Mid-South Hare Scrambles Youth Series Cross Country Motorsports Championship

Round 13, Hazzard Hill
Carter Carves Championship

BY DEBBIE ALLEN

The final round of the Mid-South Hare Scrambles Youth Series brought closure to a very long season of 13 races. It had been a tough year for the youth, but they faced each morning race head on and took every challenge that came their way. One would logically think that Hazzard Hill was going to be a down hill slide since it was the grand finale, but rocks and roots and deep ruts made it quite the challenge.

The biggest battle involved the Junior B class. Riding his RM Suzuki, Tyler Carter carved out the Junior B Cross Country Motorsports Championship with Zachary Nash, Jeremiah Bowman, Tanner Byarly, and Richard Brewer finishing out the top five for this season.

Carter said, "It wasn’t easy, but I’d like to thank Hattiesburg Cycles for supporting me this year."

Hazzard Hill was a dog fight to the finish between three riders: Byarly, Carter, and Nash. In the end, Byarly came out the winner while Carter came out the Champion. Byarly has won more races this year, but he had a late start and didn’t sign up for points quick enough to claim the Championship.

Off the start, the battle began to unfold immediately as 21 riders in the Junior B class charged for the holeshot. Richard Brewer got it while several other riders slid out from behind him. Byarly moved from third place to first and then battled back and forth with Nash and Carter.

Nash was fast; but unfortunately for him, he was on the wrong trail. He misread it while in the lead and got onto the adult track. This ultimately cost him the championship and by the time he figured out his dilemma, it was too late. He was down a lap and unable to make up the difference.

He simply had a bad day or maybe not. Off the start, he was one of those downed riders, taking out the American flag with him. Then he got a dead last start, got lost, and tore through the ribbons that blocked the adult’s trail. All of this and still came in third. Great job, and that’s the way it has been all year. He has been on the podium for every race this season, finishing in second place.

In the Pee Wee classes, Austin Smith, Cole Kirchoff, and Dalton Riddle topped out the first three positions in the 7-8 age bracket, and Samuel Thurman, Hunter Gates, and Ben Jones were the fastest riders among the 4-6 age bracket.