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Dunklee, Dreissigacker on day 1. Winner of both days, the USBA's Lowell Bailey - photos Judy Geer.
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NorAm Rollerski Biathlon Championships
09.Aug.2011 Several Craftsbury skiers were in action over the weekend at the North American Rollerski Biathlon Championships. The Ethan Allen Biathlon Club hosted the event this year in Jericho. Results from the weekend form some of the basis for USBA's determination of the athletes will go to Europe for the fall and early winter period, so the racing carried extra import.
Saturday's sprint was a hot, sticky affair. Biathlon competitors are accustomed to being challenged by nature, but generally by cold, not heat. The 80 degree temperatures on the asphalt rollerski path stretched everyone. Craftsbury athletes kept a cool head however. The GRP's Susan Dunklee ended the day 4th, 42 seconds back from the winner, even with five misses. Given that the winner missed only one, it's hard not to imagine what might have been without the four extra penalty loops Susan had to complete.
In the Junior Women's event, Tara Geraghty-Moats finished second, missing only three on the range. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to overcome the ski speed of eventual winner Carly Wynn.
On the junior men's side, Ethan Dreissigacker opened the weekend with a win, beating his competitors at the range and on the trail. He led the juniors with only 4 misses en route to a 1:12 win.
Sunday was overcast and cooler, but the humidity didn't feel as though it had abated in the least. The race format was a simulated pursuit. Athletes started in Saturday's order of finish, but there were separated by 30 seconds instead of the time gaps from the previous race. Susan would probably have preferred that the traditional pursuit format had been followed, as that would'be given her a healthy 1:45 over Annelise Cook at the start. Instead, Annelise overcame the smaller 30second deficit to bump Susan to fifth place by 15 seconds. While Dunklee's shooting improved over day one (in terms of %-age), Cook's did too, missing only six shots to Susan's eight on Sunday.
As the weather cooled so did the Craftsbury Junior competitor's shooting. In the women's race, the competitors missed the same number of targets, turning the event into a drag race, with Tara again ending second on the day.
For the Junior men, Ethan closed the weekend in third place. While his ski speed held up, cold shooting gave his competition the margin they needed.
You can find results for both Saturday and Sunday at Ethan Allen's website. Congrats to all for a great pre-season result and event! It was a fun weekend in Jericho. Lots of Craftsbury Volunteers on site throughout the weekend! For many (myself included) it was their first time helping out at a biathlon event. A very fun time learning about a different aspect of skiing - watch Ethan Allen's website for their next volunteer opportunity.
Saturday Results
Sunday Results
Fasterskier Coverage
Ethan Allen Biathlon Website
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