About Us

The Wasatch Mountain Bike Team is open to all girls and boys entering grades 7-12. The team is comprised of all skill levels from experienced racers to committed beginners. The 7th and 8th graders (Devo) practice twice weekly (Tues/Thurs evenings) and the 9-12th graders (High School) practice three times/week (Mon/Tues/Thurs evenings) from mid-June through October in preparation for races that begin in August and run through October.

Registration generally opens each year in March. We typically have over 200 middle school and high school riders on the Wasatch Mountain Bike Team.

“More kids on bikes” means more kids getting outside, making friends, exercising often, learning a lifelong sport, and learning to do hard things. Developing confidence, strength, and character.

We are more than a team – we are family. We work hard together, we cheer for each other, and we have FUN together.

Our goal is finishing the race! Coaches support and encourage kids along the race course including at the finish. We celebrate each rider for being greater than they imagined. Everybody rides, everybody races and everybody grows.

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Affiliations

The Wasatch Mountain Bike Team holds a club affiliation with Wasatch High School and is part of the Utah High School Cycling League, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that is an affiliate league of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA).

The Utah League’s mission is to “establish a fun, enduring, and relevant interscholastic mountain biking program to improve Utah’s communities and the lives of Utah’s teens” supporting NICA’s mission to “build strong minds, bodies, character, and communities through cycling”. The Utah League’s five core principles of fun, inclusivity, equity, respect, and community are imbued in and complement our own Wasatch Mountain Bike Team Mission, Vision, Guiding Principles, and RAD status.

Guiding Principles

"B >" Be greater than you were yesterday. Be greater than your last ride. Be greater than your last bad moment. Strive to exceed even your own expectations and you'll reach new heights.

Respect Have respect or each other, for those who came before, for those who will come after, for those we meet on the trail, for our surroundings, for respect for ourselves.

I Can Do Hard Things Embracing challenges is essential for growth. It's through facing and overcoming difficulties that we develop resilience and discover our true potential.

Work Hard/Play Hard We strive for peak performance on the trails, yet still embrace every moment of fun and adventure along the way, allowing us to live life to its fullest.

Celebrate Others Celebrating everyone's success and growth, big or small, is central to what we do. Continually cheering for one another makes our team stronger.

Be Intentional Every practice has a purpose. We ride with intention, we race with intention. We know our goals and we work hard to meet them.

LEADERSHIP

HIGH SCHOOL Team - Director & Coaches

Melanie Lake

TEAM DIRECTOR / STRENGTH COACH

Melanie has seen first hand, how being a part of a mountain bike team has challenged and changed the lives of her kids for the better. Melanie wants this for ALL youth, and this is why she spends her time researching, organizing, educating, and supporting the mountain bike team. In addition to her Team Director duties, Melanie has recently added another role as Strength Coach for the team. Nothing makes her happier than watching the athletes get stronger on their feet, on their bikes, and in every day life. When she’s not writing emails or making people do squats, Melanie loves to travel, read, and be outside with her family!
Scott Preston

HEAD COACH

Scott grew up racing mountain bikes, he says that a large part of his focus and work ethic comes from the lessons he learned about racing bikes as a teen.
He is pumped to be a part of the team! He sees the head coaching position not as an assignment, or a job, but as a calling.
Scott believes that some of the most essential things in life are relationships and he is looking forward to new friendships and adventures with the team.
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Tara McGown

ASSISTANT COACH

Tara joined the bike team in 2019 as a rider parent, but quickly saw the joy and accomplishment it brought both her daughters. In 2020, Tara joined the team as a ride leader and fell in love—with the kids, the other leaders and the NICA program. Tara works hard to keep up with the team and tries to make sure they don’t get too lost (it’s an adventure), but what keeps her coming back every year is the opportunity to see student athletes improve, do hard things and cheering each of them on around every corner and every climb.
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John Grotegut

ASSISTANT COACH

John started with the Mountain Bike team first as a parent of a rider, and then as a Ride Leader. He won’t claim to be fast or fit but will always have fun. He has a passion for the outdoors led by 40+ years of skiing followed closely by anything else that gets him outside. He loves to camp and discover new places with his kids in his 1994 Land Cruiser. He has had 5 riders on both the High School and past Devo teams and is so excited to continue to work with the team to see our riders have fun and grow.
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Jarrett Welch

ASSISTANT COACH

Mountain Biking has been a big part of Jarrett’s life since he was a kid riding local trails. His love for the outdoors and exploring new areas on a mountain bike grew over the years. He joined the mountain bike team with his 3 kids as a ride leader in 2021, and he has been inspired by the kids, leaders, and program ever since. Being a part of the mountain bike team helps him stay active, helps him develop personally, and gives him a front row seat to watching amazing kids do hard things and improve.
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DEVO Team - Director & Coaches

Kenzie Bennion

DEVO TEAM DIRECTOR

Kenzie joined the team in 2023 as a base coordinator. She loved to see the riders achieve small victories at practice and is looking forward to what seeing what the kids will achieve this year. Kenzie is the chaos organizer at home with 4 (5, if you count Aaron) kids. Being outdoors brings balance to her life and she tries to get as much time there as possible.
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Aaron Bennion

DEVO PRACTICE COACH

Aaron has been mountain biking and trail running for years as a recreationalist. His place to clear the mind and find peace is getting lost somewhere on a trail. He loves the life lessons learned through endurance sports and is excited to share his passion for developing strong minds and bodies and a lifelong love of cycling. Any day out on a bike is a good day!
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Kelsey Morgan

DEVO RACE COACH

I moved to Heber in 2022 from Ohio with my husband, Josh, and 3 kids. We lived outside of Utah for over 12 years and when we moved back we decided to learn how to Mountain bike. Our family fell in love with the sport and we loved being a part of the Wasatch Mountain bike team community this last year. My favorite part of the mountain bike team was watching how much growth and confidence each rider gained. I love going on adventures with my family, reading, and cooking.
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