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TGM showing some of her ski speed - photo Judy Geer.
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New Year's 2012 Racing Roundup
05.Jan.2012 Beyond the great competition going on here at the Center this past weekend with the Classic, there were other results to note (even if a bit belatedly).
Last week, Craftsbury biathletes Ethan Dreissigacker and Tara Geraghty-Moats headed off to the great white north of Alaska for US Junior Biathlon Trials in Anchorage - and made the end of 2011 a very successful one!
The racing opened on Wednesday, the 28th with a 7.5/10k spring competition. Ethan kicked things off in fine style, missing only one shot en route to a 1:17 win. Tara took a more dramatic path to a clear and decisive win, missing half of the day's targets, but still winning by 1:03 on the strength of her ski speed. In fact, when looking at the percent back measurements USBA uses to decide Worlds' teams, Tara had the biggest win of the day!
Thursday was a 10/12.5k pursuit to forget for the Craftsbury crew. Tara was on pace to another strong performance, when things went pear-shaped as she cross-fired, and was subsequently given four penalties. Cross-firing is shooting on the wrong station at the shooting range. However, she didn't realize her mistake, so didn't ski the required loops - incurring an even larger 8 minute penalty! Ouch.
Ethan's shooting went cold in the pursuit, hitting only half of the targets and dropping to 4th on the day.
USBA selects its world championship team based on the best two of three results, so the last 7.5/10k sprint on Friday had special significance for the Craftsbury athletes that had split performances to this point. Would they rebound from the prior day's lackluster performances?
Ethan refound the hot form on the range that he displayed mid-week, missing only two targets - the best of any competitor on the day. And he needed that shooting, as only 8 seconds separated the top two steps of the podium.
Tara too repeated her Wednesday victory, but it was another hairy ride. She suffered on the range, missing 6 shots. Her ski speed didn't fail her however, netting her a slim 4.5 second win.
As a result of two wins a piece, both athletes will be representing the US at Junior/Youth Biathlon World Championships in Kontiolahti, Finland during February. Way to go!
Find more coverage at Fasterskier, including links to full results:
Fasterskier coverage: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3
On the home front, Adrian organized a ski-o clinic and race in conjunction with the Craftsbury Classic. A dedicated core group of skiers attended, and he passed along some results. Course length: Straightline distance 4.5k, with the shortest skiable distance 7k.
Full Course results: (eight controls)
Alison Crocker 32 min
Kestrel Owens 45 min
Ken Walker Sr. 53 min
Partial Course results:
Allison Van Akkeren 42 min (seven controls)
Kellby Benson 42 min (five controls)
Jared Benson 42 min (five controls)
Kai Wingenseifen 42 min (five controls)
Thanks so much to Adrian for putting the event on, and all the skiers who competed!
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