Back in August, the first gates dropped to kick off the 2025 Texas State Motocross Championship. Since then, riders from all over the state have battled through sixteen unforgettable rounds of racing, spread across three regions and hosted at some of the best tracks Texas has to offer. It all led to this weekend, where riders from all regions came together for one final showdown to decide who would be crowned the Texas State Motocross Champion. The host? None other than 3 Palms Motocross Park.
Emil Shebelbon and his crew kept things dialed from start to finish. The national layout developed rough, technical lines and stayed solid all weekend long. Honestly, that’s exactly what we expected coming into the State finals weekend— this crew simply knows what they’re doing. The racing was split across the weekend, with the youth classes on Saturday and the adults on Sunday, and both days delivered great racing throughout.
With all three regions in attendance, the race for regional bragging rights became a battle of its own. The South and Central regions traded class wins throughout the weekend, each stacking titles as the motos rolled on. When the dust settled, it was the Central Region on top with 19 state titles, the South Region close behind with 17, and the North Region rounding it out with 4. Now let’s get into all the racing on the track.
85cc Open 12-15
The 85cc Open 12–15 class was absolutely stacked. With riders like Chance Ulberg, Aiden McKiddie, Casen James, Steven Lowrey, Cash Tucker, and Karson Lazo lining for a shot at a title, we knew right away this was gonna be one of those classes we didn’t want to miss.
When the gate dropped for Moto 1, it was McKiddie and Ulberg out front early, with Lowrey, James, and Lazo right behind them. McKiddie came out swinging early, quickly opening up a gap on Ulberg and the rest of the field. At this point, it looked like McKiddie was going to run away with it — but as they approached the end of the third lap heading into the final lap, Ulberg found another gear and started to close the gap.
Both riders were absolutely haulin through the rollers as they entered the river track portion of the 3 Palms national layout, Ulberg just inches off McKiddie’s rear wheel. With time and passing opportunities running out, Ulberg sent his move — but it didn’t stick. He went down, quickly remounted, and held on to finish second.
Meanwhile, a fight for third was heating up. Lowrey held off a hard-charging James to keep the position, while Lazo shadowed them closely, ready to pounce on any mistake. He’d cross the line in fifth.
In Moto 2, Ulberg got the jump and took the early lead, with McKiddie, Lowrey, Lazo, James, and Tucker in tow. Ulberg held a steady gap for most of the race, but when the white flag came out, McKiddie started to close in. Ulberg responded, found another gear, and stretched it back out to secure the moto win. Behind them, James and Lowrey battled hard for third, with James grabbing the final podium spot, while Tucker held off Lazo for fifth.
Final-Lap Pass Secures the Win for Prewitt
In the younger 85cc 9-11 division the 710 of Shannon Tarnow powered out of the gate and grabbed the hole shot, but the 173 of Kyler Prewitt would waste no time grabbing the lead in the very first corner. Behind them Adam Aguirre, Perry Eli Stockwell, Cooper Upton all had good starts and settled into their positions. The first half of race, the top five really held their own, but on the third lap, Aguirre would start to apply pressure to Tarnow for third. Tarnow held on as long as he could, but Aguirre would make the pass in early parts of the final lap, all this while Upton would pressure Stockwell for fourth. The moto finished with Prewitt grabbing the win, followed by Aguirre second, Tarnow third, Stockwell forth, and Upton fifth.
Moto two opened with Stockwell firing out of the gate for the holeshot, leading the pack into turn one. Aguirre wasted no time, making the pass and taking over the lead early, while Upton charged hard in third. First moto winner Prewitt was on the move as well, working his way into third on the second lap before quickly getting around Stockwell and setting his sights on Aguirre out front.
As the white flag waved, Prewitt had closed the gap and was right on Aguirre’s rear fender. The two pushed the pace as they came up on lapped traffic, and Prewitt capitalized—slipping past just before the rollers. From there, he held strong to the checkers and secured the moto win, while Upton continued to pressure Stockwell in the battle just behind them. The overall for the day would go to Prewitt with 1-1 scores, Aguirre with 2-2 scores and Stockwell grabbing the final podium spot going 4-3 on the day.
65cc 7-11 open
Charles Orr found himself out the gate first in the first 65cc 7-11 open moto, but Shannon Tarnow wasted no time, diving into the inside rut to take over the lead before the field even settled in. Kellan Cooper, Brady Hall, Levi Herrin, and Graham Ferguson all got strong starts and slotted into the chase early. Tarnow quickly built a gap of about three seconds on Orr and Hall, as the top three held steady through most of the moto, with Cooper and Ferguson running just behind them. At the checkers, it was Tarnow taking the moto win, Orr securing second, Hall finishing third, Cooper in fourth, and Ferguson rounding out the top five.
The gate dropped for the final moto of the day, and it was Cooper who rocketed out for the holeshot and led early with Orr close behind. A mistake from Cooper handed the lead to Orr, but Tarnow and Hall were right there.
By the midway point, Tarnow had reeled Orr in, with the two crossing the line side-by-side before Tarnow made the pass and pulled away from the field on the third lap. Just when it looked like Orr had second locked down, Hall found late-race speed and closed the gap, making the pass for the runner-up spot and securing second overall on the day. Charlie Orr would take third overall with 2-3 scores.
REMARKABLE RIDES
Jake Willis
Rynlee Spears
Perry Eli Stockwell
Kruz Galvan
Shelbie Brittain / Paetyn Mcclesey Battle
Shelbie Brittain and Paetyn McClesey put on an absolute show in the final moto of the Women’s Amateur 12+ class on Saturday. On the third lap, Brittain looked to have the race in hand, but a stall in the final corner opened the door. As she worked to get the bike fired again, McClesey slipped by and took the white flag.
