A five-mile long race in above 90 degree heat is what most people would call “unbearable.” The mountain biking team calls it “lap one.”

Redwood took first place at the California State Mountain Biking Championships on May 19, a race in which teams from all over the state gathered at Novato’s Stafford Lake to ride as much as 26 miles in hopes of winning it all.

With podium finishes in three categories, Redwood clinched the sought-after title, toppling multi-season rival Drake in the process.

Drake has dominated California mountain biking recently, capturing six of the last nine State Championships and besting Redwood every year since 2004. This year’s victory is the first time Redwood has beaten Drake and won the Championship 2003.

Redwood’s victory was aided by juniors Sarah Ogden and Marcus Segedin, both of whom placed fourth in the varsity category, and by Kelsey Urban, who placed second in the freshman girls’ category.

According to Ogden, the team went into the state finals with high expectations.

“We were all very excited,” Ogden said. “We knew it was a possibility, if everyone raced their hardest, that we could win the State Championships for ourselves and topple Drake’s dynasty of winning it every year.”

Ogden said that the close rivalry fueled a determination that helped the team maintain its competitive edge.

“We were really motivated to win this year after coming so close last year, and we’ve stayed in a tight competition with Drake all season,” Ogden said. “Having the chance to beat them has been a motivator all year, in practice, at races, and it’s something that we bring up a lot, and pushes both teams to go harder.”

Segedin said that preparing for this year’s race was easier than in past years because it was so close to home.

“Having the race practically in our own backyard did help,” Segedin said. “I got to sleep in my own bed, as did everyone, which is a huge advantage because being calm and well-rested is important in these long races which require a lot of endurance.”

The length of each race was determined by how many laps each group had to ride around the five-mile course. Varsity boys had the longest race with five laps for a total of 26 miles, while freshman boys and girls and sophomore girls had the shortest race, with two laps for a total of 10 miles. Segedin was part of the varsity group that had to complete five laps.

“It definitely was hard,” Segedin said. “I think a lot of it came from the heat and from the dust. My race was five laps and 26 miles, so it was definitely a struggle to go hard for two hours breathing in hot dust, and then there are also a lot of steep climbs that made it a challenging course. I would definitely describe it as grueling.”

However, this grueling race is the farthest these riders will go as a team. Although several Redwood riders are going to the National Championships in Pennsylvania this summer, they will not be competing as a Redwood team. Instead, several riders are racing individually or with private teams.

Amongst those embarking to Nationals is senior Ian Stowe, a prominent scorer who placed 11th at the Championship. Stowe is one of only two seniors graduating from boys’ varsity this year.

Segedin said that because there are so few people leaving varsity, the team should have little trouble keeping up its success next year.

“I think that we’ll have just as many or more people riding varsity next year, so I think we can keep our position over Drake,” Segedin said.

Ogden also said that she thinks the team will continue to do well, especially because girls’ varsity isn’t graduating any riders.

“We have a really strong program we’ve been building, and we have a lot more girls joining now,” Ogden said. “Even though we’re losing a few top scorers we can continue to do well.”

With a strong team going forward, the team is looking ahead to another podium season, according to Segedin.

“We’ve almost always made it as a podium finisher,” Segedin said. “But it’s been a worthwhile challenge to finally beat Drake.”