On May 4-5, Jesuit’s cycling team competed in the State Championship Road Race and Criterium (Crit) with much success, finishing off the spring’s 7 weekend-17 race competition season in the Texas High School Cycling League Road Series. Jesuit meant business at state, sending 2 ‘A’ division riders, 4 ‘B’ division riders, and 6 ‘C’ division riders, determined not to leave without top spots on the podium.
Jesuit riders, never being ones to disappoint, brought home the title of Best Male Overall Team, as they won the state championship. But they did not stop at just this; the team also finished 2nd place in the Co-ed Combined Team Overall.
In addition to the team awards, the cyclists achieved many individual accomplishments. There are three divisions for high school riders: Varsity (A), Junior Varsity (B), and Novice (C).
Road races and criteriums are two different types of races. “A road race is a . . . test of endurance. Road racing is what is [seen] when you watch the Tour de France,” explained Baert. Novice races range from 14 to 28 miles while Varsity races range from 35 to 45 miles. “Criterium racing is . . . a short course” ranging from ½ mile to 2 miles that is “fairly technical and you race around for a set time,” normally 20-30 minutes for novice and up to 45 minutes for ‘A’ riders. This style is “most similar to Formula 1 racing,” but for cycling. “They shut down the roads and all” for the race.
Thomas Baert ’14 took 2nd place in the State Championship Road Race. Ruminating on Jesuit’s Varsity performance at the Criterium and the Road Race, Baert commented that “Jesuits performance at the road race in Houston was very solid” while “the Crit was a large disappointment for Varsity. I got caught behind a crash from the get go, and John Paul Blanton ‘14 fell out of the lead pack from over exhaustion from the road race the day before. We ended up not winning any races at the Crit. Nonetheless, [it was a phenomenal season] taking home the state championship for overall men’s team, three years running.”
Hugo Scala ’16 was the Individual Overall Series (IOS) champion, and took 3rd place in Criterium. Channing Wasthlesky ’16 won 2nd place in the IOS, and finished at 3rd place at the Road Race. Alejandro Joglar ’15 came in 3rd place in the IOS, was Road Race champion, and finished in 2nd place at the Criterium. Dalton Walters ’16 came in 2nd place at the Road Race.
The Novice riders were also successful, as Jesuit received the top two spots in the IOS, almost executing another sweep of the podium. Will Rudolph ’15 won Individual Overall Series Champion, and ended up placing 3rd at the State Road Race.
Fellow classmate, Zac Bishkin ‘15 came behind him in 2nd place in the IOS, but soared to victory in the State Road Race Championship. 
Bishkin also came in 2nd place in the Criterium. Jimmy Merkel ‘15 came in 2nd at the Road Race, and 3rd at the Criterium, wrapping up a strong show for the sophomore class.
Jesuit, as mentioned earlier, earned the 2nd place Co-ed Combined Team Overall. Hockaday’s Sarah Startz ’14 practiced with the Jesuit squad during the season, but was not affiliated with the Jesuit guys during races. Instead, she competed as the lone member of the Hockaday cycling team.
Women riders receive the same amount of points as Varsity male riders, and all of these points are added toward the overall team total. It was an impressive feat that Jesuit could still finish 2nd even without any females. Coach Armstrong hopes “Hockaday gets more riders and develops into a strong team with their own practices and coach.” Additionally, he commented that “[Jesuit] will assist them in that endeavor as best as [they] reasonably can.”
There was one senior on Jesuit’s squad this season, Andrew Nolan ’13, who acted as a great leader and a valuable asset. According to Joglar, “he’s going to be missed a lot because he was a mentor to many of the novice riders. A lot of times he would take over for coach and he would treat us like he was our teammate.”
Both the Road Race and Criterium were huge events with various tents, displays, radio station booths, and stands set up around the tracks. The Houston Grand Crit in particular was the highlight of the season for Jimmy Merkel, who said that “It’s the accumulation of all your yearly progress put into one fast, exhilarating race.”
But all of the team’s accomplishments could not have been possible without their great coach Mr. Andrew Armstrong. A theology teacher and head coach of the cycling team, Coach Armstrong has been “supportive through the start of my cycling career in racing,” said Merkel. Baert continued with the praise, commenting that Coach Armstrong “has been absolutely fundamental. Without him, Jesuit cycling would not exist.” Joglar commented, “I believe my coach is demanding but also sincere. He has played a huge role in Jesuit’s success. He’s not only taught us everything we know about cycling, but also about what it takes to work hard and to become good cyclists.” In addition, assistant coach Celeste DesOrmeaux helped Coach Armstrong lead the team through the great season.
With summer coming up soon, the team will see some of the riders prepping for next season in Texas’s scorching heat. There are still non-scholastic races in the summer including the infamous Hotter n’ Hell race, but there are no required events in which the Jesuit riders will have to participate.
Obviously, the Jesuit Cycling program had much success this school year, and the future looks bright for the squad as it heads into the future and looks to improve and expand.
