After a dismal display of athleticism and competitiveness on Saturday by our two nationally ranked college football teams in the state, Sunday morning at Tree Farm Motorsports in Billingsley was the beginning of an exciting day of full-fledged racing by some of our own local athletes.

There was much discussion about the day of football before the race began, but once the engines fired, football was an afterthought.

The kid’s race would kick things off with Austin Anz winning first in the Beginner Pee Wee class. Anz has clinched first place for the season as well. Anz made four laps on the 1.4-mile course while lapping his competition. The Pee Wee class had Connor Barrett finishing fifth and Ethan Gregg sixth with this class racing four laps on the same 1.4-mile course.

The Intermediate Kids and Vet Kids had a 3-mile course, and both classes raced for four laps as well. Jackson Davis finished second in Int. Kids. The Vet Kids class would have Neal Ousley out front early with Jacob Davis making a daring pass by going between two riders and then passing Ousley when he had a little bobble in the grass track portion of the first lap. Three Maplesville students claimed the entire podium with Jacob Davis finishing first, Neal Ousley second and Jared White third. Landon Barrett had mechanical problems but still placed sixth.

All of the kids’ trophies were awarded promptly thanks in large part to the efficiency of the scorers and flagmen for this event: semi-retired competitors Landon Carter and Chad Earl.

Prior to the start of the adult race at 11 a.m., there was a riders’ meeting where Southern Enduro Riders Association President Danny Stevens presented two special awards to two SERA members. Hunter Sanders of Clanton and Kevin DeLoach of Plantersville were each awarded $1,500 Scholarships to help pay for their college education.

Sanders is 2008 graduate of Chilton County High School and is currently attending Jeff State in Clanton with intentions of becoming a registered nurse.

DeLoach is a 2005 graduate of Maplesville and is currently a junior at the University of Alabama planning to become a teacher.

When the flag dropped for the beginning of the “big boys” race, there were 108 competitors waiting their turn to take a shot at manning the trails of dust. The course was 11 miles in length and a fast paced one with a lot of open roads and grass track, and dust was a major obstacle to deal with as well.

The classes started at 1-minute intervals with the AA Pro class starting first. Cliff Ousley claimed the holeshot and never lost the lead for the entire 4-lap race. He would go on to win by an impressive 5:44 over second overall Steven Reed of Louisiana. Frank Davis turned in an excellent ride and finished third overall on the day, and Dustin Stevens would claim fourth overall.

Hunter Sanders claimed the holeshot in Open A – his first time to ride in the class – and would turn in a good day and finish third in class and 10th overall. Tyler Carter had a good day going until his bike failed and he was unable to finish.

Chris McMillan aced the Lites A class and finished seventh overall while Beau Burnett would claim fifth in the highly talented Junior class.

Kevin Gray has been absent from the racing scene for quite some time but had a great day and finished third in Open B and 18th overall.

Ted Anz, Jason Copeland and John Huggins finished second, third, and fourth, respectively, in the large Vet B class.

The Lites B class was a smaller class than usual but had a lot of drama. Jonathan Seales grabbed the holeshot and led for a while. Kevin DeLoach claimed the lead and then had bike problems and had to pit for a while to try and make repairs. Seales reclaimed the lead until he pitted for gas, and DeLoach took over. DeLoach led the rest of the way as Seales became sick and was unable to finish.

Ryan Patridge got second, and Seales claimed third. The Lites C class had Frank Reynolds finishing seventh and Wes Patridge 10th.