This fall marked the beginning of a first for GFS—and Maryland—as Garrison Forest added a mountain biking team to its list of Upper School fall sports. GFS joined the Maryland Interscholastic Cycling league, which is in its first year in the state, as the only girls’ school in Maryland to participate. The Maryland Interscholastic Cycling League was organized in 2017 to provide a fun, safe and high-quality mountain biking program for students in grades 6 to 12.
The idea was sparked when athletic director Traci Davis, parent Gretchen Townsend (Sydney ‘21) and Upper School science teacher Sue McQuiston, all long-time bikers, attended a presentation about the league at a local bike shop. They thought it would be great to bring the team to GFS and collaborated with parent and faculty volunteers to help coordinate. “We thought it would be a great opportunity to provide another fun and challenging sport to the community,” said Ms. Davis.
Throughout the season, the team had 10 regular participants in grades 9-12. As many of the girls also play other fall sports, the students practiced in the summer and on weekends to get ready for the season. Weekend races took place all over Maryland, and the bikers traveled to locations like Elkton and Germantown to compete with the 15 teams and just under 200 riders in the league.
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