Big Red cycling crowned NERCL champs

Exeter cruises to their first title since the 2014 season. 

By
Brian Muldoon
May 16, 2019
Phillips Exeter Academy Cycling Bryce Morales

Bryce Morales '19 leads the pack in the Boys A championship race. Morales, along with teammates Jimmy Allen '19 and Owen Loustau '22, claimed the overall NERCL boys title and helped push Exeter to an overall team title. 

The Exeter cycling team sat in the first-place position of the New England Road Cycling League standings for virtually the entire season. Yesterday they cemented their place at the top as they captured the NERCL title on the Frontier Course at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Big Red powered through breezy conditions and tough competition to bring home the hardware for the first time since 2014.

Exeter performed at a high level throughout the entire lineup on both the boys and girls side. The Boys A squad of Bryce Morales ‘19, Jimmy Allen ‘20 and Owen Loustau ‘22 nabbed first place in the division, while James Wang ’19 and Mouhamed Gaye ’20 teamed up for a third-place finish in Boys B, and Joshua Lum ’21 and Ian Rider ’20 claimed second overall in the Boys C NERCL standings. Lum also ranked second overall in the Boys C individual standings.

On the girls side, Ashley Lin ’19, Meredith Goyette ’19, Lhamo Dixey ’20, Elizabeth Fier ’20 and Miranda Derossi ’19 placed second overall in the NERCL Girls A standings, while Emily Kang ’21, Aimee Hong ’20, Skye Newhall ’20 and Nicole Craighead ’22 also nabbed a second-place finish in the Girls C standings.

“I was extremely impressed with our team’s dedication and spirit,” said head coach Jeff Palleiko. “Cycling is a hard sport, to achieve great results you have to be committed and this is an incredibly hardworking group. They embraced all the hard intervals, trained through some brutally cold and windy weather, and enjoyed the easier recover days. Best of all they were there for each other day in, day out – they were always encouraging, motivating, and cheering loudly for each other. It was an absolute honor to work with such a committed group of cyclists.”