Treading the rugged and uneven roads, the Jesuit cyclists battled the rough race conditions. The Jesuit cyclists tackled their adversities with grit and tenacity. As of now, the Jesuit cyclists competed in multiple races hosted across various locations in Texas.
Texas HS Mountain Biking Season
On February 1st, Jesuit Cycling competed in the Texas High School Mountain Biking League race series. This race series consists of three categories: JV1, JV2, and freshman. Currently, Jesuit is a Division II team because they could only field 12 bikers. Lucas Ferguson ’22 and Carter Trupiano ’22 raced in the JV1. Collin McKinney ’23 and Nico Martinelli ’24 battled in the JV2. Finally, Ale Acosta ’25 partook in the freshman race.
Competing in the JV1, Lucas and Carter lined up in the last of the 10 rows and started off their 3-lap, 15-mile race. Despite suffering an injury, after crashing out about a mile into the race, Carter managed to finish in 24th. Later on, Lucas survived the arduous race with a 15th place.
Starting in one of the JV2’s 12 rows, Collin and Nico began their 2-lap, 10-mile race. Collin was able to move his way into the top half of cyclists. He finished in 18th place, a sign that Collin has a good chance to earn a podium position in the next race. Meanwhile, Nico finished off his race in 34th place.
In the freshman race, Ale finished 50th out of 54 starters in Division II and several Division I racers who started a few minutes before him.
This race series takes the top 4 cyclists from the six races in the series. In the end, all Jesuit cyclists are considered to be “in the hunt” in the individual overall competition.
Reveille Peak Ranch Race
About two weeks after the Texas HS Mountain Race, Jesuit Cycling embarked for Brunet, TX in the Texas Hill Country. The competition was held on February 12th and 13th. However, co-captain Lucas Ferguson ’22 was unable to travel with the team. During this time, Lucas was recovering from a broken collarbone injury from the first race weekend. Despite facing the absence of one of their co-captain and challenging terrain of Brunet, the Jesuit cyclists persevered nonetheless.
In the JV1 race, Carter Trupiano ’22 completed three laps for about 15 miles. In the end, Carter finished in 29th place.
Also, in the JV2 race, two Jesuit cyclists provided their team with the best finish of the day. After completing their races, Collin McKinney ’23 finished 16th and Nico Martinelli ’24 finished 34th.
In the freshman race, after completing two laps and 10 miles, Ale Acosta ’25 finished in 56th place.
As of the overall team standings, Jesuit capped off its weekend with a 21st place.
Annual Home Road Race
During the last weekend of March, Jesuit Cycling displayed its prowess at the University of North Texas (UNT) Crit Race. Then, it hosted its annual Jesuit Dallas Road Race in Celina, TX.
UNT Crit Race
The UNT Crit Race was located around Denton ISD’s CH Collins athletic complex. This race consists of many round-about routes along with the exposure to wind. Both of these factors contributed to the racing conditions.
Competing in the collegiate men’s B division, Lucas Ferguson ’22 and Jack Webb ’24 gave Jesuit its best race of the competition. In the 45-minute race, both Lucas and Jack remained near the front of the peloton. This meant that both cyclists were able to respond to any attacks or sprints from other racers.
In the final laps of the race, three racers broke off of the peloton and sprinted towards the finish line. In the last sprint, Jack captured 2nd place and Lucas secured 4th. This places them in 5th and 7th places respectively, after considering the three solo riders ahead of them.
Jesuit Ranger Roundup Road Race
After two years of cancelling the race due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jesuit proudly hosted its 15th Jesuit Ranger Roundup Road Race. Every cyclist in the competition showed up at 8 AM to start their 22-mile trek. The two-lap race includes a challenging hilly course requiring 1000 feet of climbing.
During the race, Jesuit Cycling managed to employ effective solo attacks against another elite cycling team: the Playtri Elite. As a result of the cohesion and power projected, Jesuit won the race and placed five racers in the top 10.
1st: Lucas Ferguson ’22
3rd: Jack Webb ’24
4th: Carter Trupiano ’22
8th: Collin McKinney ’23
9th: Quinton Moats ’24
Remember to stay tuned to The Roundup for more cycling news!
