Results: Duluth Biathlon Race MN Cup #7 – Jan 3, 2010
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- Duluth Biathlon Race 4
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- Duluth Biathlon Race 3
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- Duluth Biathlon Race 2
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- Duluth Biathlon Race
Monthly Archives: December 2009
Dec 22 Sprint Results + total points summary
Selection Races Summary 2009 – spreadsheet
Selection Races Summary 2009 – pdf
Day 5- Big Win for Chamberlain, Roberts Squeeks in Final Win
Perfect corduroy greeted athletes at Mt Itasca for Day 5 of competition of the World Team Trials. BethAnn Chamberlain came out swinging and posted the only clean shooting of the day. So far the Trials events had not gone well for BethAnn and she needed a victory in order to qualify for the IBU Cup team. Though she now calls Preque Isle, ME home, Chamberlain grew up in Grand Rapids and is right at home at Mt Itasca. With a hometown crowd cheering for her, Chamberlain managed a 5 second victory over Laura Spector of Lennox, MA. Susan Dunklee posted the fastest ski time of the day for third place, 28 seconds out of first. Susan finished either 2nd or 3rd in all 5 races at Mt Itasca.
For the men’s race, the battle raged in the last skiing loop of the day. The top 4 men went into the last 5km ski loop within 10 seconds of each other. Wynn Roberts, Battle Lake, MN, had a blazing last loop, pulling out a 3 second victory over Leif Nordgren, Marine of St Croix, MN. Nordgren had been fighting sickness at the beginning of the race series and needed a big race today. Hitting 90% he was able Nordgren pulled himself up in the rankings but could not quite match his training partner, Roberts, on the ski tracks. Zach Hall, Anchorage, AK , was on the podium again for 5 out of 5 races, shooting 80% and skiing a great last lap. Only .8 seconds behind Hall was Mark Johnson in 4th. Mark, who has grown up training and racing at Mt Itasca, tried to squeeze every last second out of the familiar terrain. The hometown crowd and 90% shooting was not quite enough to put him on the podium.
In the Junior Men’s race, Nordgren took first, followed by Wayne McClure of Anchorage. Michal Gibson , Burlington, VT finished third. In the Junior Women’s Sprint, Grace Boutot of Caribou, ME won by a large margin, shooting 2 penalties. Hillary McNamee, Presque Isle, ME was second, shooting 70%. Malcolm of Hayward, WI placed 3rd with strong skiing. This is Corrine’s first season of biathlon competition.
The Youth Women showed some of the best shooting of the day. Andrea Mayo, Soldier Pond, ME shot 80% for a 40 second win over second place Kelly Kjorlien. Kjorlien, Grand Rapids, MN, in her second year of biathlon competition shot an impressive 90%. Rookie Afton Snyder, Grand Rapids, MN, took third with two penalties.
Casey Smith, Methow Valley, WA won the Youth Men’s with 80% shooting and impressive skiing, matching second place Raleigh Goessling on the ski tracks. Goessling, Esko, MN finished 21 second back with 70% shooting. Also shooting 70% was Ben Greenwald of Minneapolis, MN finishing 3rd, 58 seconds out of first.
Full results and the final series points can be found on www.minnesotabiathlon.com and www.usbiathlon.org.
Beth Ann Chamberlain, winner Day 5, Sprint 7.5km - photo credit Roy Kjorlien
Dec 20 – Pursuit Results
Day 4- Superb Shooting Puts Colliander and Shepard on the Podium
It was a perfect day at Mt Itasca: 20 degrees at the start, no wind, and news had just come that US Biathlon’s rising star, Tim Burke, had just taken over the Yellow Bib on the Biathlon World Cup. The excitement was tangible in the stadium as the athletes prepared for the start of Day 4 of the Biathlon World Team Trials in Coleraine, MN.
Today’s Pursuit format generally favors the best shooters, and the top shooters came out on top. In the Women’s race, Tracy Colliander hit 19 of 20 and clinched her position on the IBU Cup team with a 1:20 minute buffer to second place finisher Laura Spector of Lennox, MA. Susan Dunklee, Baton, VT, placed third, finishing with the fastest ski time of the day, as she has in each of the 4 trials races.
