Scott Funston’s trip to Austin, Texas for a national cyclocross competition was almost wrecked because of a few trees.

About 30 minutes before his race on Sunday, Jan. 11, he and the 62 other competitors were told it was canceled.

For the next two hours, he and his family thought they’d wasted a trip to Texas. However, Funston said the race officials came back and said racing would resume the next day, Monday.

A couple of 200-year-old oak trees caused the delay, Funston said. The race track was alongside the trees and the repetitive riding through the mud was damaging the roots.

“Because of the conditions, they wanted to wait a day and let it dry it out,” he said in a phone interview after the race.

Funston, a ninth grade student at Tahoma Junior High, has been competing in cyclocross since he was 10. The sport is a hybrid between mountain biking and road cycling.

Funston took home the gold medal in his age division, junior men’s 15-16.

He said he hopes to continue to race in cyclocross and in two years qualify for the world championships. In order to compete at that level, racers must be at least 17 years old by Dec. 31 the year of the competition. Funston is 14, but his racing age is 15.

This year, the cyclocross World Championship is being held in Tábor, Czech Republic. But Funston said Belgium is the ultimate venue for cyclocross.

“In Belgium, cyclocross is almost like American football,” he said.

Funston rides for Rad Racing NW, which includes mostly Western Washington riders. Layton Meyers, Funston’s friend and teammate, also raced in the junior men’s 15-16 division in Austin. He placed seventh.

Funston’s passion for the sport was handed down to him through his dad, Ron.

Ron quit racing in his 40s but he still continues to ride, Funston said.

This is Funston’s first gold medal of his racing career, having won multiple second and third place spots in the past. He said it’s the atmosphere that he loves about the sport.

“I just kind of like being out and pushing myself on the course and competing against other kids,” he said.

Sections of most every cyclocross racetrack are covered in thick mud. Funston described riding through the muck as a balancing act, literally.

“It’s hard to find the fine line between going so physically hard that you lose control and going as hard as possible without losing control,” he said.

Sometimes, Funston added, he has to get off and run with his bike because it’s faster than riding.

Funston said there are many ways to qualify for the world championships. If he was at the right age, he “most likely” would have qualified this year.