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SPORTS
> YOUTH SPORTS
Following in the footsteps
| | | | | | | | |  | | | | | Dante Oliveira, 8, recently took first place in the KTM Junior Supercross Challenge at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. The top-spot finish qualified Oliveira for the U.S. Open of Supercross in October in Las Vegas. | | | | | Photo by: Special to the Free Lance | | | | | | | | | |
Hollister
In most families, it's usually the son who follows in his father's footsteps.
Dad plays football; son plays football. Dad fixes cars; son fixes cars.
Of course, not everything is as black and white as that, and sometimes, in some families, it's quite the opposite.
For instance, son races bikes; dad races bikes. And at the Oliveira's, the rest of the family races, too.
Dante Oliveira, 8, has been riding competitively for just two years now - since he was the ripe old age of 6 - and he recently took first place in the 7- and 8-year-old age group of the KTM Junior Supercross Challenge at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Mo.
His success has stirred the Oliveira family as well, who've suddenly taken to the sport. The growing list of riders includes Dante's father and his two sisters, his little brother and even some of his friends.
A second-grader at Sacred Heart Parish School, Oliveira's St. Louis win qualified him for the U.S. Open of Supercross, which will be held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Oct. 7-8.
"The trophy is being able to go to the Open," said Oliveira, who seemed perfectly content that their was no physical prize after he took first in St. Louis. With already "like 100" trophies to his name in just a few short years of racing, though, Oliveira may be running out of room to store his winnings.
With motocross racing previously non-existent within the immediate Oliveira family, Dante and his father, George, used to go watch their Uncle John ride in hare scrambles - motocross events where the winner is determined by the amount of laps completed in a given period of time - and from there, Oliveira's love affair with bikes was born.
"[Uncle John's] always telling us how much fun he's having out there," George said, "and Dante was the first to find out for us."
Starting off with a PW 50 Yamaha - a beginner bike, George said - Dante has since graduated to a Cobra 50 and is also riding 65cc engines. He is currently holding down the top spot in the Youth Hare Scramble Series, according to the American Motorcyclist Association.
In fact, his sister Sophia and his brother Mateo are listed at 10th and 16th, respectively.
"We started racing and going to the races and that's basically how it happened," George said. "It basically overtook us. The racing grabbed us. We started off with the hare scrambles and then we got into motocross to fill in the dead space (between races)."
Oliveira is already beginning to perfect the racing craft among his age group, and the first-place finish out of some 15 riders in St. Louis was the biggest race he's triumphed in.
Getting the chance to meet motocross legends Chad Reed, Davi Millsaps and Ivan Tedesco, among others, Oliveira was able to mingle with the pros for a day and get autographs before his race.
Racing three laps in St. Louis, Oliveira said he knew he was going to take first, but he did note that the competition was top-notch.
Oliveira said he'll perhaps do a few more hare scrambles and maybe a couple more motocross races before the U.S. Open in October, where he'll be gunning for yet another first-place trophy.
"Some are for second, some are for fourth, some are for ninth, some are for dead-last," said Oliveira when running down the long list of his trophy collection.
When asked what most of the trophies were for, Oliveira responded, without missing a beat, "First."
Andrew Matheson
Andrew Matheson is a sports writer for South Valley Newspapers. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 334 or at amatheson@svnewspapers.com.
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