With his closest competitor sidelined, San Marin High junior Te’ah Hirschfeld cruised to the top of the series points standings with a second-place finish at his home course in Saturday’s Stoked on Stafford Redwood/Repack Region mountain bike race.

Hirschfeld, a nationally ranked junior, sped through the 4-mile Stafford Lake course, averaging just under 18 minutes per lap to finish in 1 hour, 10 minutes, 38.62 seconds, less than 90 seconds off the lead.

“It was fun to see hundreds of competitors out here to show what the mountain biking community is about,” said Hirschfeld, riding for North Marin Composite, which includes San Marin and Novato high schools, plus Novato middle school and home-schooled students.

Hirschfeld wraps up the four-race regional series with a 28-point edge over Dylan Finkler of Grass Valley’s Ghidotti Early College High School as riders now turn their focus to the NorCal Cycling League Championships at Lower Lake’s Six Sigma Winery on May 18.

Redwood High’s Charlotte Philkill finished on the varsity girls podium in third place in 1:27:00.02, less than 3 minutes behind winner Camille Smith of Spartans Composite and second-place Rebekah Cerrona of the Trojans High School team, representing Oak Ridge.

“The first lap was a beast,” Philkill said. “The second and third laps felt good and I was hanging on Rebekah’s wheel the whole time.”

Archie Williams High’s Vesper Klausner was 2:49 off Philkill’s pace in fourth (1:29:49.24), followed by Tam’s Johannah Nesbit in fifth (1:32:05.13).

“Mountain biking started in a shop in Mill Valley, so I feel like I’m carrying on a tradition,” Nesbit said.

Philkill and Klausner tied for third place in the regional standings. Cerrona, with a 25-point bonus after racing in all four events this season, took over the series lead with a five-point edge over three-time winner Smith. Nesbit and Tam teammate Jo Moore, with Redwood teammates Ava Scott and Ginger Howard round out the top 12 points leaders.

“I’m focusing on building up for the championships,” Philkill said. “This has been a great season.”

The sport is enjoying a recent surge following the 2024 Summer Olympics in France, where Inverness native Savilia Blunk placed 12th.

“The Olympics brought a big scene to the sport,” Hirschfeld said. “I’m not close to that level, but maybe someday.”

Hirschfeld was close on the rear wheel of winner Caden Kroettinger of Spartans Composite. Granite Bay’s Robert Ward took third place, 22 seconds off Hirschfeld’s time, with Marin Academy rider Jack Grubb fourth (1:13:13.81).

After Friday’s practice runs, Saturday kicked off in earnest with a fast start to the 8 a.m. boys race. Officials led the pack uphill from the start line for a neutral start before turning the riders loose on the twisting, turning course.

“It was a fun course,” said Hirschfeld, who also plays soccer for San Marin High. “It felt like a world cup course. The tight uphill turns were a fun challenge.”

Archie Williams senior Dylan Donner, coming off a doubles win Thursday with the tennis team, had a stellar ride to place sixth (1:14:12.44) in the varsity boys race.

“The last couple races I haven’t gotten out hard enough at the start. I need to come out harder for the championship,” said Donner, who will pick up his racket for the MCAL tennis playoffs this week.

The tragic deaths of four students a week earlier cast a pall over the campus at Archie Williams.

“Everyone feels the loss,” the Dartmouth-bound Donner said. “I feel like every time I’m competing, I’m representing my community. I’m playing and riding with more focus.”

Tam’s James Newman was seconds behind in eighth (1:14:18.21), with the Peregrine Falcons’ Blake Doll 13th (1:16:09.42).

“This was probably my best pace this season,” said Doll, who competed at the Sea Otter Classic, April 10-13. “All the competition today was good. The course demanded a lot of skills.”

San Domenico’s Jake McDonnell took 21st place (1:19:54.28) despite a couple of crashes.

“That’s part of racing,” said McDonnell, a San Rafael native who grew up riding around Chine Camp.

Branson School rider Zachary Redlin placed 27th in 1:22:02.72, just a second ahead of San Rafael’s Nicholas Block in 28th place.

The varsity girls charged up the hills to start their race, with Philkill near the front chasing Smith and Cerrona. Philkill stayed with them through three laps before cutting the gap with a hard-charging final lap.

“This race was gravelly, and that could catch you by surprise,” Philkill said. “I just kept my cool and the switchbacks and the off-camber sections worked to my advantage.”

Nesbit had to recover quickly after her chain fell off on the first lap and completed the first circuit in 21:24 for eighth place. She picked off the riders in front of her on each of the following laps to edge Moore (1:32:44.73) by nearly 40 seconds.

“I caught up on the downhills, the switchbacks, so that was nice,” said Nesbit, who plans to enroll at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the fall.

Scott took seventh, less than 2 minutes behind Moore, with Howard rounding out the top 10. Tam’s Pep Moore made her season debut and finished 13th in 1:48:10.27.