In Sandpoint, Idaho

Eligibility to race at the various levels requires a strong race resum‚ and carefully evaluated approval from cycling's national governing body, USA Cycling.

In his fifth year of competitive cycling, Paxson, 18, competed in his first semi-pro race in Sandpoint on July 25.

Racing in the cross-country discipline, where courses consist of nearly 30 miles of mountainous, dirt trail and single track, he was up against the country's top up-and-coming professionals, ages 19 and up.

This was Paxson's third mountain bike race on the road to recovery from a bout with mononucleosis that took away much of his final high school track and field season last spring.

"It takes a great deal of focus to come back to your top competition level in a short time," he said. "You have to look beyond the current situation to pull you through."

A determined mindset and purposeful thinking paid off as Paxson earned his first national championship series victory.

Jockeying for third and fourth on the third and final 10-mile lap, Spencer attacked on the last, long climb. In nine miles, he had overtaken the competition and finished first in 2 hours, 34 minutes, 49.26 seconds. His margin of victory was roughly 2 minutes, 23 seconds.

"I didn't plan for this. I was set on coming out to compete and see what I had. I couldn't believe it was happening when I crossed the line in first place," Paxson said.

The 2003 Trout Lake High School graduate is the son of Fred and Diane Paxson. He will attend Middlebury College in Vermont, in the fall.

Pfister raced in the 19- to 24-year-old cross-country expert class the following day. After a grueling 20 miles on the resort's terrain, sometimes gaining 900 feet in elevation, Pfister came in third in a time of 2:29:53.45 (20 minutes, 31 seconds behind the winner).

Pfister -- who spent the prior semester of college in Vigo, Spain, where she practiced downhill and BMX biking techniques -- attributed that experience to her top-three finish.

"The Schweitzer cross-country course was detailed, with extremely tough technical sections, ranging from rocky descents to deep ruts," she noted. "There were other women competitors who were much better, but my downhill experience did it all for me."

Pfister is in her senior year at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. She is the daughter of David and Christine Pfister, White Salmon.

Both Pfister and Paxson will compete in NORBA's next race in Durango, Colo., Aug. 16-17, at Purgatory Mountain Resort.

Pfister again will race in the expert 19-24 class for Park City, Utah-based Team Sugar. Paxson will be riding for Discover Bicycles of Hood River in his first pro race. For results and times, refer to www.usacycling.org.