VERNON — The rain and mud made for a difficult course on Sunday as the Catskill Claws competed in their second event of the 2024 New York Interscholastic Cycling League season.

The event mirrored the historic Woodstock festival, from the rain and mud to loud music and the farm venue for the event. 

The team traveled to Vernon to race at the Tilden Hill Farm course, which due to the rain, made for a tougher course than usual.

Due to the weather and time constraints, the High School cut off times and lap counts were shortened on Sunday.

Despite the weather, the kids hopped on their bikes and headed out on the 3.60-mile long course, featuring ascension of about 135 feet per lap.

Noah Starkey led the High School team by earning 472 points after earning a fourth place podium finish. Starkey had a total time of 1:18:47 in the Freshman Boys class with a fastest lap time of 36:50.

“It was so much fun riding in the mud,” Starkey said. “It’s one of my strengths and I can’t wait for the next race.” 

Braedan Clarke earned the second-most points for the Claws on Sunday with 415 points after a 19th place finish in the JV Boys category. Clarke had a total time of 1:37:49 and a fastest lap time of 46:15.

Aiden Dusenbury-Dalto earned 396 points for the High School team after a 15th place finish in the Freshman Boys category. Dusenbury-Dalto had a total time of 1:43:56 with a fastest lap time of 48:11.

Dusenbury-Dalto described the muddy conditions of the event as being, “So muddy the bikes stopped working! Still had fun.”

The Middle School team was led by Bruce Ulrich, who earned 380 points with an 18th place finish in the 8th Grade Boys category. Ulrich had a fastest lap time of 54:12.

Phineas Laput earned 340 points in the 8th Grade Boys category after finishing in 27th. His fastest lap time was 1:29:19.

The Claws still hold the 13th place spot after two events with a total of 2631 points.

“The rain we already had earlier in the day made this one of the muddiest events we have ever participated in,” Coach Keith Stephenson said. “The conditions were awful and caused numerous mechanical failures. Lap times took almost twice the amount of time they would have if conditions were more typical of what you would expect at one of these events. We’re hoping that the conditions will be much better at our next event in our region on May 19 at Lippman Park in Wawarsing.”