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Loretta Lynn Amateur
National Championship Coverage
By Meagan McDermott
for www.mxracing.com
Loretta Lynn celebrates
over 20 years of motocross champions, and over 20 years of people
from all over the country gathering together at one location. A
week long vacation that every motocrosser wishes they could go to.
Only the best 80 riders, the best 125 riders and the best 250 riders
are able to compete and enjoy the “worlds greatest motocross
vacation.” Every rider you see on the national circuit came
from here first, from Ricky Carmichael to Travis Pastrana. But Loretta
Lynn’s is not only the home of male amateur champions, but
females as well.
There have been many
women champions from Mercedes Gonzales to Jessica Patterson. Throughout
the years, women have gone through the same area qualifiers, and
the same regional qualifiers, to claim the same national championship
title just as every other rider to compete and pass through Loretta
Lynn’s. And this year will be no different than all the others.
Last year Ashley Wheat
of Mississippi, dominated the “Little Women” class when
it came to the overall. But during the week she battled it out with
Leah Cantrell of Georgia. Leah Cantrell finished 4th overall in
the 2001 DMSports series, and wanted to take the win at Loretta’s
this year. The question… Will she do it?
This year there was
much more competition for the top riders. Ashley Wheat last years
champion was back to defend her title. She won the first moto, but
took a very hard crash in her second putting her out for the rest
of the week. Leah Cantrell taking advantage of this, steps up to
first place and takes home the championship. #12, Marisa Hampshire
of Hudson, FL, scored second overall with moto wins of 4th, 3rd,
and 2nd. Third place went to #7, Tori Klein of Waterloo, IA with
moto finishes of 3rd, 2nd, and 4th. Tabatha Miller, #6, racing with
an injured shoulder, claimed 4th place with 6th. 4th, and 6th, and
#60, Philo Petricig rounded out the top 5 with 7th, 9th and 3rd.
Jessica Patterson
of Florida has won the last two years at Loretta Lynn’s. Last
year Patterson had perfect moto wins in all three moto’s. Sarah
Whitmore, a new rider to the class and previous 12-15 Champion,
followed not far behind in 2nd place. It was believed that Whitmore
may be Patterson’s competition for this years race.
During the beginning
of the racing season, Jessica Patterson suffered a broken leg. Later
she was able to continue racing, although her leg was still giving
her problems. Regardless of her injury, Patterson was still at Loretta
Lynn’s to defend her national championship title. Stefy Bau,
Sarah Whitmore, and Jessica Patterson battled it out in the first
moto. Bau taking first followed closely by Whitmore in second, and
Patterson in third. Second moto was going much better for Patterson,
where she led most of the race. But in the last few laps, the champ
crashed off a double, double, tabletop section. She was rushed off
the track and later we found out that she re-broke her leg. Bau
jumped into the lead, followed by former champion Shelly Kann, and
Sarah Whitmore in third. In the final moto, since Patterson was
unable to race, the battle was between Stefy Bau, and Sarah Whitmore.
Whitmore passed Bau for 1st place and Bau finished second not far
behind. Stefy Bau #44 of Broomall, PA won the National Championship,
and #2 Sarah Whitmore of Cheboygan, MI took second place again this
year. #67 Shelly Kann of Oronoco, MN finished 3rd overall. Sheena
Patterson #34, of Dublin, CA took 4th overall and #61 Sandy Heilman
of Cygnet, OH rounded off the top 5.
The two champions,
Leah Cantrell and Stefy Bau go home with a big smile and a new national
title. But who will claim it next year? Will Sarah Whitmore take
the championship she came so close to winning two years in a row?
Will another young fast girl come out of nowhere and surprise everyone?
Congratulations to all the girls who worked hard and made it to
Loretta Lynn Amateur National Championship, the race of surprises
and the race of champions. Good Luck, and hope to see you next year!
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