Some 200 people gathered at Specialized's headquarters in Morgan Hill, California, on Saturday night for the National Interscholastic Cycling Association's annual awards.
The event honored student-athletes, coaches, volunteers and partners who have made outstanding contributions toward the development of high school cycling and the national high school mountain biking movement. In four years, NICA has grown to nine high school leagues, 800 coaches and 3,000 student athletes.
"We are creating more than youth racers," said Austin McInerny, executive director of NICA. "We are creating a national movement and an inclusive, coed, competitive sport that's making a huge difference at high schools across the country."
NICA received 222 nominations. A committee culled through them all and selected 13 individuals. The awards were presented by NICA sponsors Clif Bar, Specialized, Trek, Primal Wear, QBP, Easton Foundations, Jeep and SRAM. Honorees included:?
Volunteer Service Award
Nick Gualtieri, coach at St. Francis High School, SoCal High School Cycling League
Race Production Partner Award
Martha Flynn, Minnesota High School Cycling League
Community Impact Award
Ed Fischer, retailer, Camas Bike and Sport, Washington High School Cycling League
Student-Athlete Leadership Award
Josie Nordrum, Redwood High School, NorCal High School Cycling League
Zachary Tucker, Lyons High School, Colorado High School Cycling League
League Founder Award
Lori Harward, Utah High School Cycling League
Coach of the Year Award
Whitney Pogue, Summit Academy High School, Utah High School Cycling League
Ken Mozek, San Ramon Valley High School, NorCal High School Cycling League
Student-Athlete All Star Award
Lucas Newcomb, Sir Francis Drake High School, NorCal High School Cycling League
Kate Courtney, Branson High School, NorCal High School Cycling League
NICA Legacy Award
Mike Sinyard, Specialized Bicycles, for providing the initial funding that started NICA
Extraordinary Courage Award
DeShaun Smith, C.K. McClatchy High School, NorCal High School Cycling League
Mark Doty, Oakley High School, Utah High School Cycling League
A ride at the Fort Ord trails led by Lea Davison, Olympian and six-time national mountain bike champion, preceded the awards ceremony. Davison also talked about her first experience at the Olympics this past summer after the awards. A fundraiser following the awards ceremony collected donations for NICA's Booster Fund launched last year to provide individual grants to offset expenses of participating in a NICA league and team activities.
