By Kim J. Harmon

BETHEL – Before it was officially shut down for the winter a couple weeks ago, six local riders took a few final laps around the Bethel Supercross BMX track … the place where they sharpened their skills all summer before competing on the state, regional and national stage.

Six riders – all with new hardware to showcase at home: Cody Cahill (11 Rookie), Anthony DelVento (13 Expert), Andrew Hickey (8 Novice), PJ Hickey (9 Expert), Jake Enriquez (10 Expert) and Josh Adams (12 Novice).

The Bethel Supercross BMX track opened in 1982 behind the baseball fields at Mitchell Park on Old Hawleyville Road. In the early days, it had just eight hills but now has 30 and offers a full schedule of races on Wednesdays and Saturdays throughout the spring and summer. It is just one of four tracks in Connecticut sanctioned by the National Bicycle League (NBL) and it is run exclusively by local volunteers.

Track director Don Olson, a former BMX racer himself, loves the sport because of its family-oriented aspect.

“This is a family program,” he said. “The interaction between the parent and child in between races is the most important thing. And this is the only program where the children are in charge of their parents. The riders are responsible for the behavior of their parents and their pit crews; it’s the child’s sport.”

Riders who compete at Bethel Supercross are eligible for year-end awards and since the track is sanctioned by the NBL, riders can then compete statewide, regionally, nationally and even internationally against riders of similar ages and skill levels.

Over the years, a veritable host of local riders – like the six who gathered together one Saturday a couple of weeks ago – have used the Bethel Supercross BMX track as a springboard to state, regional and national success.

And the final event of the summer for the group1 was the Northeast Regionals/Supercross Nationals in Woodward, Pennsylvania on September 25 and 26.

In a bit of odd scheduling, the Northeast Regionals closed out the 2003-04 season while the Supercross Nationals opened up the 2004-05 season.

In the Northeast Regionals, Cahill went third in two motos and fifth in another and ended up ranked second in the standings. In the Supercross Nationals, he finished second in all three motos and second in his main on Day 1 and came back to finish first in all three motos and in the main on Day 2.

In the Northeast Regionals, DelVento finished fourth in all three of his motos and ended up ranked fifth in the standings. In the Supercross Nationals, he finished fifth (out of 17 riders) in all  three motos on Day 1 and then finished fourth in each of his three motos on Day 2.

In the Northeast Regional races, Andrew Hickey finished first in all three motos and first in his main to end up ranked first in the standings. In the Supercross National races, he finished first in two motos, second in another, and second in the main on Day 1 and then came back to finish first in all three motos and second in the main on Day 2.

In the Northeast Regionals, PJ Hickey finished first in three motos and third in the main and ended up ranked third in the standings. In the Supercross National races, he finished second out of 13 riders in three motos on Day 1 and came back to finish second in three motos and third in the main on Day 2.

In the Northeast Regional races, Enriquez finished first in all three motos and first in the main and ended up ranked first in the standings. In the Supercross National races, he was first in all three motos and third in the main on Day 1 and came back to finish first in two motos, second in another moto, and seventh out of 11 riders in the main on Day 2.

Meanwhile, another local rider, Russell Menz (15 Expert), claimed his No. 1 state plate for the sixth straight year.

The Bethel Supercross BMX track is being re-shaped and will re-open the second week of April 2005 (give or take) and that will give these local riders – and probably many more – another chance for state, regional and national success.

And some new hardware.

1 – Josh Adams did not participate due to a broken collarbone, but Russell Menz (who was not at the track with the other riders when the picture was taken) competed in the 15 Expert Division.