Photo Report from WCAN Presented by Lethbridge Honda 

The Temple Hill battle grounds were as tough as ever at the 10th Annual Western Canadian Amateur National. Chuck Mesley impressed the Albertan fans, but it was still Kyle Beaton who found the fastest line most often. 

Mesley had to drag himself out of bed in the morning. Just kidding. The Mez was well behaved and really wasn’t happy finishing second. “Don’t you always want to win?” he said after his first moto loss to Beaton. 

George De Graaf Jr. (266) has been riding for less than half a decade and is already running the pace of fast pros such as Johnny Montes (36) for the opening laps.  

Lethbridge Suzuki rider Dustin Hayes put in some time on the big bike at Raymond. He finished just off the podium in GP Pro and Youth. He was also kind enough to let me sleep at his house for two nights, thanks Dustin. Keep an eye out for Hayes in Calgary; he is currently sitting 11th in the MX2 West. 

The WCAN even draws former Canadia National champs, such as `79 125 title holder Kim House who finished third overall in Vet Master. His daughter, Ami, goes pretty fast too and finished third overall in the Ladies class. 

At Raymond, it’s not uncommon to see riders pick up a hose and throw some water down, as Beaton demonstrates. 

This kid is really starting to move around the track quickly. Spencer Knowles spends every day riding and listening to advice from Beaton and it shows. No one could match Knowles corner speed—other than John Pauk who beat him four times—as the KTM rider won the 85cc 12-16, Supermini and 125 Junior classes. 

Mesley leads Beaton (20) and Luke Firth (115) in a pro moto. Mesley broke Beaton’s unbeaten streak in Pro and Youth, winning two motos in Youth for the championship. 

Johnny Montes (36) would have taken some abuse from us had he got beaten by 52-year-old Pete De Graaf in Vet Master, but it wasn’t really that funny because De Graaf is really fast. Montes swept the Vet Master class, ending De Graaf's nine-year unbeaten streak. The Lethbridge Honda rider continued his roll with his 10th consecutive Plus 40 championship. Montes holeshot the final Pro moto and finished third behind Mesley and Beaton. The G. Bourque Kawasaki rider put in some laps at a private track yesterday and looked fast and smooth. We’ll see if he can’t get back inside the top 10 at Calgary like he did in Ste-Julie.  

Josh Snider has been traveling the national series, taking over the lead for the Team Faith morning chapel services. Snider and his family made their way over to Raymond, where Snider fought for the top five positions with Dustin Hayes, Luke Firth and George De Graaf. 

Giver wasn’t quite given’er at Raymond, but he sure had fun. I always enjoy riding the Temple Hill track and I have to say thanks to Lethbridge Honda and Pete De Graaf for loaning me a bike.  

Ryan Millar continues to impress, as he ran off with in the first 125 Intermediate moto after Shane Wiebe slid out while running a close second. Millar was on the gas, but a few spills and bad starts put him back in a few motos. He will be traveling to Calgary this weekend, hoping to score some points in MX2. 

Manitoban Josh Pfrimmer ran well in the 85cc 12-16 and Supermini classes. 

Shane Wiebe was the boy who won the boot. Eight out of nine motos in the intermediate classes was more than enough to earn Wiebe the Gaerne Bronze Boot. 

The Ladies gate seemed a bit empty at Raymond this year. Missy Hackett, who finished second to Malerie Prochnavy last year, won all three motos over Ami Houde, Denaye Giroux, Karly Pozdnekoff, Amber Giroux and Shelby Turner, just to name a few. 

A bunch of us participated in the Co-Ed race on Friday night. Chuck Mesley shared a YZ125 with Lacy Stalk and had to make up for his lack of horsepower by holding me back.  

See you in Raymond next year!