Titan Cycling earns solid win, moves into first place

Vince Huggins, Canyon Lake resident, senior rider and four-year veteran of the team.

The Titan Cycling students started their 2017 spring break with a weekend of racing at the Vail Lake Resort. The Titans entered the weekend riding a two-race winning streak and in hot pursuit of Division 2 overall team leader Woodcrest Christian.

This second race of the year at Vail Lake offered the riders some new challenges including the addition of Marine Corp Hill, a rocky and steep hill that gathers huge crowds, and a separate varsity split that added another half-mile of steep climbing followed by a harrowing single track decent.

The course also included some newly built single track sections that the team helped build earlier this year.

The Titans were able to keep up the momentum they had been building up this season. Sophomore Kenny Thomas was able to take another step up the podium box for a third place finish, the highest finish ever by a boys racer from Temescal Canyon High School (TCHS).

Junior varsity rider Jade West brought home an 18th place finish and contribute a large amount of points to the team. Freshman Austin Moreno and sophomore Steven Iosbaker both kept their top 20 streaks alive as well.

Senior varsity rider Wesley Toups charged hard for yet another top-10 finish in the elite varsity boys field. When the dust settled at the end of the day, the Titans came away with a solid victory and their third team victory in a row. Valencia High School came in second and Righetti High School claimed third place.

In the overall points for the series, TCHS moved into first place with a 64-point lead over second place Woodcrest Christian High School. With one race remaining in the SoCal League, the battle for the championship will go down to the wire. Tehachapi will host the final race of the season on April 30. The California State Championships will be held on May 14 in Petaluma.

Eight of the 11 students who make up this year’s team are Canyon Lake residents. They are: Vincent Huggins, Wesley Toups, Ian Sirrs, Casey MacDonald, Jade West, Kenny Thomas, Ethan Clark and Austin Moreno.

The TCHS Cycling Team is coached by TCHS teachers Robert and Kathy Parks. The duo are responsible for assembling the first official Mountain Biking Club within the Lake Elsinore Unified School District.

Robert is in his 15th year teaching Engineering at the school, Kathy is in her 17th year teaching Health. The pair met at the school and married 10 years ago.