OLD FORGE – The Catskill Claws ended their season this past Sunday at the Championship event in Old Forge, another new venue for the 2023 season. The same course was used for both the middle and high school teams and included 300 feet of elevation gain per lap, with lap length hovering around 2.25 miles.

Noah Starkey was the middle school points leader, finishing the three laps in 54:15. Starkey’s fastest lap time was 16:19 and he earned 16th place in the 8th grade boys class to finish 14th overall in the league this season.

Jackson Krause continued to dominate the high school boys team in points, earning 484 this weekend with a fastest lap time of 12:13 and a total time of 57:44 after four laps.

Krause’s time landed him in the top 10 for the race, and his 8th place finish on Sunday led to him finishing 10th in the sophomore boys class for the season with 1757 points.

“This was another brand new venue for the league this year, and we had favorable weather for the Championship event,” Team Director Keith Stephenson said. “Competing at McCauley Mountain in Old Forge was a treat for most of the kids with an exhilarating and lengthy downhill section most of our kids really enjoyed.”

Each year, the New York State Interscholastic Cycling League is growing and adding new teams.

“The sport is growing across the country as well as here in New York and there are teams now in almost every part of the state,” Stephenson said. “Next year we are going to focus on getting more middle school student athletes involved in our region as well as getting more girls to join in order to help balance our team better for the 2024 season. Ultimately, though, our goal is to get more kids active outdoors on bikes next year.”