In the men’s races, Walt Shepard, Yarmouth, ME dominated the shooting, hitting 19 for 20. His superb shooting was just enough to overcome the all out attack of Leif Norgdren, Marine on St Croix, who overcame poor a poor shooting score of 15 of 20, and finished only 5 seconds out and claiming the fastest ski time of the day. Nordgren came off sickness and poor shooting in the first weekend of racing and needed an exceptional result to stay in the running for the IBU Cup team. Zach Hall, Anchorage, AK, put together strong skiing and 16 for 20 shooting for third place. Hall has been on the podium in 4 of 4 races, and he has been the most consistent performer of the World Team Trials.
Today’s Pursuit race was the 2nd of 3 Junior World Team Trial races. In the Junior Women’s category, Grace Boutot, Presque Isle, ME placed first with local favorite Addie Byrne, Bovey, MN, in second place, 23 seconds out. Hillary McNamee of Caribou, ME finished 3rd. The Junior Men’s race was dominated by Leif Nordgren. In second was Mike Gibson of Burlinton, VT, and finishing third was Wayne McClure of Anchorage, AK.
In the Youth Category, a new shooting talent emerged, with Silke Hymes hitting 18 for 20 and winning by almost a minute. In second was Kelly Kjorlien of Grand Rapids, MN, with 6 penalties, and Andrea Mayo of Soldier Pond, ME managed a third place with 9 penalties.
Raleigh Goessling of Duluth, MN had a breakthrough race in the Youth Men’s 10km. He shot 18 for 20 and skied extremely well, winning by a margin of 2 min 12 seconds. In second, Ethan Dreissegacker of Craftsbury, VT had 5 penalties, and rounding out top 3 in the Youth Men was a newcomer to the podium, Matty Coleman of Methow Valley, WA.
The World Team Trials continue on Tuesday with at the Men’s 10km Sprint and Women’s 7.5km Sprint.
Dec 19 – Sprint Results
Wynn Roberts and Tracy Colliander Take Day 3 Sprint
On Day 3 of the Biathlon World Team Trials, Wynn Roberts, Battle Lake, MN, got his act together on the shooting range cleaning prone and missing 2 on standing. With excellent skiing he finished 25 seconds ahead of Zach Hall of Anchorage, AK. Only .3 seconds separated Walt Shepard, Yarmouth, ME, in third place, and Leif Nordgren, Marine on St Croix, MN in fourth. Nordgren is a last year junior and was trying to claw his way back into contention after missing the first race because of sickness.
In the senior women’s field, Tracy Colliander for Durango, CO put a 90% shooting race together, and with solid skiing finished 27 seconds ahead of Susan Dunklee. Dunklee has consistently had the fastest ski times at the Biathlon Trials. Annalies Cook, Saranac Lake, NY missed only one target, and moved up on the podium for the first time during the 5 race series. Cook was visibly relieved as she crossed the finish line.
The typically cold Mt Itasca venue was unusually cold, with temperatures in the teens and fast ski tracks a pleasant change from last weekends cold, slow snow. Today’s Sprint format was the first of the World Junior Trials. Addie Byrne, Grand Rapids, MN, took first with 90% shooting. Grace Boutot, Presque Isle, ME matched her shooting, and finished 25 seconds behind. In third was Corrine Malcolm, of Hayward, WI racing in her first major biathlon event.
In the junior men’s race, Leif Nordgren took first, with Mike Gibson, Burlington, VT and Wayne McClure of Anchorage, AK in third. In the Youth Men’s Sprint, Conrad Roberts made it 2 for 2 for the Roberts family and shooting the same as his big brother, 0, 2. Casey Smith of Methow Valley placed 2nd with 3 penalties, and in third was Ethan Dreissigacker, Craftsbury, VT, with 4 penalties.
Kelly Kjorlien, Grand Rapids, MN, shot 80% and took first in the Youth Women’s Sprint. Andrea Mayo, Soldier Pond, ME had a rough day on the range (3,2) but managed a second place with good skiing. In third was Mackenzie Wonders of Anchorage, AK.
The World Team Trials continue on Sunday with at the Men’s 12.5 and Women’s 10km Pursuit.
Addie Byrne, Grand Rapids, MN. Finishing 1st in Jr Women’s 7.5km Sprint
Dec 13 Mass Start Results from Mt Itasca
Zach Hall and Tracy Colliander Take Mass Start
Day 2 of the Biathlon World Team Trials started off with a low of -12 F. Fortunately, the sun pushed through clouds and the Men’s 15km Mass Start began after a 2hr delay. The new range approach, an extremely steep 75m climb, played havoc with the shooting for both men and women.
