BRAD HORN/Nevada Appeal Eli Piper, from left, Brandon Copeland, 6, Mallory Otto, 8, and Molly Otto, 8, ride at the Carson track on Wednesday.
In a short time, Carson City BMX has established itself as one of the nation's top teams when it comes to bicycle motocross.
Even though the team is less than a year old, BMX Rush, which is based at the Carson city BMX track adjacent to Edmonds Park has risen to No. 7 in the rankings out of 93 teams in the country. Four Carson City riders helped the local team keep its status as one of the top clubs in the nation at this past weekend's Red Line Cup in Ontario, Calif.
The Red Line Cup featured the top BMX riders on the West Coast as it served as the Western U.S. Championship. And since the Carson riders went into the hotbed of BMX racing in Southern California and beat their best, their performance was made just that more impressive.
Twin sisters Mallory and Molly Otto, 8, finished one-two in one class while Mallory came away as a double winner. Brandon Copeland, 6, also won a title and Eli Piper, 19, took third in the competitive 19-27 intermediate class. Their performance helped Carson City BMX finish third overall as a team.
"We're actually doing pretty well," team manager Chris Oakden said. "This is awesome."
Mallory won the 8 and under bike class while her sister, Molly was second. In the cruiser class for larger bikes, Mallory was first and Molly was second.
Not surprisingly the twin sisters are close as demonstrated by Mallory, who won two jackets for winning both classes. Since she won two jackets, she kept one and gave the other to Molly.
When describing how she won one of the races, Mallory said she was able to pass the rider ahead of her when she crashed. "I was just right behind her and I got first," she said. "I just like winning."
For her part, Molly didn't seem to mind that she finished second to her sister. "I really liked that I got second," she said.
Copeland won the 6 and under open class, saying he was able to win using a "high-low" move in which he was able to go high and then low to pass another rider for the victory.
Piper was happy with his finish but not completely satisfied. "I could have done better," said Piper, who raced on Sunday with a dislocated thumb after dislocating it during Saturday's racing. "My skills aren't all they could be, yet."
A possible goal for Piper is to turn professional. "If I could get there, yeah," said Piper about racing professionally. "I'll be doing it (BMX racing) for a long time and if I get good enough to do it for a career, then I'll do that."
On October 14, Carson City BMX will hold a BMX for Breast Cancer racing event at its track. Carson City BMX will be taking donations and there will also be drawing prizes. BMX for Breast Cancer helps provide mammograms for women who meet a certain criteria and are not covered through other programs.
For more information on Carson City BMX or the BMX for Breast Cancer program, go to the Carson City BMX website at www.the-new-age.com/ccbmx.