Megacross kicks off 2024 Sx Season!

M-1           4-13-2024

Story by Kenzie Photos by 451 Photography (Amanda)   Results

First Megacross of the 24’ Season came with some great weather and some great ridership. The crew worked all week prepping the track and getting the fairgrounds all ready for Saturday. Many riders were moving on up into different classes to keep their competition going from last season while others were moving up just because they’re growing up. As always, there was some pretty intense racing on Saturday which always makes for a good time!

Jake Mueller (11) moved on up to A class for his first race back since his crash last season and did pretty well too! The kid placed 3rd in 250 A and 4th in Open A. It’s good to see him back racing again and it’ll be exciting to see how he improves this season.  

 As the gate dropped and the Open A class takes off the line, they all head into that first corner to go after that hole shot. Garrett Ward (31) comes out with the hole shot to take the lead with Kyle White (19) right on his tail. The two raced around the track, White trying to find a way around Ward but Ward wasn’t ready to give up just yet! The two went into the corner after the rollers, White tries to make the pass by pushing Ward high on the berm but doesn’t succeed. Third lap in, going over the step on step off, the two are right up next to each other and that’s when White makes the pass around Ward to take the lead. Ward makes sure to stay right with him, keeping White on his toes but isn’t able to make a pass back. White gets checkered flag to take the win while Ward takes second!

Schoolboy class doesn't get much exposure but today we will look at the racing going on in that class.  Grant Robinson who has been ripping lately on his Gas Gas # 426 is a force to be rekoned with.  Emmett Baker as well on his 309 Ktm.  This class was stacked with up and coming riders who are making each other faster just by showing up and doing battle!  About middle of the pack, Bryson Wells (926) was hanging out in sixth with Dane Miller (152)right on his tail in the Schoolboy race. As Wells is trying to make sure he stays ahead of Miller, he makes a pass around Landon Lee (964) to bring himself up a position while Miller follows and also makes a pass around Lee. As Wells and Miller continue on with their intense race, behind them Lee, Camron Harvey (40), Eddie Martens (412), and Lucas Wood (27) are all in a tight close pack with each other. Harvey is getting impatient behind Lee as he keeps on trying to find ways to pass him. Harvey is able to get right up next to him but just can’t quite get around Lee as he keeps blocking Harvey not giving up his spot. As Harvey is doing this he is pushing Lee to stay ahead and speed up, putting a little bit of a gap on Martens and Wood. Martens was trying to keep with them though as he would take the insides of the corners to inch his way closer to Lee and Harvey in certain spots on the track. These guys kept this up all the way to the checkered flag, and as the race came to an end Wells held off Miller to place in fifth and Miller in sixth. Lee held his spot ahead of Harvey which gave Lee the seventh spot and Harvey eighth with Martens in ninth!

The battles in the Womens Advanced class just keep getting better and better! Gate drops and they take off the line, Kyleigh McLaughin (18) takes the lead with Abygail Buettner (515), Sadie Quest (106), and Rylee Woods (610) all right up on each other in a pack! The girls get to the end of their first lap and Quest takes the inside of hum of the corner before the finish line jump and makes the pass around Buettner to get closer to the lead. Quickly into the second lap McLaughlin and Quest started putting a little bit of a gap between them and Buettner and Woods, making it two separate battles for a quick minute. Quest was getting eager to make another pass, so in that same corner she tried to take the inside hump again but crashed as she was making her way down the hump. Woods got around Buettner and headed straight for McLaughlin now that Quest was out of the way. Woods caught her quick and another battle immediately started! Woods stayed on McLaughlin heels and was determined she was going to find a way around her, but she only had a couple laps left. Beginning of fourth lap and Woods made the pass around McLaughlin to take the lead! McLaughlin stayed right her, not backing down any, and instantly tried anywhere she could to try and make the pass back to get back the lead but Woods was not going to make it easy on her. Time was running out, out comes the checkered flag for Woods to take the win and McLaughlin taking second place!

As the 50 Sr class takes off the line, Deacon Jones (23), Weston Sullivan (2), and Brayden Hastings (7) start out in a pack together. Within the first couple laps Hastings makes the pass around Sullivan and gets right up with Jones. The two head up the dragons back and Hastings gets right up next to Jones but he makes sure to stay ahead and not let Hastings get by. By the third lap, Jones and Hastings started putting distance on Sullivan and to keep on with their battle, Hastings starts taking the insides of the corners to try and make something happen. Hastings continues to get closer and closer to making a pass but by the time the race came to an end, Hastings isn’t able to get around Jones. Jones finishes with a third and Hastings pulls a fourth.

As the 65 Open class letting hang out!!! Lincoln Schwartz (90) takes the lead with Karson Connolly (14) out in second, Kayden Moore (95) in third and a little bit back is Zachary Young (14/) who has Liam Stanley (103) right on his tail. Just within the second lap these guys were already making passes and switching things around. Schwartz dropped down to third as Connolly came up and stole the lead and Moore moving up into that second place position. Stanley was still hanging onto Young, the two went into the corner before the dragons back, Stanley took the inside and made the pass to switch their positions right around too! Once Connolly took the lead he left the battling to Moore and Schwartz, Connolly was going for the win. Moore and Schwartz kept their battling going, Schwartz was finding ways to inch closer and closer to try and get that pass on Moore. It was end of third or fourth lap when Schwartz takes the insides of the corners before the finish line jump to make the pass and put himself ahead! Moore stayed right with him, determined to get his spot back, keeping it an intense race between the two, the checkered was out, they were down to the last couple seconds. They head into the last couple corners before the finish and Schwartz takes the inside hump again but Moore makes the pass to finish in second and Schwartz in third! The two had a great a race and pushed each other all the way to the end!

Jax ran some solid laps tonight taking the top spot in the 50Sr class.  RJ, and Kyle had some good battles in 25+ A class specially when RJ gets a holeshot.  

The night was filled with some great competitive racing and with it only being the first race of the season it will be interesting to see these battles continue as the season goes on. These racers improve as each race goes on so we will get to see some new battles start up as well! Saturday, April 27th is the next Megacross so hopefully we get some good weather again, see you guys there!