7 Springs Lodge Kids Race Reports and Photos by Pierre Montane:

SURVIVOR – Tuscumbia Alabama Wolf Slide

The adult race for the SERA hare scramble in Tuscumbia on September 13 was a true test of survival for both the rider and the bike. Several top contenders found themselves out of the competition for one reason or another. Dustin Gibson and Cliff Ousley lapped the entire field all the way up to 15th overall.Gibson and Ousley were on the heels of Kevin DeLoach as he finished his 4th of 5 laps. DeLoach finished 14th overall. The terrain for this event was full of rocks and hills. Gotta love it. And the rocky hills were slick. Ousley claimed the holeshot and he and Gibson were within eyesight of each other the majority of the day. The official results have not been posted yet but some others finishing well were Tristan Redferrin, Steve Nicholas, Tyler Carter, Mark Lewis, Damon Hallmark, P. A. Allen and Burton Huff and Gary Little. Ted Anz in Vet B got a great start and won the race. Jacob Davis got a terrible start in the highly talented Junior Class and pushed his way thru the pack to claim his first win of the season. Steve Nicholas and Beau Burnett finished 2nd and 3rd. Huff was 4th out of the gate in Senior but cruised his way to the win and a very high overall. He was one of the 14 that made 5 laps. David “Stick” Melton grabbed the hole shot in the Open B class and went on to win and finish 16th overall. Frank Davis, Kyle Henderson, Nathan Knight, Dustin Stevens, Johnny Manning and many more were unable to finish. This was however the most interesting campground of the season thus far. Corn silos were made into sleeping quarters that were fully accommodating with television and living room area. There was an old fashioned “swingin door” saloon built under a boulder down under a hill where you could get some delicious burgers and such. There were also air conditioned “clean” bathrooms. A bonus at any type of event. Very unique. The weather held off with cloud cover for the duration of the day and very few sprinkles. Brannon Marlborough had an accident that required surgery that afternoon in a Muscle Shoals hospital. From what I have heard from friends he is home now and doing okay. Both of the bigger bones in his lower leg were broken. Say a prayer for a speedy recovery.

Melton Brothers Claim Victories at Wolf Slide HS

The Kids Race at SERA's Wolf Slide Hare Scramble in Tuscumbia, Alabama on September 13 was exciting and there were some kids on the gas to run this event.  The Pee Wees and BPW's raced on a 1/2 mile grass track for 30 minutes with the older group leading off the day.  Conner Melton claimed the holeshot and never relinquished the lead but was challenged for most of the race.  Kayne Hinton, Bryce Weaver and Nathan McCoy rounded out the class.  The BPW class also had  4 contenders to tackle the 1/2 mile course and the younger Melton, Carter had little trouble claiming the top prize.  Grayson Davis followed closely in 2nd with Zane Williams and Grayson Knight completing the class.  The Vets, Ints., and Girls rode a 3 mile course for 40 minutes with the leaders making 6 laps.  Their course consisted of very little grass track and a lot of woods with rocks and HILLS.  One hill in particular caused quite a problem for some of the youngsters.  At the end of the first lap something had gone wrong in the woods because all three of the Int kids came thru the scoring tent before any of the Vet kids made it to that point.  It was not a problem because all of the kids in the class did the same thing so there was no protesting involved.  By the end of the day Tanner McCoy won the Vet Class and Jackson Davis won the Int class.  #2 - #11 in the Vet class were Neal Ousley, Trent Whisenant, Conlee McAlvain, Ran Crump, Spencer Johnson, Noah Allen, Alex Dunn, George Bell, Tanner Bozeman and Andrew Williford.  Following Davis in Ints were Evan Chisolm and Dayton Nicholas. First place in the Girls class went to Carly Vogel followed by Abby Leonard and Kallie Donovan.  Due to time shortage between kids and adult racing, the kids had to wait until after the adult race to get their awards.  These kids all did a great job and they are the future of dirt bike racing.  Way to go guys and gals.