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CADEN BRASWELL
After a couple of decent finishes at the inaugural Spring A Ding Ding race at Underground MX, Caden Braswell was eager to find the podium at the JS7 Freestone Spring Champion- ship. The Team Dunlop Elite rider had a full plate for the week of racing in Wortham, contesting both Super- mini classes, Mini Sr. classes, and the 85cc (9-13) division. He had his ups and downs at Freestone, but his speed was undeniable from Tuesday to Saturday. Braswell’s best finishes came on his KTM 85, scoring a sec- ond overall in Mini Sr. 2 and a third overall in the 85cc (9-13) division. In addition to his multitude of podium results, Braswell won the first moto
of the (9-13) division, proving he has what it takes to run at the front of a stacked field. A couple of inconsis- tent finishes and bad luck hindered his overall performances in the
other classes, but a couple of podium finishes and a win in one of the most competitive classes in amateur moto- cross is no easy feat.
MIKAYLA NIELSEN
Mikayla Nielsen was one of the top contenders in both the Girls Jr. and Sr. classes throughout the week of racing
at the JS7 Freestone Spring Champion- ship. The KTM rider was never far from the podium in each division, scoring podium finishes as one of the youngest contenders in the Sr. Class. A third place in the opening moto and a fourth place
in moto two earned Nielsen a third place overall finish. In addition to her success against the older competition, the Califor- nian absolutely dominated the Jr. class, winning both motos in fairly comfortable fashion against her competitors. Nielsen cleared off in the opening moto and eventually won by more than twenty sec- onds, and she overcame a small mishap in the second moto in order to maintain an advantage of a couple seconds at the finish line.
44 MPG • APRIL • 2018