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AMA/WML Outdoor National Championship Series Round 4: Washougal MX Park !lJau, S T O RY A ND P HO T O S By D O U G K A RC H E R WASHOQGAL, WA, JQLY 29 ( ? he Ladies of Motocross c a me J to th is scenic and challeng ing tra ck ne a r the Col um bia River as p art of t he Ou td o o r Na t ion a l MX round . Two m otos we re run for th e Pro Women a nd two for th e Ama teu rs . Jessica Patte rso n, a domin ant force in th e se ries t h is ye a r, h a s stead ily inc reased he r poi nts le ad over s e c o nd -p la c e d Angie Ke untjes . Defend ing c ham pio n Ste fy Ba u ha s not be en a ble to m ount a seri o u s th re at t o ei t he r ride r, du e in part to a n e a rlier injury; her re cove ry ha s no doubt been s lowe d by her unwillingness to b ac k off the m a in jet lo n g enough to let h e r body h e al. Keun tjes , 1999 WML IAbove) J ack i Hudson (7), 1999's Rookie of the Year, snared the holeshot i n both motos and f inished third overall. (Left) Jessica Patterson (2 5 0) chases Stefy Bau (1) at t h e f o u rth rou nd of the AMAlWML Outdoor Nati onal Championship Series in Washougal , Washington. Rookie of th e Year Jacki Hud son , a nd She ena Patterson ha ve a lso wo rke d hard th roughout the first four ro unds of the seri es to keep the pressure on the to p three . Co m ing to Washougal , Patterson held a 24 -point lead o ver Keuntjes , with Bau a nother 33 poin ts ba ck. When the ga tes d ropped for the first moto, th e Plano Honda -mounted Hudson absconded with the holes hot. Close beh ind her were Keuntj es , Patterson , Ba u and Emily Norton . By the t ime th ey had re ac he d th e fam ou s downh ill "s k i jump ," Patterson had ove rta ke n both Hudson a nd Keuntjes fo r th e le a d . Bau follow ed he r to the front , a nd th e y beg an a ba ttl e th at 42 A UGUST 30, 2000 ' cue • e woul d la st until the fina l lap . As th e y e xit ed th e wo ods throu gh t h e h ard rig ht - h a n de r and entere d t h e fin a l s e ctio n of wh oops , Patters on wa s in second but stuck like glu e to Bau's rear whe el. Patterson we n t o ff th e c our se , b ecam e e n t a n g le d in th e ba les on the inside of th e corner , a nd k illed her engine. The c row d he ld its br eath as sh e tri ed rep eat ed ly t o rest art her bi ke . Foll owin g s e ve ra l un suc c e s s ful attempts a nd kn owing th at ot he r riders were c los e behin d , s he began pu shin g her bike to wa rd the finish line , 10 0 yards away . Firs t Keu ntje s a nd No rto n , the n Aubria na Dunn a nd Hud son , a nd fina lly Sh e en a Patte rs on a nd Bonn ie Wa rc h passed n e vv s he r in t ha t fin al s tre tc h of whoo ps , lo o k ing o ver th ei r s h o u ld e r in b oth di sb e lief a n d a d m ira t io n a s th e y pa ss ed the series leade r, s till pu sh ing her bik e up th e e dge of the c ourse . "I passed her like sh e was pu shing her bik e ," Warch wou ld later jok e . The 16 -year-o ld Patterson struggled , trying on ce, then tw ice, and finall y, on the third at tempt, she s uc cee ded in pushing her b ike up the steep face of the finish -line jump. In th e proc ess , Patte rson had lost s even pla c e s t o fin ish ei gh th , but the co ura ge a nd persevera nce s he ex hibited ea