Photo courtesy of Mark Beatty.

This weekend’s frigid conditions in southeast Iowa didn’t stop Iowa Mennonite School sophomore Alijah Beatty from having a good weekend of races at the Johnson County Fairgrounds in Iowa City. Beatty, the fifth best under 18 cyclocross racer in the nation, competed in the UCI Carousel Volkswagen Jingle Cross Rock, one of the largest cyclocross races in the nation.

During the first Women’s Cat 3 race Friday evening, Beatty finished third out of 41 competitors with a time of 46:14, a mere minute and six seconds behind the first place finisher Katie Clouse. Beatty says she finished in third place again during Saturday’s race. On Sunday, a wreck in the course’s second lap kept Beatty from getting to the podium for a third straight day as she finished the event’s finale in ninth place.

Beatty said it meant a lot to have a good performance so close to home. “There was a lot more people cheering for me and it just makes me feel really good,” Beatty said.

Beatty says having the crowd behind her wasn’t the only home field advantage she experienced over the weekend. “Most people just stayed at the course and then head to their hotel when they get done.” Beatty said, ” I got to come home to a home-cooked meal, got to take a warm shower, and sleep in my water bed.”

Beatty will next race at the National Cyclocross Championship in Austin, Texas in January, 2015.