Provided by MX Sports
HURRICANE MILLS, Tenn. - The 35th Annual Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship, presented by AMSOIL, came to a conclusion today, August 6, with the fifth and final day of racing in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. The last 17 races combatted on the distinguished facility at the Loretta Lynn Ranch, with a total of thirty-seven National Championships bestowed.
Jalek Swoll's near perfect performance captured him the 125 (12-16) B/C national title. Jett Reynolds topped the 85 (9-12) division after feeling pressure the entire 20-minute moto from Nick Romano. Reynolds' second championship of the week made him the first person to have a total of eight mini-cycle titles.
John Grewe continued his dominance in the Masters 50+ division with a three moto sweep. After grabbing the holeshot, Grewe was soon out of sight where he would cross the finish line a minute ahead of his closest competition of Pedro Gonzalez Sr. who earned third overall in the prestigious class. Barry McCarty's 2-2-3 moto score placed him in second overall where he announced his retirement during his podium interview.
After a 2-1-1 moto score Jimmy Povolny reigned victorious in the Senior 40+ class. Jordan Jarvis took home her second National Championship of the week in the Girls Sr. (12-16) class. Tayler Allred proved she was the girl to beat sweeping all three Girls Jr. (9-13) motos for the national title. Jake Masterpool dominated the 450 B division with a three moto sweep.
When the gate dropped signifying the third and final moto of the ultra-competitive 250 B Limited class Christopher Fortie who jumped out to the early lead claiming the $100 Bell Helmets Holeshot Award, but Mitchell Falk secured the lead in just a few turns. Falk continued to run his own race with Dylan Walsh and Fortie battling for the second place position. Walsh would ultimately claim second, but Fortie would use the holeshot to his advantage to earn the bronze medal in third.
Saturday's finale showcased some of the most exciting battles of the week, which included the Vet 30+ class. Championship contender Arik Swan was absent from the top 20 on the first lap, but was able to lock in the lead position on the sixth lap. Swam makes a clean sweep for the national title and will now start preparing for his Pro Motocross debut in one week at Unadilla MX in New Berlin, New York.
Egan Mastin found himself in a favorable position to earn the $100 Bell Helmets Holeshot Award in the last Open Pro Sport moto. Mastin quickly found himself rubbing plastic with Cameron McAdoo, and this incident would allow Sean Cantrell to get around both riders on the outside. Even with a broken humorous McAdoo proved that he has what it takes to be a champion. Chase Sexton snuck into a podium position and began to challenge Cantrell until almost going over the bars in a rut. Sexton settled for second in the moto but claimed the coveted Open Pro Sport title. Cantrell and Mosiman finished a respectable second and third overall.
The 65 (7-11) class championship remained undecided as Matt LeBlanc, Ryder DiFrancesco and Hunter Yoder all had their eyes set on it. Although Yoder grabbed the third moto win, LeBlanc's 2-1-2 moto tally was good enough to put him out on top in the championship standings with DiFrancesco and Yoder following in second and third.
Joey Crown rocketed out of the gate to find himself in the early lead in the 250 All-Star A/B (14+) class but immediately felt pressure from Austin Root and Jerry Robin. At the halfway point of the race Gordon Keck started applying pressure to Robin and made the pass for third, which also affected the championship. Robin was well aware of the position needed to earn the inaugural title, and was able to make a last lap pass to earn third back and the National Championship. Brandon Gourley and Root rounded out the overall podium.
Championship contender Garrett Marchbanks was nowhere to be found in the final Schoolboy 2 (13-16) moto after he ditched his goggles on the first lap allowing his biggest competitor Jordan Bailey a clear track to the National Championship.
Super Mini 2 (13-16) was dominated by Joe Shimoda, while the Mini Sr. 1 (12-13) title was captured by Dilan Schwartz. Kyle White's conditioning shined through when he went 1-2-2 to top the 250 C Limited division.
The 102nd and final moto of the week was the 250 C class which was anything but predictable. Stetson Johnson did not win a moto throughout the whole week, but managed to claim the 250 C National Championship with 4-3-7 moto finishes.
RacerTV.com provided over 40 hours of LIVE streaming coverage of racing throughout the week and the archived footage is now available for viewing HERE. Complete results from the 2016 National Championship can be found HERE.
