Photo by Lucie Reetz Photography

By Lori Lynch
Special Contributor
ADDISON TWP. — The Lake Orion Dragon Mountain Bike Team finished strong in their second race of the season on Sept. 9-10 at Addison Oaks County Park.
The Dragons competed in a field of 543 youth racers from all over the state in the team’s second race of the Michigan Scholastic Cycling Association’s (miscabike.org) 2023 series. The 72 Dragon racers nabbed 26 top-10 finishes and six first place podiums over the weekend.
This is seventh race season for the Dragons, who have been racing since MiSCA started the league. The team consists of riders from Lake Orion, Clarkston and Oxford. Nathan LaGest of Lake Orion played the national anthem on trumpet before the start of the races.
The top varsity racers had a sprint finish, with only hundredths of seconds separating them, including LOHS junior, James Meyer.
“I got fourth place at this weekend’s race, which is worse than what I was hoping for, but I’m still second in the series overall, so I’m not too disappointed. I had a great time racing and hanging out with my teammates and friends. It was super cool seeing some of my friends racing for the first time and doing so well,” Meyer said.
Some other notable events were the first-place finishes by brothers Anthony Mucci in Novice 10-12th Grade Male, and Joey Mucci in Novice 9th Grade Male.
New for 2023 were expanded race categories for elementary racers, which really opened up opportunities for these younger racers.
Elementary racers dominated the podiums on Saturday, with Amelia Zoschnick in Advanced Elementary Female, Sylvie Heist in Upper Elementary 5th Grade Female, Ryan Lidgey in Upper Elementary 4th Grade Male and Christian Reetz in Lower Elementary PreK-1st Grade Male, each earning the leader jersey in their respective races.
“It was fun to get to try a new strategy and I waited for the perfect time to pass. I love getting hyped up at the beginning of the race and encouraging everyone to have a great race,” Zoschnick said.
Ryan Lidgey had this to say: “The race at Addison Oaks was challenging and fun. The trail was in pristine shape and an excellent day for a race. All my teammates and competitors raced hard.”
The kids that have been racing since the start have really developed friendships within and across teams, with many reports of racers cheering each other on, regardless of team affiliation, out on the trails during the MiSCA season and beyond. The coaches, all parent volunteers, are also supportive across the league, in an effort to get more kids on bikes, and keep riding a lifelong sport for them.
Look for the Dragons at these upcoming races:
• Adrian, MI to race at Heritage Park, Sept. 23-24.
• Novi, MI to race at Lakeshore Park, Oct, 7-8.
• Shelby Township, MI to race at Stony Creek Metropark, Oct. 14-15.
Complete race results can be found at https://www.miscabike.org/2023-misca-race-results/.
Follow the Dragon Mountain Bike Team online at https://lakeorioncyclingteam.wordpress.com and facebook.com/lakeorioncyclingteam.