Park City’s top mountain bikers pedaled their way to a first-place finish and a career-best ride during this year’s state championships — feats that led the team to a fifth-place finish overall.
Senior Cohen Flach is on the boys’ varsity team. At the competition, he was most nervous at the start.
“I've never been the greatest at starts,” Flach said. “I always end up losing quite a few spots there, and knowing that state's at a fairly long starting fire road, I really wanted to make sure that I wasn't getting shuffled to the back of the pack.”
Competing against Utah’s best high school athletes, Flach stayed with the lead pack for the first two laps.
He then faltered on a rocky corner, but managed to maintain his position. Flach finished in seventh place, marking a career best.
Harley Deters was another of Park City’s top performers. She’s on the girls' junior varsity A team and earned a first-place medal at the statewide contest.
Ahead of the Cedar City race, she was most nervous about technical areas.
Deters said rides with rocks aren’t her strong suit, but she got past the tough spots.
“I was really proud of myself when I finally got to get through those, like, smoothly,” she said. “I had the biggest smile on my face when I finished the rock section.”
She maintained that momentum throughout the race.
“I got to single track on my first lap in second, but the girl in front of me slipped out on the climb, so I was able to pass her,” she said.
A Park City native, Deters has been mountain biking her whole life. Flach, on the other hand, got his start in the sport after moving to Park City in seventh grade.
But they both have a passion for mountain biking, and no matter how well each teammate performed, Flach and Deters said it’s just fun to ride with their friends — especially in a place like Park City with access to trails and mountains.
Park City’s performance at state followed a strong finish at the Region 1 competition, where the boys varsity team claimed four of five top places and two girls varsity team members finished third and fourth.
The school’s last No. 1 finish at state was in 2015.
