South Side XC

We are deeply sadden by the tragic loss experience by the Milligan University cycling team and grieve alongside our teammate, Cade and his collegiate teammates, the families and loved ones of Haylan Engdahl and Brayden Rogers, and the entire Milligan community. We are also holding the seven other injured athletes and their families close in our thoughts and prayers, and praying for their healing and recovery.
In moments when words feel inadequate, we stand together in compassion, prayer and support.

We are profoundly shocked and saddened to share that members of our cycling team were in an accident involving a vehicle this morning while cycling in Hampton, TN. Sophomores Haylan Engdahl and Brayden Rogers were killed in this accident. Multiple other Milligan cyclists were also seriously injured and are currently receiving treatment at the Johnson City Medical Center. There are no words to adequately describe this level of loss. Our prayers are with all those impacted by this tragedy. Please keep the Milligan community in your prayers.

Congratulations to Reed on an awesome **2nd-place podium finish on Day 2 of WORS racing!** 🥈🚵‍♂️

Reed put together a strong ride, battled all the way to the finish, and earned a well-deserved spot on the podium. It’s great to see the hard work, determination, and progress paying off.

**Way to go, Reed! Keep it rolling!** 💪🔥

RideSouthside

ICC Challenge XCO State Championship Podiums! Congratulations to all! We hope to see you next year!

🏆 **Podium finish for Reed!** 🏆

Huge congratulations to Reed on another awesome race—and a big thank you to his coach, Elizabeth, for the guidance and support along the way!

ICC Challenge gave Reed his **first upgrade points toward Cat 1**, and coming off that excitement, he’s been hungry for more. Today, he lined up at Wisconsin Off Road Series **Treadfest** and earned even more points with another podium-worthy performance! 💪🚵

This success didn’t happen overnight. Reed stayed dedicated to his training all winter, pushed himself early this spring at unbound and , and now all that hard work is showing with **multiple trips to the podium**.

Keep chasing it, Reed! 🔥

Wishing him the best of luck tomorrow at the **Border Battle**—go get it! 🏁

Thank you to everyone that came out to support the STL Dirt Crits XCC State Championships. The rain wasn't going to stop us from giving you a challenging race to kick off the state championship weekend.

These two started racing together as USA Cycling Cat 1 mountain bike racers in 2023 — two years after Eli Kakouris first started racing with Missouri Interscholastic Cycling League.

Tim Kakouris has been racing as a Cat 1 mountain biker for close to 40 years. As a former Pro BMX racer, Expert Mountain Bike racer, Cyclocross racer, and someone who helped develop two semi-pro road teams, he was thrilled to line up and race alongside his youngest son.

But he quickly realized that not many athletes Eli’s age had someone with that kind of racing background, experience, and knowledge to lean on.

So he started helping Eli’s friends, including Brody Melton and Isaac Magers. That support helped launch South Side XC, which later became South Side XC Devo.

Just two years later, with the help of Deanna Zimmer Kakouris, dedicated coaches, supportive families, and incredible sponsors, South Side XC Devo now has a team of Cat 2, Cat 1, Junior, and U23 off-road cyclists filling podium spots at Missouri State Championship XCO, Marathon, and XCC races.

After an exhausting weekend helping bring Missouri an even bigger State Championship race series — short track, marathon, and XCO — these two came across the finish line supporting one another.

And that moment says everything.

Winning is not always about standing on the podium.

Sometimes winning is using a lifetime of experience to help build the future of the sport you love.

Sometimes it is watching the next generation believe they belong.

Sometimes it is crossing the finish line with your son and knowing that what started as a father-and-son race has become something much bigger.

A huge thank you to all of the ICC Challenge Championship Weekend sponsors, volunteers, families, officials, racers, and community partners who helped make this weekend possible.

Your support helped create a bigger stage for Missouri mountain biking and the next generation of riders.

More kids on bikes.
More opportunities.
More belief.
More future for Missouri mountain biking.