Ohio students roll into Hueston Woods for NICA race

Oxford Composite team participates in first event

Nearly 170 student athletes raced through Hueston Woods on Sept. 27 at the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) competition.

NICA is a national 501c3 nonprofit organization with around 30,000 student participants ranging from sixth grade through their senior year of high school. Ohio’s inaugural year for participation in the association was 2021.

Teams are separated by division based on size and ranked by points gathered by individual team members’ finishing orders, laps and races completed in both male and female events. 

At the Hueston Woods tournament – titled “Hueston’s Hidden Treasure” – a team of students from Olentangy High School, called “Lost in the Woods,” placed first in the division one category with 3,868 points. In division two, students in the True North Composite Team from the Dayton area finished first with 1,926 points.

Ty McBee, director of the Ohio Interscholastic Cycling League, said there’s now around 250 student athletes registered with NICA across the state, making up over 18 teams that participate in five races throughout the year.

“Based on the population we’ve got in the state, (there) should easily be 500 athletes in the state of Ohio, and maybe even more,” McBee said, adding he estimates the league could enroll another five teams within the next year. “So that’s what my goal is; it’s to continue to grow it.”

As a coach, McBee said he believes NICA is one of the “most organized” youth sports associations available, adding it wraps in student development with physical activity. 

“It crosses over several areas,” McBee said. “A lot of the student athletes are coming when they’re just beginners, and so there's a level of learning and a level of confidence that they gain through sport.”

Because mountain biking is not an easy sport, McBee said students may gain a level of resilience which they can apply to challenges later in life. He said there’s also camaraderie, teamwork and community involved in the program that students can learn from.

“It's a positive environment, and you're competing against other students, but you're also competing against yourself, and just becoming better as a cyclist,” McBee said.

The Oxford Composite team, composed of three Talawanda Middle School students from the afterschool mountain biking club and one McGuffey Montessori School student, took to the trails at Hueston Woods in its first race since its formation. 

Of the four students who were able to compete during the weekend tournament, Jackson Flessner placed first in the middle school B boys category, and the entire team placed eleventh in division two.

BikeWise store manager Chris Goff, who assists with the afterschool mountain biking program at Talawanda Middle, said he’s looked into participating in NICA since 2018. Then a few years ago, he said Hueston Woods was approached about eventually hosting a race.

But Goff hasn’t had students to register for races until this year, when students in the middle school club showed interest. He said he hopes to also open the club up to students in Indiana in the future who might be interested.

This will be the only race the Oxford Composite team will compete in this year. Although there are two more races left in the season, Goff said racing and registration fees added onto traveling dues would equate to nearly $2,000 a year per student. Additionally, not all of the students have access to higher-quality bicycles.

NICA also requires two coaches per six kids, meaning if more students register, Goff will need a second coach, which requires background checks and other processing.

Goff said his next goal as coach is to look for scholarships to assist with future dues so students can participate in more races next fall.

“I just want kids riding bikes,” Goff said. “We’ve got a team now. … Our oldest is an eighth grader. The youngest (are) sixth graders. They can ride this until they’re seniors in high school. Hopefully, these riders will change (over) the next four years and bring in more kids and grow.”