NEW ULM - The temperatures at the River Valley BMX track in New Ulm abated enough on Sunday so the heat was on the racing.
River Valley BMX held its annual State Qualifying Race on that day, attracting 204 riders from 50 different communities who all hoped their efforts would go to winning the state championship in their division.
"The weather was great," track operator Dan Bauer said. "There were 46 motos, which is a good turnout for us. If it would have been like it was earlier in the week, it would have been tough. But it was a great day of racing."
It was all worth it to the group of track volunteers who did work in the intense heat to prep the track for what was a weekend of racing, with 27 riders from New Ulm and Sleepy Eye competing.
Four local racers took firsts, including New Ulm's Quentin Mack, who took home the hardware in the 17-18 year old expert class by winning all the qualifying races as well leading up to the main event.
On the other end of the age spectrum, Bryce Beck won the 9-novice race, while Madison Schiller nabbed the win in the 12-girls section and Bradley Wilfahrt rounded out the top takers in 11-intermediate.
Just a spot away from the top was Natasha Hanson in the 15-16 year old cruiser class (cruisers are a larger bike than the regular BMX body style), while Jared Tanley took second in 15-expert class.
Kyle Van Name was second in 15-intermediate, while Cody Heck was just behind the leader in 12-novice, and Elliot Schoo and Brennan Shaver took seconds in 10-intermediate and 6-novice, respectively.
Third place was the home for 11 local riders, with Nick Hanson just two spots behind Mack in the 17-18 expert clash. Preston Bauer took third in 16-expert, while Kenny Griebel was third in the 17-18-intermediate category, with Natasha Hanson in third place in 15-intermediate.
Kaitlyn Keech in 14-novice, Carter Huffman in 13-intermediate, William Weber in 12-novice, Earl Foster in 13-cruiser, Gavin Olvera in 10-intermediate were all third-place trophy winners.
In the youngest classes, Ty Frederick was third in 6-intermediate and Cole Frederick took the same in the 5-and under category. Two Sleepy Eye riders took fourths, Quinton Stoll in 14-intermediate and Tyrah Stoll in 13-girls, while New Ulm's Nick Hanson took fourth in 17-20-cruiser.
Dawson Schiller took fifth in 7-intermediate, while Foster also took sixth in 13-expert. In the Pro-Am race, Brandon Utz took fifth, Nate Hanson was seventh and Bauer was eighth. Miles Boesch participated in the 7-intermediate, while Caleigh Heck raced in the 12-girls class and Cayden Heck participated in the 7-novice race.