By Tom Tolen / news@whmi.com


For the 7th year in a row, the Brighton Cycling Dogs have won the overall state cycling championship in the Michigan Scholastic Cycling Association 2020 race series.

The final race of the season — a season abbreviated this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic — was held this past weekend at Bloomer Park in Rochester Hills. Brighton Coach TJ Tyrrell said that the number of cyclists allowed in the competition was reduced from 500 to 350 this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. Also, whereas in past years the cyclists were allowed to start in waves, this year only eight racers were allowed in the start chute at any given time because of social distancing requirements.

The Dogs won the 2020 state crown by besting other teams in eight separate competitions over the past three months. Brighton won four out of six “fastest team of the day” races, and, competing in the High School Scholastic Division, defeated second place Huron Valley United Racing by 167 points. Top competitors from Brighton in the individual competition: Brighton’s Katie Droese took second place in the varsity female category; Mason Verbison placed third in varsity male; in 9th & 10 grade JV, Brighton’s Noah Cranston took second place, as did the Dogs’ Joshua Palmer in 11th and 12th grade JV.** At the middle school level, Sophia Bell of Brighton placed second in the female division and in upper elementary, Olivia Pobocik of Brighton garnered second, also in the female division.

Coach Tyrrell told WHMI that the reason Brighton keeps putting out championship cycling teams every year is because all of the parents spend a considerable amount of their own personal time helping coach the young cyclists.