Cole Davies Dominates High Point with 1-1 Sweep; Deegan Lands 450 Podium
Monster Energy’s Cole Davies claims his first AMA Pro Motocross National win with a perfect 1-1 performance at High Point, while Haiden Deegan secures a 450 podium finish.
Big day for Monster Energy’s rookie 250 class outdoor MX racer as New Zealander Cole Davies (Star Racing/Yamaha) stepped up and won his first ever AMA Pro Motocross National with a decisive 1-1 performance at the UFO Plast High Point National in Mt. Morris., Pa. And in the 450 class, Monster Energy’s Haiden Deegan (Star Racing/Yamaha) would battle to a 3rd place podium finish.
After winning the opening 250 moto by 1.5 seconds in a tight contest with KTM’s Julien Beaumer, Davies got out to the early second moto lead, with Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha’s rookie Kayden Minnear in 2nd position. Season 250 co-points leader Seth Hammaker (Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki) would suffer a huge get-off, which ended his day and dropped him to 5th position in the overall standings. Davies would go on to win the second High Point moto with a 1-1 overall finish, bumping him all the way up to 4th place in the overall standings.
Said Davies: “This feels awesome. I feel like I sorted my starts out and I nailed that second start and was gone. I felt great all day. My first perfect day in motocross. It’s good.”
Rounding out the 250 class top five at High Point for Monster Energy were Levi Kitchen (Pro Circuit/Kawasaki), who went 6-5 for 4th place and, most importantly, held onto the overall series points lead, 150-149 ahead of Honda’s Jo Shimoda. And bringing his YZ250F home in a credible 5th position (10-3) was Minnear.
In the 450 class the High Point race weekend got off to a round start for Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Chase Sexton, who was not only ruled out for the Pennsylvania race, but also the rest of the season with a knee injury. Carrying the torch for Monster Energy, as he has through four MX National races this summer, was Deegan. The Californian continued to improve during his first foray into racing the big bikes, beating former MXGP world champion veteran Jorge Prado in the second moto to take the third and final podium position from the KTM racer.
Said Deegan: “I feel good. I’m getting closer. It feels like a win on my part making these steps each weekend. I’m right there. I’m going to keep putting in the work, keep chipping away. I put my heart out there and never gave up.”
Rounding out the top ten in the 450 class with another solid effort was Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Garrett Marchbanks, who placed 6th with a 5-6 run.
In women’s motocross (WMX) action at High Point Monster Energy’s Mayla Herrick (SLR/Honda) would be the talk of the event as the 17-year-old, competing in her first pro motocross race, won the opening moto on Friday – ahead of Monster Energy’s Lachlan Turner (Altus Blu Cru/Yamaha), the overall WMX series points leader. In the second moto Herrick would, unfortunately and at no fault of her own, get caught up in a massive crash at the start – which kept her off the overall podium (9th at 1-29). Turner would avoid the wreck, as would European star – Monster Energy’s Lottie Van Drunen (De Baets/Yamaha) – and the two would go on to finish in 2nd and 3rd positions, respectively, on the weekend.
High Point MX Class Results
| 250 MX | 450 MX | WMX |
|---|---|---|
| 1st – Davies (Monster/Star/Yamaha) | 3rd – Deegan (Monster/Star/Yamaha) | 2nd – Turner (Altus Blu Cru/Yamaha) |
| 4th – Kitchen (Monster/PC/Kawasaki) | 6th – Marchbanks (Monster/Kawasaki) | 3rd – Van Drunen (De Baets/Yamaha) |
| 5th – Minnear (Monster/Star/Yamaha) | - | 4th – Nielsen (SLR/Honda) |
| 8th – Mosiman (Monster/Star/Yamaha) | - | 9th – Herrick (SLR/Honda) |
Monster Energy Riders Overall Standings (4 of 11 rounds)
| 250 MX | 450 MX | WMX |
|---|---|---|
| 1st – Kitchen, 150 points | 3rd – Deegan, 144 | 1st – Turner, 132 |
| 4th – Davies, 143 | 6th – Marchbanks, 116 | 4th – Nielsen, 101 |
| 5th – Hammaker, 134 | 10th – Webb, 83 | 8th – Van Drunen, 74 |
| 7th – Minnear, 101 | - | - |
| 8th – Romano, 101 | - | - |
| 10th – Dudney, 73 | - | - |
Notes & Quotes
- 250 class qualifying was all-Monster Energy as Davies and Kitchen dueled it out, with Davies getting the edge by a 2:04.283 to 2:04.460 mark.
- 450 class qualifying saw Deegan atop the leaderboard, albeit briefly, for the first time this season in the first qualifying session. Deegan would ultimately place 4th in qualifying.
- Deegan would also put up the fastest laps of 450’s Moto 2, allowing him to pass the KTM tandem of Aaron Plessinger and Prado, and made it close with defending MX Nationals champ Jett Lawrence (Honda) at the finish, cutting ten seconds out of Lawrence’s 13-second lead.
- Said Kitchen: “I felt very uncomfortable all day. I don’t know… I just couldn’t find a flow. I’m glad we still have the red plate.”
- Davies’ win makes it the fourth 250 class winner in four rounds this season.
- “This guy (Davies) was on a different level this second moto. This guy right here was the Man-of-the-Day. A mini version of Hunter Lawrence. And this guy can run away with this championship if these guys like him run away with it like this.” – NBC announcer James Stewart
- Herrick’s scary WMX crash at the start of Moto 2, following her impressive Moto 1 win, earned her a trip to the hospital. She was reportedly awake and alert when the Alpinestars Medical team reached her on the track.
- Up to High Point, Monster Energy’s WMX star Turner had won seven consecutive races before finishing in 3rd place (behind Monster Energy’s Herrick) after a poor start. Under the weather all weekend, Turner actually tied Charli Cannon for the overall, but Cannon got it based on her better Moto 2 performance.
Up next: The 2026 Pro Motocross Championship continues its eastern U.S. swing with the June 20th running of the UFO Plast High Point MX National in Mt. Morris, Pa., Round 4 of the series.
