'She's just kicking butt': North Canton second grader heading to BMX World Championships

LAKE TWP. – Mia Colston has spent the past few years watching her older brothers zip around local BMX bike tracks as they raced their way to the finish line.

Her father — Benjamin Colston — was racing, too.

So it wasn't a surprise when the 7-year-old decided it was time to get on the bike and give it a try.

"It was Halloween weekend at the track, and she was like, 'Hey, let's do this,'" her dad explained. "I was super excited. She usually doesn't have an interest in getting sweaty."

But Mia told her dad she was ready to take on the track.

"We put her on the track and she just destroyed everyone," the proud dad said.

Since placing first in her inaugural race, Mia, a second grader at North Canton Primary School, has been racking up wins.

Next week, she will participate in the Union Cycliste Internationale BMX World Championships in Rock Hill, South Carolina, as a member of Team USA.

Mia Colston never used a bike with training wheels

Mia began riding a balance bike — a bike with no pedals — at age 2. She moved to a pedal bike the next year. She never had training wheels.

"I had been watching them do it and I figured they were having a lot of fun so I wanted to try to join and see if that was my sport," she said. "And I just got it."

Now she is zipping around dirt tracks and up and down hills.

"It's pure insanity," Mia's mother Allyson Colston said. "We went down (to Rock Hill) to practice and she got her 10th win. She pedaled off the gate. You don't usually see that but she went out there and crushed that."

Her coach Zachary Quick of the PAK BMX Racing Team based in Akron has encouraged her and mentored her throughout the journey.

As a novice, Mia went to nationals and placed third against intermediate and experts in her age group, qualifying her for worlds in the 8-year-old category (racers must turn 8 this calendar year).

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"Some of these girls have been experts for several years," Allyson Colston said of the nationals race. "It's really cool that she is doing so well and gotten such joy in it. She's just kicking butt."

Racers from more than 50 countries will participate in the UCI BMX Championships, she said. Racing begins today and runs through May 17. Mia will race Monday. Races will be broadcast on YouTube.

She is sponsored by Chick-fil-A in Jackson Township. She'll wear the logo on her Team USA jersey.

'If you're crashing, you're learning.'

As she geared up for her trip to Rock Hill, Mia was excited.

"I feel really happy that I made it," she said as she showed off the variety of medals and trophies — some as tall as her — that she has acquired in her short career.

Her mom said Mia is taking in all of the advice of her coach and others she meets along the way, including BMX racing star Alise Willoughby, who she met in Rock Hill.

"She just absorbs everything," Allyson Colston said. "If her coach tells her she needs to work on this, then she is determined to do it."

The little dynamo is dedicated to putting in the work on and off the bike. She works out with her dad and a bike trainer. Even if they get home late, she wants to do her exercises.

"I know that when she gets there, she'll be able to say she did everything she could to succeed," Allyson Colston said.

The only girl among four brothers, she isn't afraid when she takes the track.

"If you're crashing, you're learning," she added.

Mia said her friends don't believe she is succeeding in the BMX racing world. She can't wait to show them this newspaper with the story about her, adding, "Maybe then they'll believe me."

Besides BMX racing, she maintains good grades and takes voice lessons.

Her mom joked that May is the month of Mia as she will compete in the race, make her First Communion and portray Olaf in the Stage Door Studios' production of "Frozen" on March 25 and 26.

Just as comfortable in a dress as she is in her racing gear, Mia is often found fishing or camping but doing it a dress, with her hair done and some makeup, her mom joked.

Whether on stage or the track, her brothers will be there to support her.

"She does a good job," 6-year-old Benjamin Jr. said.

Reach Amy at 330-775-1135 or amy.knapp@indeonline.com.

This article originally appeared on The Independent: Mia Colston, 7, will represent Team USA at BMX World Championships