Walt Shepard, Yarmouth, ME, got the drop on the field after the first shooting with an extremely fast and accurate first prone shooting. A classic biathlon duel evolved over the next three stages with Zach Hall, Anchorage, AK, matching Shepard’s shooting accuracy but falling slightly behind in shooting speed. Hall was able to close the gap down over each ski leg. Shepard and Hall left the last shooting stages only a few seconds apart. Hall pounded out the last 3km with Shepard hanging on for dear life, with only 2.6 seconds separting the two at the finish. The battle for third went to Dan Campbell, Bozeman, MT, with Jesse Downs, Jericho, VT and Wynn Roberts, Battle Lake, MN filling out the top 5. Roberts posted the top ski time of the day for the second day in a row, but 8 penalties were too many to overcome.
In the women’s race, Carolyn Bramante, Duluth, MN, took the early lead after the first shooting stage with clean shooting, but as soon as the standing stages began Tracy Colliander, Durango, CO, put on one of her signature displays of fast and flawless shooting. Tracy went on to 60 sec victory. Second and third places changed off several times in the later half of the race. Laura Spector diplayed some of the ski speed that had put her on 2 World Championship team and finished 2nd with 6 total penalties. With the fastest ski time of the day, Susan Dunklee, Barton, VT managed to salvage a 3rd place finish after a disappointing day on the shooting range with 9 penalties.
Competition for the 4 men’s and 4 women’s positions on the IBU Cup Team will resume on Dec 19th at Mt Itasca. Three more races remain in the best 3 of 5 race series. Complete results for all races can be viewed at www.minnesotabiathlon and www.usbiathlon.org.
Dec 12 – Sprint Results
Dec_12_Sprint_Competition – Spreadsheet
Dec_12_Sprint_Competition – pdf
Mark Johnson and Jenny Wygant Take Day 1 Sprint Victories At Biathlon World Team Trials
- After 10 days of non-stop snowmaking, snow hauling, and just getting the job done, the exhausted hometown race volunteers were rewarded by a solid 20 second victory by Mt Itasca biathlete Mark Johnson. After a disappointing series of World Cup qualification races in October, Johnson was ready for some payback, shooting 90% and skiing aggressively. Wynn Roberts of Battle Lake, MN skied to a 2nd place to finish with 3 penalties and the fastest ski time of the day. Roberts is no stranger to Mt Itasca, having trained there with coach Vladimir Cervenka most of his junior career. Zach Hall of Anchorage, AK was third with 2 penalties. Hall is looking to making his second IBU Cup team, having qualified last year. All three men are currently on the US Biathlon National Team.
- In the women’s race, Jenny Wygant was all smiles as she climbed to the top of the Mt Itasca awards podium. Wygant is an Army nurse and a member of the Army’s World Class Athlete Program (WCAP). She is only in her second full year of biathlon training. She trains with the US Development Team in Lake Placid, NY, and she struggled last year with the return to a heavy training load and learning how to hit targets consistently. Wygant is on familiar ground at Mt Itasca, having grown up in Burnsville, MN and having skied for the Northern Michigan Wildcats. She shot her first biathlon targets at Mt Itasca in December 2007.
- Susan Dunklee of Baton, Vermont placed second with 3 penalties, 15 seconds adrift of Wygant. Dunklee is also starting her 2nd year and biathlon and came off a brilliant first season, qualifying for the IBU Cup team and winning the 7.5km Sprint National championship. Laura Spector of Lennox, MA was 3rd, also with 3 penalties. Laura was on last years World Championship team.
- Conditions at Mt. Itasca were perfect today, “We could have run the Olympics on today’s course,” beamed Vladimir Cervenka, Junior National Team coach and Chief of Competition. Perfect corduroy on a 2.5k man made loop greeted athletes this morning. Conditions look like they will be significantly colder and slower for tomorrow’s 15km and 12.5km Mass Start events. This is the most exciting event in biathlon and one that requires the coolest nerves in the range. The 3km and 2.5km loop will include a very steep 100m climb just before the range, making for high heart rates and aching legs as the athletes try to focus on shooting.