For the Rapids City Times

WISCONSIN RAPIDS – Wisconsin Rapids’ Brayton Wills recently competed in the 37th Annual Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship, where he landing in third place.

Wills took on over 22,000 hopefuls from across America to earn one of just 1,446 qualifying positions at the final championship. At the national competition, the entries for each class is capped at 42, making Wills one of the top 42 racers in the country in his division.

In order to qualify, Wills went through a two-step qualifying process involving Area Qualifiers and Regional Championships. Racers may enter a wide variety of classes, from minicycle classes for children as young as four all the way up to a senior division for riders over 50.

“It was a very difficult week at Loretta’s this year. Riders had to deal with heat, humidity, difficult track conditions, and racing against the best competitors in their class from around the country,” said Tim Cotter, director of MX Sports. “A solid finish at the event gives a rider instant national recognition and may serve as the first step in furthering their professional motocross career.”

Wills, who attends second grade at Washington, has been riding dirt bikes since he was three years old.

This was Wills’ second trip to the Ranch for the national championship, and his best finish to date, after finishing 18th last year.

Wills’ most memorable experience during this prestigious week-long event besides playing in the pool and creek on Loretta Lynn’s Ranch was receiving the third place shield on the podium after a week of battling his competitors.