At an age when most kids are still learning to ride a bicycle, Geneseo's Oliver Wells is already a national champion on two wheels.
Wells won the 50cc PeeWee 4-5 10-inch class at the National Racing Association's XC Amateur National Championship on Saturday, Aug. 8, in Attica, Indiana.
The championship brought qualified amateur dirt bike and ATV racers from around the country to Indiana for two days of racing. The National Racing Association lists the 2026 event as its fourth annual XC Amateur National Championship.
Getting there required Wells to first earn his spot.
Wells competed in an official qualifier March 29 in Colona, where he finished fourth in his class. The Colona event was one of more than 20 qualifying events scheduled around the country for the 2026 national championship.
Under National Racing Association rules, riders must participate in an approved qualifier and finish in an advancement position. The top five registered riders in each qualifying class receive guaranteed invitations to compete at the national championship.
That fourth-place finish in Colona was enough to send Wells to Indiana.
Once there, the challenge became considerably tougher.
According to information provided to The Current, Wells raced on a 1.9-mile course through the woods that included rocks, large hills, tree roots and logs. The PeeWee race lasted approximately 30 minutes.
The NRA's official race schedule confirms that the Bike PeeWee competition was scheduled for 8 a.m. Saturday and included four classes: 50 Senior 8-9, 50 Junior 6-7, 50 PeeWee 4-5 and 50 Shaft Drive 4-6. All four were scheduled for a 30-minute race.
Wells competed in the 50cc PeeWee 4-5 10-inch class against five riders representing four states — Illinois, Indiana, Oklahoma and New York — according to information provided to The Current.
He came away with the national championship.
Because several PeeWee classes raced on the course at the same time, Wells was also sharing the woods with older competitors. Sixty-one children between the ages of 4 and 9 competed in the combined race, with Wells finishing 33rd overall, according to information provided to The Current.
His national title adds to what has already been an active racing season.
Wells, riding No. 93, appears in the 2026 AMA District 17 Hare Scrambles standings, where he is currently listed second in his division with 127 points. He also appears in the 2026 Ultimate Racer Challenge standings, a series incorporating several forms of motorcycle racing.
Wells wasn't the only young racer from the area to earn a trip to the national event.
Emry Raschke of Colona and Talen Mosley of Reynolds also qualified to compete in Attica, according to information provided to The Current. Both names also appear in 2026 AMA District 17 Hare Scrambles standings, with Raschke listed in the 50cc 7-8 division and Mosley among the younger 50cc competitors.
The NRA scheduled 2026 qualifiers in states including Kentucky, Louisiana, South Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Maryland, Tennessee, Minnesota, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Iowa, Wisconsin, New York and Michigan, in addition to several Illinois events. Riders who qualified through those events converged on Attica for the Aug. 8-9 championship.
For Wells, the road to a national title began much closer to home — with a fourth-place finish in Colona in March.
Less than five months later, he left Attica as a national champion.