WAWARSING — The Claws returned to the Catskills on Sunday, May 19 for their third event of the season at Lippman Park in Wawarsing. Nearly 225 student-athletes from across New York State made the trip to race through the woods.

The High School course at Lippman Park was about four miles long with 400 feet of descending per lap. The course consisted of mostly technical single track and fast-flowing descents before leading back to the start/finish line.

The Middle School course was a bit shorter, with a little less descending at about 3.25 miles long and 250 feet of downhill action. The weather and trail conditions were nearly ideal, which made for a fantastic event both for spectators and riders alike.

Braedan Clarke led the High School team in points with a sixth place finish. He earned 496 points for the team in the JV Boys category. He had a total time of 1:43:59 after four laps with an impressive fastest lap time of 24:05.

Grant Brown pulled in 456 points for the team with a sixth place finish of his own. His time of 1:25:08 after three laps in the Sophomore Boys category placed him just outside of a podium finish. His fastest lap time on Sunday was a scorching 26:02.

Aiden Dusenbury-Dalto earned 360 points for the team, finishing 22nd in the Freshman Boys category. His total time was 1:40:47 after three laps with a fastest lap time of 29:22.

Aiden Dusenbury-Dalto said it was, “a tough day with lots of rocks and fun fast downhill.”

Bruce Ulrich led the Middle School team with a 19th place finish in the 8th Grade Boys category. He had a total time of 1:14:37 after three laps with a fastest lap time of 22:19.

Phineas Laput also finished three laps on the Middle School course in 1:30:26. Laput’s fastest lap time was 27:28 and he finished 25th in the 8th Grade Boys category.

In total, the Claws accrued 1312 points on Sunday, giving them a total of 3943 after three events.

The team is still holding onto 13th place, just ahead of the Otsego Composite team which has 3856.

“This was a fantastic event,” Team Director Keith Stephenson said. “The course was both challenging and fun, and the weather was great for both the student-athletes and crowd of spectators who enjoyed watching kids hurtling down the descents. Hopefully we’ll have good weather at the next event in Naples at Ontario Park on June 2.”