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S PORTS www.hoodrivernews.com Hood River News, Saturday, July 11, 2015 A7 Columbia River Gorge riders represent at Washougal Motocross Park races Local motocross riders of all ages compete and find success in western Gorge race series By MIKE WEBER For the News In the Columbia Gorge, there’s certainly a wide variety of outdoor activities available for people to enjoy throughout the summer. Many area residents participate in the family-oriented sport of motocross. Kids of all ages, adults, and even senior citizens compete at nearby motorsport facilities in Washougal, Sandy, and Portland. Hood River riders who enter motocross racing events every week include the McDowell family, Jason Dageus, Matt Kent, and Collin Sullivan. Other Gorge residents, such as Michael Spears and son Chris of Cascade Locks and Kevin Beloy of White Salmon also race often at Washougal Motocross Park, located on the far northeastern side of the city. Kent rode his 250cc Suzuki motorcycle and he took eighth place in the 250 D Class race July 4-5 at Washougal. Beloy rides a Kawasaki in the age 25 and over class and the 30 and over class and he leads the Classic Series point standings in both classes. Sullivan rides a Suzuki in the 30 and over B Class and he recorded a season best finish May 24 at Washougal. Ryder McDowell, who has a very appropriate name for motocross, rides a Kawasaki 250cc motorcycle in the Classic Series 250 C Class at Washougal and he took 23rd place in his last race there May 3. McDowell, 17, an incoming senior at Hood River Valley High School, also competes often in races at Mountain View Motocross Park in Sandy and he practices there every Tuesday with his friends. One fact about McDowell competing in a physically challenging sport like motocross that makes his accomplishment even more amazing is that he’s blind in his left eye. McDowell is also a member of HRV’s varsity boys lacrosse team and is an avid kiteboarder. Ryder’s dad, Terry, also competes in motocross. Terry, 48, rides his 250 Kawasaki in the age 40 and over B class. Terry had a season-best third place Classic Series finish on May 3. Terry and his wife Melissa operate their own business in Hood River, McDowell & Son Heating and Air Conditioning. Terry’s daughter Bleu, 15, is also beginning to compete in motocross and she participates in practices that are held frequently at Washougal. Bleu hasn’t entered any Photo by Mike Weber competitive races yet, but she’ll probably follow in the footsteps of her mom Melissa, who is a former motocross racer too. Bleu is an incoming HRV sophomore and she’s on the Eagles JASON DAGEUS, 23, of Hood River, takes a tight turn during a recent race at the Washougal Mo- cheerleading squad. “Bleu is still a little timid on the track, but she likes going out on trails to ride,” said Terry tocross Park. Dageus often rides at the track and is currently racing in the Classic Series at the park, McDowell. “Washougal can be an intimidating course for beginners like Bleu, but she’s be- where he is ranked 21st in the point standings out of 53 riders. come more comfortable out there now after participating in a few practice sessions and she really likes motocross.” day. Riders in the Classic Series compete for “I’ve been doing trail riding on motorcyles points, prizes and trophies which are award- since I was age nine and I’ve continued doing ed at the end of the season in September. The it all my life,” said Terry McDowell, who pre- Classic Series is seven races that draw over viously owned a KTM motorcycle dealership 200 cyclists from around the Northwest who in Hood River, which closed in 2008. “When compete in many different race classifica- we had our kids, it was just a natural thing tions of various age groups (age 4 through for them to get involved in motocross, be- age 50 and over) and skill levels (beginner, in- cause we all enjoyed riding. After we opened termediate, expert). Terry McDowell is our business, we were pretty much doing ranked sixth in the over 40 class with 38 TERRY McDOWELL trail riding and going to Washougal to race points and the McDowells will compete in the nearly every weekend.” next race at Washougal on Saturday and Sun- Local cyclists who competed in the last race July 4-5 at Washougal included the father/son duo of Michael and Chris Spears. Michael took fifth place in the Age 30 and over B Class July 4 while riding his 250 cc Kawasaki. Chris, a third-year motocross rider, took fifth place in the 50cc age 4-8 Junior Class on July 4, followed by a sixth-place finish July 5. Chris, age 7, has recorded top-seven finishes in all six events this season. Chris is sixth in the standings with 47 points out of a total of 35 riders in his class. “I’ve been doing pretty well in the 30 and over class and I’ve finished in the top three of the Classic Series point standings the last three years,” said Michael Spears, 33, who works for the Cascade Locks Fire Department. “I love racing and I’m having even more fun teaching Chris how to ride too. He’s getting better, he’s improving every year and he really enjoys mo- tocross, so he’s doing pretty good.” Dageus, 23, took sixth place in the 250 C Class while riding his 100 Percent Goggles/Dunlop Tires sponsored 250cc Honda motorcycle. Dageus is ranked 21st with 23 points out of a total of 53 riders in his class. Dageus, who took fifth place in the 2014 point standings, has entered four of six races this year and riders have to compete in a minimum of five events to be eli- gible for awards at the end of the season. The final Classis Series race is Aug. 