fisher crossed in 19th. That’s three more finishes, another podium and more points for an elementary team that quietly spent the weekend taking care of business. The Widmayers also gave us two riders in the same category, which is excellent for team points and less excellent when you’re trying to remember which water bottle belongs to which kid.
Non-Competitive PreK–1st Grade Male
Benedict Stoddard finished 18th after completing the entire 3.4-mile course. The category is officially called “non-competitive,” which is adorable. Put a group of kids on bikes, give them number plates, line them up together and build a finish chute. Then tell us again how nobody is racing.
That’s like putting dads next to a grill and saying nobody will offer an unsolicited opinion about how to cook the burgers.
Non-Competitive PreK–1st Grade Female
Alaia Naum finished 7th and completed all 3.4 miles. At that age, that mileage is basically an ultra endurance event. She crossed the line and probably still had enough energy to run around the tent while the adults searched for somewhere to sit down. Kids are apparently powered by snacks and chaos.
So that was 72 Coyotes across all of the categories. We had wins, podiums, photo finishes, personal bests, several races decided by fractions of a second and a whole lot of riders who kept working until they reached the line.
Elementary won the weekend. Middle school tied for the win. High school won.
Shake and bake.
Full results below the gallery.
| Name | Category | Place |
|---|---|---|
| Tristan Hubbard | Varsity Male | 2nd |
| Easton Roberts | Varsity Male | 8th |
| Camden DeJong | Varsity Male | 14th |
| William Hughes | Varsity Male | 21st |
| Ray Muehlenz | Varsity Male | 24th |
| Reese Drajka | Varsity Female | 2nd |
| Samantha Weaver | Varsity Female | 3rd |
| Ocean Trierweiler | Varsity Female | 8th |
| Sam Bazuin | JV 11th–12th Grade Male | 5th |
| Kellen Rottier | JV 11th–12th Grade Male | 11th |
| Tyler Veley | JV 9th–10th Grade Male | 2nd |
| Sawyer Willink | JV 9th–10th Grade Male | 9th |
| Jakob Boer | JV 9th–10th Grade Male | 10th |
| Tyler Whipple | JV 9th–10th Grade Male | 23rd |
| Calvin Host | JV 9th–10th Grade Male | 33rd |
| Harper Roberts | Junior Varsity Female | 5th |
| Kaitlyn Tungl | Junior Varsity Female | 14th |
| Cruz Woodbury | Advanced Middle School Male | 1st |
| Ryland Modzeleski | Advanced Middle School Male | 3rd |
| Easton Johnson | Advanced Middle School Male | 4th |
| Max Clemo | Advanced Middle School Male | 5th |
| Michael Eicher | Advanced Middle School Male | 14th |
| James Broughton | Advanced Middle School Male | 17th |
| Gunnar Larson | Advanced Middle School Male | 22nd |
| Hadley Ruch | Advanced Middle School Female | 3rd |
| Lola Clemo | Advanced Middle School Female | 4th |
| Jeannie Reckner | Intermediate 6th–8th Grade Female | 18th |
| Alida Ward | Intermediate 6th–8th Grade Female | 22nd |
| Anneke Willink | Intermediate 6th–8th Grade Female | 23rd |
| Emily Eckert | Novice 6th–8th Grade Female | 1st |
| Fiona O’Byrne | Novice 6th–8th Grade Female | 10th |
| Dylan Grenier | Intermediate 7th–8th Grade Male | 1st |
| Michael Count | Intermediate 7th–8th Grade Male | 2nd |
| Ethan Kirsch | Intermediate 7th–8th Grade Male | 6th |
| Jack Witte | Intermediate 7th–8th Grade Male | 22nd |
| Spencer Bundy | Intermediate 7th–8th Grade Male | 31st |
| Brayden Bender | Intermediate 7th–8th Grade Male | DNF |
| Camden Host | Intermediate 6th Grade Male | 1st |
| Evan Schwartz | Novice 7th–8th Grade Male | 8th |
| Caleb Heinz | Novice 7th–8th Grade Male | 10th |
| Sawyer Weaver | Advanced Elementary Male | 3rd |
| Ryder Pankey | Advanced Elementary Male | 4th |
| Raylan Hansma | Advanced Elementary Male | 6th |
| Nolan Widmayer | Elementary 5th Grade Male | 7th |
| Coleman Erb | Elementary 5th Grade Male | 8th |
| Ivan Rookus | Elementary 5th Grade Male | 9th |
| Hunter Heinz | Elementary 5th Grade Male | 10th |
| Diego Martir | Elementary 5th Grade Male | 19th |
| Gavin Ebeling | Elementary 5th Grade Male | 27th |
| Miles Eicher | Elementary 5th Grade Male | 34th |
| Emmett Katerberg | Elementary 5th Grade Male | 38th |
| Rainey Broughton | Elementary 5th Grade Female | 9th |
| William Bernatche | Elementary 4th Grade Male | 4th |
| Jeremiah Fisher | Elementary 4th Grade Male | 7th |
| Caleb Grenier | Elementary 4th Grade Male | 26th |
| Henry Stoddard | Elementary 4th Grade Male | 28th |
| Aspen Trierweiler | Elementary 4th Grade Female | 2nd |
| Gracelyn Host | Elementary 4th Grade Female | 3rd |
| Lucy Clemo | Elementary 4th Grade Female | 5th |
| Adalyn Sytsma | Elementary 4th Grade Female | 8th |
| Winnie Richardson | Elementary 4th Grade Female | 11th |
| Wyatt Johnson | Elementary 3rd Grade Male | 1st |
| Titus Broughton | Elementary 3rd Grade Male | 3rd |
| Lincoln Nemer-Kaiser | Elementary 3rd Grade Male | 18th |
| Ashton Naum | Elementary 2nd Grade Male | 7th |
| Owen Heinz | Elementary 2nd Grade Male | 14th |
| Rory Katerberg | Elementary 2nd Grade Male | 18th |
| Lynlee Widmayer | Elementary 2nd–3rd Grade Female | 3rd |
| Adalynn Widmayer | Elementary 2nd–3rd Grade Female | 7th |
| Emalyn Fisher | Elementary 2nd–3rd Grade Female | 19th |
| Benedict Stoddard | Non-Competitive PreK–1st Grade Male | 18th |
| Alaia Naum | Non-Competitive PreK–1st Grade Female | 7th |
