Hidden talents are something fun to explore at a party, but Ukiah High Freshman Hailee Oglesby has a few tricks up her sleeve. Although she only started riding BMX in May of 2021, Oglesby has proven herself a force to contend with in the youth BMX circuits winning over 30 races in the past year.
Oglesby is part of a local BMX team based here in Ukiah, California called MBR which stands for ‘More Better Racing’. Children from ages 5-16 are able to compete; “we’re all here just having fun and spending time together as a family”.
When asked about her biggest achievement within BMX, Oglesby said that getting into the state competition was a huge accomplishment.
Hailee’s interest in BMX began with her twin brother Damian Oglesby who was inspired to try BMX by family and friends. This eventually led to Hailee’s interest in BMX herself, although she says that she was “pretty intimidated because it was mostly boys.”
She met another girl BMX rider who encouraged Hailee to stick with it and represent women in the sport. “That next week, I got on a bike and fell in love.”
As a 14-year-old, Hailee told us juggling both academics and her BMX dreams can be a challenge. She said, “dealing with school and BMX, especially when we go out of town, can be challenging”. Oftentimes she has to put on independent study and play catch up. Although, she isn’t alone in that struggle because she sai “there’s always someone on my team working on something school related”. Having others surrounding her that have the same goals is empowering.
Katie Williams is an Editor in Chief for the Ukiah High School Newspaper and a Senior at UHS. Katie enjoys writing about emotion based and community oriented pieces, and is the head producer for the @ukiahilite instagram page. Outside of school Katie enjoys baking, reading and assisting her family in reaching out to our community. After high school Katie would like attend Christian Life College to someday work with children that “deserve better, they need someone to listen”.