rned her a place in the hearts of a ll wh o witnes s ed th is event, and will be rem em ber ed long after th e tro ph ies wer e ha nd ed out. T he s e c o nd moto wa s al most a s exciting as th e first. Huds on took th e hol eshot. Ba u a nd Pa tterson went at it handle ba r to ha nd leba r a ga in , swa p p ing th e lea d right t o th e e nd . Thi s tim e , Pa tt erson c rosse d th e line ju st a h ea d of Bau . Ho wev er , th e T e am Gre en rider's e ighth- place first-moto finish releg ated her to fifth overall for th e round - not en ough to lo se her po ints le a d , but a frustrating weeke nd nonetheless . Te a m Green 's S tefy Bau, a lwa ys a spirit ed promoter of Wom en's MX racing , was c ha ra cterist ic a lly upbe at. "It wa s good , because it wa s press ure a ll th e time: me in fro nt , her in front ," Bau sa id . J e s si c a wa s re a lly hard , yo u kno w, in th e se cond m ot o , a nd I ha d to look a t th e ove ra ll a nd save some e ne rgy bec au se I ha ve to do the [12 5cc Nat ional] q ua lifier this a fte rnoon." Team Green /Th or/Bell He lm ets / FMF/ Pro -Actio n-s pons ore d Keuntjes , who h ail s from Gre en Ba y , Wis consin , managed to put to gethe r secondand fou rth -p lac e finishes for seco nd o ve ra ll and ke ep Patt ers on in h er sights for the title . Plan o Ho n d a / MS R/ Pro -C irc u it backed Hudson , in he r s econd year after winning Rookie of the Yea r hon ors in 1999, had a good race , finish ing th ird ove ra ll, and sh e gained one p lac e in th e p oints stand ing s after m anag ing to nail both ho le sh ots. Her fifth- and third -pla c e finishes s ecure d third overa ll a nd m oved he r up from fifth to fou rth p la c e in the points race. In th e Am at eu r d ivision , which fe a tu re d 3 9 e n tr ies , first -pla ce h o no rs we nt to Ashley Boham . Tarrah Johnson wa s ru nne r-up, and 13 -ye ar -old Sh iri Ho well beat a ll t he rest to the eN line for th e third podiu m spot . Washougal MX Pa rle Washougal, Washington Results: July 29, 2000 [Roun d 4] MOTO 1: 1. Stefy Beu (Kew ): 2. Angie Keuntjes (Kaw); 3 . Emil y Nort on (Yam) ; 4 . Aubriana Dunn (Ya m); 5 . Jacki Hudson (Hon) ; 6 . S hee na Patterson (Suz); 7. Bonn ie Warch (Suz) ; 8. Jess ica Patterson (K aw ) ; 9 . Ca rol e W il li am s . (Y am): 10 . J en n if er Caputo (Suz). MOTO 2 : 1. J essica Patt erson (Kaw); 2 . Stefy Bau ( Ka w) ; 3. Jacki Hu d so n ( Ho n) ; 4 . A ng ie Keuntjes (Kaw); 5. Em ily Nort on (Yam); 6 . Aubriana Dunn (Yam) ; 7. Sheena Patt erson (S UI): 8. Bonnie Warch (5 uz) ; 9. Candace English (Yam ); 10. Carole Williams (Yam) . O /A : l . Ste fy Bau ( Ka w) ; 2. A ng ie Keu ntjes (Ktlw); 3 . J acki Hud son ( Ho n ); 4 . Emi ly No rton (Yam); 5. Jessica Patterson (Kaw); 6. Au briana Dunn (Yam); 7. Sheena Patterson (Suz) ; 8. Bonnie Warch (SUI); 9 . Carole Will iams (Yam) ; 10. J enn ifer Caputo (Suz); ] 1. Candace Engli sh (Yam) ; 12. Kristi Myers (Kaw) ; 13. Heidi Henry (Yam); 14 . Rochelle Neimann (Yam); 15. Mary A nn Message (Hon) . Al'IA/WM L OUTDOOR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SER IES PO IN TS STANDINGS ( Af t er 4 of 5 ro u nds ): 1. Je ssica Patters o n ( 183) ; 2 . Angie Keuntjes (161) ; 3. Stefy Bau ( 135) ; 4 . J ack i Hudson ( 113); 5. Sheena Patterson (112).