Brittain, clearly frustrated, regrouped and went to work. McClesey held the lead for most of the final lap, but Brittain was charging, closing the gap down the final straight. The two near drag-raced to the finish, with Brittain using the horsepower advantage to edge ahead just before the line. WHAT AN EPIC FINISH! 🤯
51cc air cooled 4-8
We’ve been saying it for years — the P-Dub class is always must-watch at the local races. Not only do the parents sprinting around the track add to the entertainment, but the racing also itself is always legit. This weekend proved that once again with great battles in both motos.
Moto one kicked off with Rance Tucker, Link Masch, Nathan Martins, Ares Chester, and Brazos Brackett getting out front early. While Masch and Tucker where chillin in the top two positions, Chester and Martins went banged bars for third. Chester tried to make a move, but a small tip-over cost him momentum. He was quick to remount and charged back to finish fourth, with Huddson Fulfer rounding out the top five.
Ares Chester exploded out the gate in moto two, looking ready to grab the early lead, but the heavy mud bogged him and his peers down just enough for Tucker, Masch, and Martin to get by. Chester rounded the first corner in fourth, with Mason Rice and Hudson Fulfer settling into fifth and sixth.
Masch found his rhythm early and was flying, with Tucker matching pace in second. Behind them, the Martins-Chester battle intensified. Martins held him off as long as he could, but Chester had a plane to catch and made the move for third right before the white flag.
As Link Masch crossed the checkered flag and claimed the championship, the battle for second came right down to the end. Rance Tucker held on for the runner-up spot, with Ares Chester giving everything he had in pursuit grabbing third.
51cc open 4-8
It’s been one incredible year for the newly crowned 51cc 4-8 Open Central and South Champion, Kellan Cooper. Coming into this weekend, he remained undefeated in the South with five overall wins and claimed four out of five overall victories in the Central division. There was just one thing left for him to accomplish, winning the 2025 Texas State Championship.
His success in 2025 didn’t come without a fight—especially in the Central region. Second place overall contender, Knox Pomeroy kept him honest all season long, including an overall win at Billa Dilla. This weekend was no different. The first moto started with Cooper grabbing the early lead with Jaxon Kopcak and Pomeroy close behind, followed by Renner Mainka and Logan Moore. Pomeroy wasted no time getting around Kopcak and locking his sights on Cooper. But a small mistake from Pomeroy shortly after opened the door for Kopcak to take back second, with Moore moving into third.
Cooper would go on to take the win, while Moore ramped up the pressure on Kopcak in the battle for second. Kopcak held strong, crossing the line in the runner-up position. with Pomeroy finishing close behind in fourth.
When it was time for the second moto, it was Kellan out front once again, with Pomeroy, Lincoln Bray, Jon Arroyo, and Moore close behind going into the first corner. Pomeroy moved into the lead early, and the two battled throughout most of the opening lap. In the final section of the track, Cooper made his move—taking back the lead and throwing a massive whip on the table before the finish (which we’re still kicking ourselves for missing the shot). He would go on to win the second moto and claim the 2025 Texas State Motocross Championship in the 51cc Open 4–8 class. Pomeroy held on for second, securing second overall, and Arroyo rounded out the podium in third placing fourth overall on the day.
Lisby with a Perfect 1-1 Finish in open pro
Blake Lisby and Cameron Harrison put on a show this weekend in the Open Pro class. In Moto 1, the two duked it out for most of the race before Lisby found another gear late and stretched out the lead for the win.
Moto 2 saw Harrison take control early, pacing the field for nearly the entire moto. But on the final lap, Lisby made a decisive move to take the lead and secure a 1-1 sweep on the day.
Jacob Turbyfill, Kaiden Guamond, and Erick Vasquez-Diaz rounded out the top five.
250C
The C classes delivered some of the most exciting racing of the weekend. With the largest rider turnouts of any division, nearly every gate drop was packed with action.
The first gate drop for the 250C class saw Stoney Hudman, Talon Becerra, Dacota Higgins, Mason Wright, and Jace Rader out front early. Hudman and Becerra immediately separated from the pack and went bar-to-bar for the lead, while behind them Wright and Higgins battled for third until Wright eventually secured the position.
On the third lap, Hudman went down, allowing Becerra to move into the lead and take it all the way to the checkered flag.
Hudman remounted and held on for second, with Mason Wright finishing third. The last lap was chaos in the best way; there were battles happening in every corner and it was nearly impossible to watch them all unfold. We would like to give a shoutout to Mauro Sakazar who finished 5th in the first moto, and Jace Rader who grabbed 6th.
In the final moto, it was another strong jump off the gate for Stoney Hudman, Mason Wright, and Dacota Higgins. Hudman capitalized on the good start and took control of the lead early. On the second lap, Talon Becerra worked his way around Higgins and set his sights on Wright in second. Becerra made the pass on Wright soon after, but by that point Hudman had already opened up a comfortable gap out front.
With a 2-1 score for the day, Hudman secured the overall win. Becerra finished second with his 1-2, and Wright’s consistency with 3-3 scores locked him into third overall. Higgins and Blaine Westbrook rounded out the top five.
GIVING THANKS
All in all, it was an incredible first year covering Texas Motocross for us. We’d always heard that Texas moto was something special but getting to experience it firsthand has truly been amazing. A huge thank you to the track owners for hosting these events, the photographers who helped contribute, and all riders and families who’ve embraced our race coverage.
And with that, we present to you
THE 2025 Texas State CHAMPS 😎