15. “This is a very competitive sport, but it’s a lot of fun and I had a great time while racing here all weekend,” said Dageus, a 2010 HRV graduate who has been competing in motocross racing since he was age 15. “Even though the weather was really hot, I still enjoyed racing and I had lots of fun both days. This is my favorite track and I like to come here as often as possible along with my friend Matt Kent.” Washougal MX Park has events held every weekend through September. The track’s pre- mier race is the Peterson Cat/Lucas Oil Pro Motocross National Championship Series July Photo by Mike Weber 22-25. Races are four laps on the 1.5-mile-long densely forested hillside course consisting of steep downhill sections, sharp hairpin turns, jumps, and a bumpy straightaway. It’s consid- CHRIS SPEARS, 7, of Cascade Locks, tears it up on the Washougal Track. Spears races in the 50cc Ju- ered one of the top facilities in the country and is one of just 12 tracks in the U.S. to host the nior Class, where he has found a good deal of success this season, recording top-seven finishes in all National Championship Series. ‘I’ve been doing trail riding on motorcycles since I was age nine and I’ve continued doing it all my life. When we had our kids, it was just a natural thing for them to get involved in motocross, because we all enjoyed riding.’ six of his races, and is currently sitting sixth out of 35 riders in the standings. KOLLAS CRANMER RUN RESULTS The Kollas Cranmer Fourth of July Run results are in, which featured 213 runners as well as 107 registered walkers. Race or- ganizer Mary Gumm noted that although no records were bro- ken this year, high participation rates from older runners prompt- ed the addition of a new age category. “We thought it was time to recognize an emerging age category of 70-plus,” said Gumm. “We applaud all runners, but especially those that continue to show us what’s possible.” The following are the results for the top three finishers in each age category for male and female runners: monger (51:25). Post H.S.-29 female Lauren Lloyd (52:27), Kayla Kelles (56:19), Kate Parker (56:45). 30-39 male Dusty Lopez (40:19), Jarren Seal (51:10), Juan Luis Heredia (53:57). 30-39 female Overall male Jax Koubele (52:09), Brice Colbert (55:52), Caty Broderick (58:14). Oscar Bauman (Age 40-49, time of 39 minutes, 45 seconds), Ahrlin Bauman (40-49, 39:47), Dusty Lopez (30-39, 40:19). 40-49 male Overall female Oscar Bauman (39:45), Ahrlin Bauman (39:47), Gary Dauben- speck (44:31). Jax Koubele (30-39, 52:09), Angela Kraux (40-49, 52:14), Lau- ren Lloyd (Post high school-29, 52:27). 40-49 female Grade 1-5 male Miles Trius (1:17:29). Grade 1-5 female Anne Johnson (1:26:22). Grade 6-8 male Omar Quintana (57:23). Grade 6-8 female Charlotte Bromham (59:56) Angela Kraux (52:14), Jen Wardell (1:01:00), Kerry Lake (1:01:02). 50-59 male Brad Anderson (50:37), Daniel Nenberry (54:14), Raul Tooyra- zlez (55:21). 50-59 female Greta Hein (1:02:13), Kim Brislawn (1:03:00), Stephanie Irving (1:04:41). 60-69 male Grade 9-12 male Terry Mallon (56:51), Mark Chamley (56:58), Andrew Gross- Quinn Fetkenhour (45:44), Conner Truax (46:45), Carlos man (1:02:29). Chairez (46:55). 60-69 female Grade 9-12 female Tara Umbutu Asai (1:15:52), Denise Doney (1:21:37). Lauran Robinson (59:21), Victoria Kohner (1:09:26), Sophie 70+ Marble (1:09:36). Robert Havig (1:12:57), Raymond Peterson (1:21:41), Bill Mel- Post H.S.-29 male low (1:39:25). Jesse McChesney (41:11), Dagobert Silva (46:03), Ben Ire- SPORTS BRIEFS Good times for Gorge Tri Club in Sunriver The Columbia Gorge Tri Club knocked out some great races at the Pac Crest Weekend Sports Festival in Sunriver late last month, with both seasoned veterans and novices turning out to represent the Gorge. Running in the Olympic triathlon (1.5K swim, 40K bike ride, 10K run) were Nil Engbersen and Angela Krause. Engbersen placed first in the male 16-19 age group and 11th overall with a time of 2 hours, 30 minutes, 8 seconds, while Krause placed 27th in the female 40-44 group (308th overall) with a time of 3:52:31. In the long course triathlon (1.2-mile swim, 58-mile bike ride, 13.1-mile run), Gorge Tri Club participants included Rutger Engbersen (5:30.08, 1st in M50- 54, 53rd overall), Philip Evans (5:30:18, 8th in M40-44, 54th overall), Jeff Irwin (5:33:38, 2nd in M50-54, 59th overall), Trisha Kepple (5:41:57, 3rd in F35-39, 79th overall), and Stefanie Cohen (6:50:10, 11th in F35-39, 179th overall. Ryan Ward receives honor from The Oregonian Former HRV ace Ryan Ward, already flush with accolades from leading the Eagles to a 5A baseball state championship win last month, was recently named the 2015 Brian T. Meehan Oregon Baseball Player of the Year. Ward, who graduated from HRV in June and will be playing baseball for Washington State University, ended the season with a 64-inning streak of allowing no earned runs RYAN WARD and a 2-0 victory over Liberty in the title game. Members of The Oregonian sports staff choose the winners of the award in honor of Brian Mee- han, a former reporter and sports columnist at the paper who had an affinity for high school sports, especially baseball, and died of complications from heart surgery in 2008, according to the paper’s website. Sports information? Contact the Hood River News Summer is a busy time of year for sports in Hood River Coun- ty, but we always welcome our readers to submit sports tips to the Hood River News. If you have information or a story you’d like to send, email Ben Mitchell, sports editor, at ben- mitchell@hoodrivernews.com or call the Hood River News of- fice at 541-386-1234.
