Hertenstein brothers among 12 mountain boarders in Nate Harrison Grade race

Valley Center brothers Daymein and Gunner Hertenstein were two of 12 racers in the seventh annual Nate Harrison Grade Race, which took place in Pauma Valley on Oct. 9.
Daymein, age nine, and Gunner, age seven, were part of a group of racers that earned a spot in the 2011 Guinness Book of World Records for taking part in the Longest Mountain Board Race. The course winds 6.95 miles down the side of Palomar Mountain and is a tough test of the endurance for the courageous riders willing to take on the challenge.
This year, Trent Stewart was named King of the Grade for finishing first with a time of 22 minutes, ten seconds. Stewart, 34, is still a relatively new rider, but has battled back from a thigh injury and has improved his time and standing in this race over the last three years.
Second place went to Brad Beren (22:24) and third place went to four-time race winner Kris Kidwell (25:28).
Daymein Hertenstein finished fourth (29:38) to earn the title of Youth Master of the Grade, followed by Rob Goettling in fifth (31:17) and Eric Ducharme in sixth (33:18).
Gunner Hertenstein took seventh (34:02), while Paul Cleveland was eighth (49:37) and Julianne Lewis finished ninth (51:27) to take the title of Queen of the Grade.
Matt Tatter was tenth (55:42) and Chris Coughlin was eleventh (1:01:23), both on XT wheels, while Blane Souza had some equipment problems, but still finished twelfth (1:23:23).
To add to the challenge, the freshly graded road had about a mile of pavement on some of the steeper sections. The event organizers at Boostamonte Mountain Boarding did their best to add dirt for sliding in some key areas, but this year’s course was very fast.
On the way up the mountain, the racers came across two “hard wheel” mountain boarders who were just out free riding with no skyhooks or bindings. They had no idea the race was happening that day and decided to compete. Both of these riders, Tatter and Coughlin, deserved their own trophies for making their way down the mountain in good time, especially on hard wheels.
Daymein’s fourth place finish with the big boys means he will no longer compete in the youth division next year. And Gunner put together a great time and next year won’t have to compete with big brother next time around.
Lewis is the only girl to ever make it down the grade, making her a two-time, undefeated Queen of the Grade. All she needs now is some competition from the other female riders out there.
Check out the latest Guinness Book of World Records for the section on the Nate Harrison Grade race, and visit the Web site at www.boostamontemountainboarding.com for more info on this race and other mountain boarding events.