Redwood Rider Masters Laguna-Seca

The Giants thundered across the tricky terrain at Laguna-Seca recently, led by Josie Nordrum, who outraced Branson's Kate Courtney to the checkered flag.

Redwood High School rode away with the victory in the third of the five scheduled races this season in the NorCal High School Cycling League. Redwood (3,866 points) beat runner-up Salinas by 81 points and Drake by 98 points.

San Rafael (3,635) finished fourth, followed by sixth-place Branson (3,497), seventh-lace Tamalpais (3,392) and ninth-place Marin Catholic (3,094) in the Division 1 race.

Nordrum (1 minute, 24.15 seconds) won the varsity girls race by nearly 2 minutes ahead of second-place Courtney.

On the varsity boys side, Marin Catholic's Taylor Smith (1:33.04) lost a wheel-to-wheel battle for first place by just seven seconds. Redwood's Ben Suliteanu (1:46.41) finished 19th, followed closely by teammate Devin Eastman (1:47.54) and the Wildcats' Austin Gooder (1:52.08).

Redwood (11,533 points) is up front in the standings, battling with second-place Drake (11,458) as the teams prepare for Sunday's race in Boggs, the final tuneup before the NorCal Championships. Marin Catholic (9,436) is riding in 10th place.

The NorCal Championships will be held May 6 at Stafford Lake Park in Novato.