Over 400 riders showed up to the Northeast Youth Regional in Budd’s Creek, Maryland this weekend as it was the last chance for the youth riders to secure a spot on the gate at the prestigious Loretta Lynn National this summer. Rain plagued the region two days before the race and chances of pulling off a perfect race weekend looked bleak as time quickly began to run out. However, as luck would have it, Saturday morning the sun was shining and the competition started to heat up. The Northeast’s fastest youth prospects showed up to give us a little preview of what’s to come at Loretta Lynn’s this summer.

In Schoolboy 2 it was Southern boy Ryan Zimmer (left)pulling nearly every holeshot and setting the pace in front of the rest of the field. Local boy Tony Archer would have given Ryan a run for his money, but ill timed starts beleaguered him all weekend. Tony was forced to work through the pack and by the time he fought his way into second Ryan was long gone. Zimmer would go on to go 1-1-1 for the overall while Archer went 1-2-2 for second overall and Pennsylvania’s William Bleich went 3-5-6 for third overall. We’re unsure as to how these three will fair once the gate drops at Loretta’s, but they have officially claimed themselves as the top dogs in the Northeast.

While one rider all but dominated the Schoolboy 2 class, Schoolboy 1 didn’t have one dominate rider the entire weekend. In the first division it was Anderson, South Carolina’s Kyle Bitterman taking the win while Lucas Lowe took the win in the second division. However, when the second moto came around Kyle Peter’s (right) had acclimated to the Budd’s Creek track and from the second the gate dropped he showed the speed and style we knew him to have. Kyle went on to take the win in the last two moto’s and the overall with a 2-1-1. Bitterman stayed consistent with a 1-7-3 giving him second overall.

All the way from Macon, Georgia came Joseph Dukes (left) to secure his spot on the gate at the National this summer. Joseph did exactly what he came to do as he rode three solid races this weekend going 1-3-1 for the overall in the Supermini 2 (14-16) class. He was followed by Delaware’s Nick Ferrell and Pennsylvania’s Alexander Odell in second and third, respectively. The number 29 machine of Dukes also took the overall in the Supermini 1 (12-15) class. Keep your lids peeled for this kid at Loretta’s, he may be a sleeper.

The 85 (9-11) Stock class saw a dominating ride by Port Jervis, New York’s Jared Jennings. You could say Jared had a flawless weekend as he took the win in all three moto’s. Tanner Earhart took second overall with a 2-2-6 and Coty Schock took the final podium spot.

The famous Donny Brown had some trouble in the stock class at Budd’s Creek, but found his groove in the 85 (9-11) Mod class. He took second in his division in the first moto to Alexander Frye, but with Frye and Stephen Gretchen being disqualified for racing on a medic flag, Donny took two easy wins in the second and third moto’s. Makiyah Gorman took second overall and Tanner Earhart was able to stay consistent and grab third overall.

The 85 (12-13) Stock class had four different moto winners. Jared Lesher, Zack Ross, Ryan Clites, and Jeff Burgess all had their share of fame this weekend with each taking a moto win. However, it was Jared Lesher who was able to stay consistent enough to take the overall with an 8-6-1. Ross had a bad second moto leaving him to take second overall with a 1-11-4 and Clites was able to qualify inside the top five. The heartbreak in this one, however, belonged to Burgess, who despite winning a moto, experienced an unfortunate third moto, finishing 23rd and out of qualifying position.

With national champions Alexander Frye and Stephen Gretchen out for the weekend New York’s James Coen (above) took advantage of the situation and went 1-1-1 in the 85 (12-13) Stock class. The only other moto winner, Alex Patapis, went 1-4-3 for second overall.

Jake Pinhancos (left) was a name I’d never heard before, but after witnessing the boy from Rochester, Massachusetts’s roll this weekend I have a feeling I’ll be hearing it a lot more. He was jumping jumps that some 85 rider’s weren’t jumping and showed that he’s not scared to take it to the next level. He wouldn’t always get the holeshot, but he would work his way through the pack very quickly and he always put himself on top. He won six out of the six moto’s and took the overall in both the 65 (10-11) stock and mod classes. The only other moto winner in those classes was South Carolina’s Max Markolf. Max took the first division win in the stock class and went on to finish third overall with a 1-4-4 finish. In the mod class Max stepped it up a notch by going 1-6-3, giving him second overall for the weekend. Look for these two to have some good battles along with the other 38 riders on the gate at the ranch.

In the younger group of 65 (7-9) Stock class the 127 of William Agnew rode smart and earned himself the overall for the weekend by going 1-2-2. Colton Egenmann made the trip up from Florida and followed closely behind Agnew. In the final moto of the day he was even able to snatch the win giving him a 4-3-1 on the weekend and second overall. Shane Desell trailed in the overall third spot.

The Women’s class was almost a full gate and with local girl Amanda Brown having the track dialed she easily took the first two moto wins. However, in the third moto Kelsey Morris put in a hard charge for the win. Brown was able to take home the overall with Kelsey Morris and Tiana Alfano taking second and third, respectively.

Kacey Curtis (right) is a very well known name around the Maryland/Budd’s Creek area. This girl can rip on a dirt bike and she’s not afraid to get out there and battle it out with the boys. She’s at almost every local race at Budd’s tearing it up in the 85 classes with the boys. Today she proved her second overall last year in the Girl’s class at Loretta’s was no fluke and she’s back this year looking to take the title. She rode three flawless moto’s going 1-1-1 in the girl’s class. I seriously believe this girl has a championship waiting at Loretta’s for her and I can’t wait to see when she steps it up over the next few years and try’s to run with the boys.

In the 50cc (4-6) AMA 1 Stock class it was the small Marlidian Gauge Keith (left) taking home all the glory. In the first two moto’s Gauge checked out from the rest of the field very early and took the win. In the third moto he had a little bobble and ended up finishing third, but he was still able to pull off the overall. Gavin Evitts and Griffin Hoover followed in second and third, respectively.

The 51cc (4-6) Stock Shaft Drive overall went too little Garrett Hoffman from Westminster, Maryland. Garrett took the first moto win, but consistency grabbed him the overall when he took fourth in the second moto and second in the third moto. My guess is Mason Bowman would have taken the overall if it wasn’t for a bad first moto where he finished eleventh. He rebounded in the last two moto’s by walking away with both moto wins, putting him second overall. South Carolina’s Cullen Meyers took third overall.

That’s a wrap on the Northeast Youth Qualifier from Budd’s Creek. The table has been set and the Northeast looks to be driving in a ton of talent to Loretta’s this year. Will these fast east coasters be able to deal with the pressure put on by the influx of west coast speedsters? Only time will tell, but we can’t wait until the first week in August to find out.