By BOB YORK
It would have been fitting, if, after he received his diploma in May, Rhys Louis rode out of town on his bicycle. After all, like his coach Rich Calhoun said, “he leaves Deerfield Academy as the most accomplished cyclist in the school’s history.”
As it turned out, not even a knee injury, which prevented Louis from defending his season championship as he was sidelined for five meets, could keep him off the podium at the New England Championships.
“Although Rhys was unable to defend his overall title, he still went out and won the biggest race of the season,” said Calhoun of a 12-lap, 25-mile race, “and he won it by breaking away from his only challenger on the final climb of the race and I’m very proud of the way he won.”
Louis, who received the Coaches’ Award for the second straight year, wasn’t the only finisher in the top 20 of the Class A grouping wearing green, however, as Jared Kubas (13) finished 19th, while Hank Anderson (14) was 20th. On the girls side of the ledger, Anna Gonzales (12) wound up 11th in the Class C competition, while Sofia Taylor (13) came in 18th.
