COOPERSTOWN — The Catskill Claws made their way to Glimmerglass State Park to compete in the Championship event. Heavy rains in the morning made for challenging trail conditions in the afternoon as the middle school and high school riders took to the trails. The course conditions required the riders to carefully choose their lines for the most grip.

In this event, separate courses were used for the high schoolers and middle schoolers. For the middle school course, the laps were about 2.2 miles long with 270 feet of elevation change per lap.

The high school course was 3.5 miles long and had 370 feet of elevation change per lap.

Braedan Clarke led the Claws’ High School team with an 8th place finish in the JV Boys category, earning the team another 524 points. Clarke’s total time was 1:29:30 after four laps, and he had a fastest lap time of 21:27 on his first lap. Clarke finished the season in 10th place overall with 1931 points in the JV Boys Category.

Grant Brown had a fifth place podium finish this weekend with a total time of 1:34:13 after four laps. Brown’s fastest lap time was 22:08 in his second lap. Brown earned 510 points for the team and also earned a fifth place overall finish for the season with 1927 points in the Sophomore Boys category.

Aiden Dusenbury-Dalto finished in the top-15 in the Freshman Boys category with a total time of 1:14:19 after three laps. His fastest lap was his last, finishing in 24:06. The 12th place finish was good for another 453 points, and he finished 15th overall with 1657 points.

Collectively, the three leading student-athletes earned another 1487 points, which was enough to stay in 13th place for the season.

Bruce Ulrich and Phineas Laput led the Middle School team. Ulrich finished the Middle School course in 1:00:41 after three laps with a fastest lap time of 18:51, earning a 24th place finish in the 8th Grade Boys. Ulrich finished 18th overall for the season.

Laput earned a 27th place finish in the 8th grade boys category, finishing three laps in 1:10:02. He finished 19th overall for the season.

“This was such a good venue last year that the league decided to return and hold the Championship here this year,” Team Director Keith Stephenson said. “The heavy rain earlier in the day led to slick conditions, which made the course even more challenging. We had an amazing season and we’re looking to grow our middle school team for Girls and Boys that will be in 6th to 8th grade this fall to prepare for the 2025 Spring season next year.”

Braedan Clarke said, “Glimmerglass is one of my favorite race venues, there are lots of switchback climbs to tear up. I had a strong race and it helped me secure my goal for the season.”

If you’re interested in joining the Catskill Claws, you can reach out to Team Director Keith Stephenson via email at catskillclaws@gmail.com.