The sixth and final round of the 2025 Junior Cyclocross Series on Sunday, November 2, at Cyclocross Crusade: McMenamins Edgefield marked the second consecutive weekend of a dreary Saturday followed by a Sunday with dreamy cyclocross weather! With sun and just enough mud to make things fun—without sacrificing drivetrains—our junior racers flew up a steep, paved starting climb reminiscent of the Koppenbergcross that took place earlier last week, followed by line choices galore and some heavy sections courtesy of deep mud and soggy bark chips. From my perspective, it was the most challenging race of the year and a perfect way to see how much everybody improved over a few short months!
Vivi McManuis ended the series the same way she began it back at Oak Hill School CX with a win for Team Booger, her fifth win of the series in the Junior Women 9-12 3/4/5s. Bobbi Buswell earned her fourth silver medal and jumped onto the final step of the series podium ahead of Vivi’s teammate Phoebe Hogue, who ended up second overall.
Isla Hundhausen (Boise Young Rider Development Squad) sped to a win in the 13-14 Junior Women 3/4/5 field, with Gabby Linn in second for the day and Madeleine Duval in third. This is a reversal of the series, with Gabby ultimately ahead of Isla and Sydney Chapin in the title battle.
Dialed Cycling Team’s Taylor Ferdaszewski came in for their first victory of the season, claiming the overall gold in the process, and was followed by Kayla Lyda in the 15-16 3/4/5 Junior Women. Maya Feldman-Wang and Ari Tabish—both racing for Team Booger—are tied with Mayumi Sugahara for second overall, and each rider has won one round and thus remain in a dead heat after a tiebreaker! With no representatives in the Junior Women 17-18 competition at this round, Kepri Sroka remains the uncontested champion of this category.
Caleb Farley of Team Booger capped off a mirror image of Vivi McManuis’ accomplishment for the Junior Open 3/4/5 9-12 season with his fifth win in five showings, with Ryan Kraemer Steigerwald making his first podium of 2025 in second and Luka Dedrick (Grouptrail Cycling p/b Ruckus Composites) placing third. I would also like to give a shoutout to Everett Hawes, who laid down a gauntlet in the new-as-of-Sunday “Most Hand-ups Given” competition with a staggering 30 hand-ups, limited only by a lack of gummy worms with which to further bless our adult racers. Any challengers next season will need to be on top of their game to match Everett’s mid-race fuel supplements!
Dylan Glazer earned another title on behalf of Team Booger in the Open 13-14 3/4/5 field with his win ahead of Garett Hawes (Marys Bicycle Club). Garett was followed through the line by his teammate Ezra White, mirroring their second and third placings respectively, for the series.
Bjorn Swanson (Team Finger) earned his second win of the year, chased home by Jordan Rathmanner and Leo Herriges (Team Oregon p/b Rodda Paint) in the 15-16 3/4/5 Junior Open field. Bjorn earned the series title with his effort, with Leo slotting himself into second over Andrew Chapin. Oliver Woods did Planet PDX Cycling proud with his third win in the JCS this year, further opening his lead in the Junior Open 17-18 3/4/5 competition. Alex Tipton took silver on the day and earns the same for the season.
Addison Temple took a victory on behalf of Boise Young Rider Development Squad in the Junior Women 1/2/3 13-18 field, and finishes her season in third for this field. Whitney Hayden and Morgan Filer, both of Team Booger, had already firmly established their positions in first and second for the series, with no changes after Edgefield.
Minutes after earning himself a podium space in the Open 1/2 field, Jack Abel (Team Booger) edged out Ollie Litinsky of Team Oregon p/b Rodda Paint in the Junior Open 1/2/3 13-18 for his second win of the year. An absent Johnie Hogue (Team Booger)—having already maximized his series points—remains atop the field, with Jack and Ollie rounding out the series podium.
Our omnipresent photographer, OBRA board member and racer Chlöe Spritz was behind the lens again at Edgefield, and her photography website has been updated with albums of the Junior Cyclocross Series Race #6 and the adult fields on both Saturday and Sunday. Please thank her for all she does for the OBRA community the next time you see her!
End of Season Party
It’s hard for me to believe, but this is almost the end of the road for the 2025 OBRA Junior Cyclocross Series. I want to extend a massive thank you to the parents and kids that make our sport so special. Cycling isn’t easy—and cyclocross in particular is a handful—and I cannot overstate how much I appreciate the financial, logistical and mechanical hurdles you all navigate with grace!
All that’s left is to properly recognize everything our juniors have achieved and learned over the series at our Junior Cyclocross Series Awards Party, on Sunday, November 23, from 12 to 4 p.m. at Steeplejack Brewing’s NE Broadway location. We’ll have newly-designed leader’s jerseys (including one for anyone who led midseason but did not finish in front!), medals and prizes for all podium places, a free raffle and a box for your suggestions on how we can improve upon what we’ve built this year. You’ll also receive a link to a survey soon, and I look forward to hearing more about what worked and where improvement is needed.
Our event will be immediately followed by Cyclocross Crusade’s celebration, and I hope all of you will stick around to enjoy it. If you or somebody you know was either leading their category earlier in the series or at the end and cannot make the party, please email me to make sure everyone receives their just rewards!
Final Cyclocross Races of the Season
Finally, there are still have four races at three venues on the OBRA calendar between now and the end-of-season party! First is the 2025 OBRA Cyclocross Championships at a new venue in Independence, Oregon, next Sunday, November 9. Intel from Erik Tonkin is that we’ll be enjoying a start on main street, the deepest mud of the year and another bike wash after getting spoiled with one at Edgefield. There are even whispers of a (cold) shower onsite! See more information and get registered for CX Bike Indy.
The following weekend, November 15 and 16, is a doubleheader that anyone who enjoyed round one of the Junior Cyclocross Series this year will want to attend. Oak Hill School Supercross will add mud to an already tricky course. And, if you have even a fraction of the love for night racing that I do, you won’t to miss the CX-Mas Lights Night Race at Washougal MX Park on Saturday, November 22. This race will take place the night before our end-of-season party and I don’t want you to miss what I expect to be a stark, slopping contrast to the grass cries that characterize early-season weeknight events.
—Robin