Bend High Lava Bears win state mountain biking title; Jack Billowitz crowned individual state champ

PRINEVILLE, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Bend Senior High Lava Bears came through on Sunday at the state Mountain Biking Championships in Prineville to not only bring home the team title but also crown individual State Champ Jack Billowitz in the Varsity Boys Division.  

Weather originally called to be cold and rainy, but the skies cleared and it was a pleasant sunny fall day at the Barnes Butte Trailhead in Prineville.  The other 19 teams could only hope that the Lava Bears would start their hibernation early, but that was not the case.  All 10 Lava Bears rode hard on the rocky technical course to propel the team to victory.  

The Varsity Boys field was dominated by Lava Bears, with Jack in first, Curran Jacobus in second, Cooper Andrus in fourth and Clancy Karpstein just missing the podium by 3 seconds for a 6th place finish.  What a dominating performance for the varsity boys. 

The Varsity Girls also saw Neve Gerard finish in second place, with Linzie Harris unfortunately battling a few mechanical issues on the day to finish down in the pack.  

The Lava Bear team was filled out with its HS2 division boys; Joe Bercot, Blake Ballard, Liam Rogers and Olin Rogers all riding well and avoiding the many flats and other mechanicals that plagues so many on the rough course.   

"We want to thank our Seniors, Curran Jacobus, Cooper Andrus, Clancy Karpstein, Neve Gerard, Liam Rogers and Olin Rogers for the hard work that they put in all season.  

"We look forward to seeing more of you this next year!
Congratulations Lava Bears, 

Coach Kris"

A total of 49 High School Girls qualified for State this year and 144 High School Boys qualified. 

For more information about the Oregon Mountain Bike league, you can go here.  Open to all girls and boys 6th thru 12th grade.

www.oregonmtb.org  You can also email dcmtbteam@gmail.com