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Akron, OH —- Big-A Series —- Akron BMX —- June 12-13

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Story & Photos: Jerrod Huffman (jrodsphotoshop.com)

Videos: Luke Nesler (304films.com)

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[Show as slideshow]

Akron BMX in Ohio was host to yet another National qualifier this year, and unlike any other large races that they have held in the past handful of years, they dodged the rain! They may now get to drop the nickname of AkRain! Keep your fingers crossed…

It all started on Saturday morning, my drive there was nothing but rain, wind, lightning, and dark clouds. However, once I rolled into the track, it was all blue skies and sunshine. I thought for a minute that I was at the wrong place. Once I saw Bill Calhoun and the other great volunteers from Akron putting the finishing touches on the track, I knew it was gonna be a good one!

ELITE OPEN

The action started with the Elite Open class which consisted of 11 adrenaline-charged guys and Florida’s Donna Snow. She was the only Elite Woman in the house and still wanted to race, so what the heck, let her ride with the boys! DK Bicycles’ Josh Smith rode well and went perfect in motos, Larry Dardini and local boy Chris Bull were swapping wins throughout the day as well. In the main Josh and Larry were neck and neck all the way around the track. Ben Clark had a mishap in the 3rd turn and went down pretty hard (get well soon bro), but even with all of the carnage behind them Dardini took the top spot with Smith right behind, and Chris Norberg rounding out the top three.

Day 2 of the Elites was all about the Ohio riders. Louis Taylor, Josh Smith, and Mr. I Only Race Once A Year Chris Bull all took the moto wins. Ben Clark and Javier Larrea pulled out for the day to take care of Ben’s injuries. Anywho, the gate slammed down in the main and it was Smith on his well rested legs, who shot out front and never looked back. Dardini and Bull chased him to the stripe taking 2nd and 3rd.

EXPERTS

On to the Experts. Hyper’s John Miller had some bumpin and grindin going on all day Saturday but it never stopped him from taking the one spot in the main. Tommy Zula and Damian Cherepko showed up to dominate and that’s just what they did. Perfects for both of them, allowing them to chill and shred the skatepark on Sunday. Kyle McRory was sporting some new S&M swag, it didn’t really matter though, because it was his super smooth riding that got him the perfect in the 19-25 class. Day 2 Kyle sat out and Zach Northern took the podium. 26-34 was Lance McGuire, Tom Truxell, and Lexy Lewis both days. “Wire To Wire” McGuire racked up two perfect days. Vaughn Herrick, the 10-year-old Texan dominated on day one with a perfect, then later showed up at Rays MTB Park and proved that he’s more than just a racer. He may have rode a little too much at the park though because on day 2 Warren Large took the win on the 20 inch. Herrick however did win both days on his Cruiser.

CRUISERS

Speaking of cruisers Gregg Hansel, Jeff Tapscott, Anthony Jefferson, and Anthony Catlow were all perfect for the weekend. Great job fellas. There was only two racks of lady cruisers. Day 1, Brittany Hansel and Melanie Cline took the wins, and day 2 got switched up a bit with Molly Longton and Diana Collinson winning.

NOVICE

Novice perfects went to Lukas Halahan, Braden Triggs, Aaron Berg, Zach Shafer, Ray Bradford, Mark Davis, who all had double perfects. Congrats to all of those guys. Maybe it’s time to step it up and give it a shot with the Experts. Others perfected for one day only included, Leon Darst, Keith Gumer, Mitchell Gallagher, Caiden Darst, Even Leas, Nathan Halahan, and Drew Szmania.

ROOKIES

Now for the excitement! The 5 & Under Rookies, or better known as the dad’s foot race! 17 of these little groms were signed up for Saturday, and only 11 for Sunday. Gavin Lutz was the lucky one that perfected both days. I’m sure he probably has shown off that huge trophy quite a bit now. Other Rookies that were noticeable were, George Burhenn, Owen Jozwiak, Michael Booton, Christopher Neibar, Cody Koscielski, James Sims, Dale Mitchell, Tyrell Minniefield, and last but not least, Brian King.

GIRLS

In the 17 & Over Girls class, Danielle Parish and Emily Fisher were banging bars and swapping the one spot all weekend long. Each of them went home with a main event win. Almost all of the girls classes were consistently won by the same person all day long. Molly Longton, Elida Beeman, Courtney Walbert, Mckhenna, Isabell Diamond, and Payton Ridenour were the perfect riders. Keep up the domination, maybe even change your name to Dom, and see where it takes ya!

Lets just hope that all of the great folks in Akron have finally figured out how to avoid the rain on race day. Thanks to the volunteers for making it all possible, and Keith Miller, for keeping Rays MTB Park open late for everyone to come ride after the races. Later.