By Rebecca Wyma, Staff Writer
Whose got the grades and the extreme sports? This month’s sophomore feature Joe Iannarelli, nicknamed, “ guy with the purple and yellow shoes.” There is just enough time during the day for him to study for school and fit in time for BMX bike riding every afternoon. With an overall grade point average of about 3.85 and many hard earned points from racing, this student is surely going to go far. His hopes for next year? To race for the National BMX Racing Team.
Joe, whose dad owns Precision Bikes in Vacaville, first got involved with BMX bikes when he was fourteen. “ I just picked up a bike and was like cool.” After that, he decided that he wanted to race. He joined a racing team, which has seven members. His coach, Laura Charmada, is a three-time national champion, or in other words, a pro. On average, he trains 15-20 hours a week, and races just about every weekend. He trains on the tracks around Lake Berryessa, and he races around the bay area. In the time since he started racing, he has raced in the western U.S, in states like Wisconsin, Utah, and Nevada, and he has also qualified for the nationals, but became sick before the race, so he didn’t compete.
Since his dad owns a bike shop, Joe owns a total of four bikes, a K-2, Fuji, KHS, and another K-2, some of which he trains with, and others that he specifically uses for racing. He uses one of his K-2 bikes for the majority of his races. His team, Swift, races all around from January until September. For each race that he wins, he accumulates points, as well as trophies and medals. The points that he earns add up, and determine if he qualifies to race in the Nationals. In order to get enough points, he has to race at all the major races during the season.
As for school, Joe has studied hard and earned himself good grades and a good grade point average. Before he got too busy with racing, he used to play soccer, along with a couple of other sports. He is in mostly accelerated classes and he is taking Spanish for one of his elective. His favorite subject is history and his favorite teacher is Mr. Spezzi.
Any other hobbies or interests? No not really. When he’s not racing, he likes to spend his free time playing videogames, such as Halo and Project Gotham, and eating sushi. His goals for next year include qualifying for the national racing team and going pro. He wants BMX racing to be his career. If he doesn’t go pro, he plans on going off to college. In the far future, he hopes to go to Europe to compete in some very competitive races, like the tedious, muscle burning Tour de France. He hopes to win the Tour de France, just like Lance Armstrong.
Joe, whose dad owns Precision Bikes in Vacaville, first got involved with BMX bikes when he was fourteen. “ I just picked up a bike and was like cool.” After that, he decided that he wanted to race. He joined a racing team, which has seven members. His coach, Laura Charmada, is a three-time national champion, or in other words, a pro. On average, he trains 15-20 hours a week, and races just about every weekend. He trains on the tracks around Lake Berryessa, and he races around the bay area. In the time since he started racing, he has raced in the western U.S, in states like Wisconsin, Utah, and Nevada, and he has also qualified for the nationals, but became sick before the race, so he didn’t compete.
Since his dad owns a bike shop, Joe owns a total of four bikes, a K-2, Fuji, KHS, and another K-2, some of which he trains with, and others that he specifically uses for racing. He uses one of his K-2 bikes for the majority of his races. His team, Swift, races all around from January until September. For each race that he wins, he accumulates points, as well as trophies and medals. The points that he earns add up, and determine if he qualifies to race in the Nationals. In order to get enough points, he has to race at all the major races during the season.
As for school, Joe has studied hard and earned himself good grades and a good grade point average. Before he got too busy with racing, he used to play soccer, along with a couple of other sports. He is in mostly accelerated classes and he is taking Spanish for one of his elective. His favorite subject is history and his favorite teacher is Mr. Spezzi.
Any other hobbies or interests? No not really. When he’s not racing, he likes to spend his free time playing videogames, such as Halo and Project Gotham, and eating sushi. His goals for next year include qualifying for the national racing team and going pro. He wants BMX racing to be his career. If he doesn’t go pro, he plans on going off to college. In the far future, he hopes to go to Europe to compete in some very competitive races, like the tedious, muscle burning Tour de France. He hopes to win the Tour de France, just like Lance Armstrong.