Washington native Alijah Beatty crosses the finish line during the Tour of St. Louis road race on March 20. Photo courtesy of Mark Beatty.

A Washington native and student at the Iowa Mennonite School spent her 4th of July weekend on a bicycle in Louisville, Kentucky. Alijah Beatty, a soon-to-be-senior at the Iowa Mennonite School, competed in the USA Cycling Amateur Road Nationals June 30-July 3. She competed in three different races, including a time trial, road race, and criterum race during her trip to Kentucky.

Beatty’s best finish came during the road race on July 1, taking second place with a time of 2:37.2. Wisconsin native Skylar Schneider took first place in the road race event, clocking a time of 2:35.36.

Beatty took ninth place in the criterium event, clocking a time of 30:27. She came into the race as the defending National Champion in the Woman’s 15-16 Criterium. Schneider also crossed the finish line first in this year’s criterium event, concluding the race in 28:56. Beatty didn’t record a finishing time in this year’s time trials.

Beatty is a member of the Northstar Development Cycling Team in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Hear an interview with Beatty about her 2016 road race season on this week’s PM Sports Page, debuting tonight at 6 p.m. on KCII.