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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1524627
Morse Wins AMA East Hare Scrambles In New York G reek Peak Mountain in Elmira, New York, was the setting for round five of the AMA East Hare Scrambles Championship and round six of the NYOA Champion - ship on July 28. Ditch Banger Pro- motions hosted the race that was held on the foothills of the Greek Peak Ski Resort. New York's own Dominick Morse ended up taking the overall victory. When the green flag dropped, it was Bailey Flynn (Kawasaki) taking the early lead followed by Toby Cleveland (Husqvarna) and Morse (Husqvarna). The 13-mile course was a dose of uphills, grass track, loose rock and slip - pery roots. Toward the end of lap one, Cleveland had taken the lead, and Morse gave chase. Almost a minute back was Ian Potter (Beta) followed by Kenito Held (Suzuki) an additional 40 seconds back. Of the 13 AA riders, only the top five were doing sub-25-minute lap times. The current AMA East and NYOA points leader fell victim to a last-place start due to a plastic frame guard lodged in his kick - starter, so he had his work cut out for him as he had to make his way to the front as quickly as possible. Toward the end of lap two, Cleveland had a mechanical and was forced to pull off the track. This put Morse in first, Potter in second, and Held in third. With Morse almost a minute ahead, the real battle was between Pot - ter and Held, who were now only four seconds apart. Morse put it on cruise control, knowing that Cleveland was out, but he was not aware that Potter and Held, in their private battle, were catching him. At the end of lap three, Potter and Held both pitted and headed back out for lap four, where Held made the pass on Potter. On the white-flag lap, Held came through in second with Potter in chase, and they were closing the gap on Morse. Near the end of the final lap, Potter pressured Held into making a mistake that led Held to tangle with a lapper. Potter moved into second place. In the end, it was Morse, Pot - ter and Held going 1-2-3. In the Women's class, Cara Lan- genbach (KTM) and Cheyenne Si- senstein (KTM) pulled away from the rest of the class and engaged in a four-lap battle, with Langen- bach leading three of the four laps but by only a few seconds. On the penultimate lap, Langenbach lost her shifter, allowing Sisenstein to make the pass and check out. In the end, it was Sisenstein, Langen - bach and Holly Murphy (KTM) at the finish line. The top B rider, Ryan Carlson (KTM), came from the B250 row. Top C rider C200 rider was Matthew Montgomery (KTM). In the Youth main, it was an incredible battle between AMA East competitor Dominic Griffith (KTM) and NYOA regular Jack Whalen (KTM), who would go back and forth for the lead position many times during the five-lap race. On the last lap, it was Griffith in first with Whalen in the chase until a collision with a lapper put Griffith down, but the battle didn't end there as Griffith pushed his way back and caught Whalen where they would go bar to bar into the last turn. In the end, it was Whalen in first overall, Griffith in second and Gunnar Bouwens (Kawasaki) third overall. Kenny Held OVERALL (Top 10) 1. Dominick Morse (Hus) 2. Ian Potter (Bet) 3. Kenito Held (Suz) 4. Logan Krause (KTM) 5. Timothy Steiner (KTM) 6. Kyle Grenewicz (Kaw) 7. Bailey Flynn (Kaw) 8. Zack Smith (Kaw) 9. Brandon Rymarzow (GG) 10. Patrick Busutti (Hon) WIND IN THE P44 Winner Dominick Morse, Ian Potter and Kenneth Held made up the Ditch Banger AMA East Hare Scrambles podium in New York. PHOTO: KENNY HELD