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Damon's Unofficial Team Minnesota Women's Picks...
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Tuesday, 08 November 2022 00:10
Matt and Damon have posted their unofficial MMH choices, and are now debating whether to post unofficial Team Minnesota rosters, i.e. the Top 10 Minnesota male and female triathletes based on resume. Matt wants to rank athletes. Damon would prefer to simply list, in alpha order, the athletes who raced well enough to be included.
Damon worried that the shrinking number of Minnesota races plus post-pandemic attrition and the fact that several of our state's best triathletes did not meet the minimum volume (3 impressive performances) requirements would result in five-member teams. That list includes KORTNEY HAAG, SHYANNE MCGREGOR, DIANE HANKEE, KELLY TROM-NYGREN, NICOLE CUENO and SARA CARLSON on the women's side, and JOE ADRIAENS, KRIS SPOTH, JAKE KEEHAN, KARL NYGREN and KEVIN O'CONNOR for the men.
After some research, Damon was surprised that the list of potential Team Minnesota candidates is actually a rather lengthy one. Here are some of his observations about the 2022 women's team:
In alpha order, these are the ten women who, in his opinion, deserve berths:
Matt's Picks...
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Saturday, 05 November 2022 00:10
Matt and Damon have been busy discussing nominees and winners for this year's unofficial Minnesota Multisport Honors. To do this, they have evaluated the resumes of dozens of Minnesota's top multisport athletes. Athletes are considered on the basis of their overall race resume, not who is perceived to be better than who. By doing this, MTN aims to applaud well-deserving nominees and winners, and to show that Minnesota multisport athletes have some of the highest standards in the entire country.
Earlier this week, Damon posted his unofficial picks for Minnesota Athletes of the Year. Here are Matt's picks for the winners in each category:
Triathlete of the Year
Preston Youngdahl and Heather Lendway - To Matt, these two are the clear favorites for this honor, although Preston did face a significant challenge from AJ Manning who, like Youngdahl, posted incredible results and times this season.
Performance of the Year
AJ Manning's Course Record at Green Lake Olympic and Heather Lendway's Course Record at Maple Grove Olympic - Like Damon noted, Heather's Maple Grove effort was perhaps the best amateur female Olympic distance performance to ever take...
Damon's Picks...
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Thursday, 03 November 2022 00:10
The MMH Committee did not convene this season, thus there are no official Minnesota Multisport Honorees. Still, two members of that committee, Matt and Damon, studied the 2022 resumes of Minnesota triathletes and came up with their respective nominees and winners.
Today's post features Damon's picks, which are based on an athlete having at least three impressive performance last season. Matt's picks will post on Sunday.
Damon's unofficial Minnesota Athletes of the Year:
- TRIATHLETE OF THE YEAR - PRESTON YOUNGDAHL (photo) and HEATHER LENDWAY
Male Nominees: Aj Manning, Andy Zabel
Female Nominee: Maggie Swanson
Cami or Elena?
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Tuesday, 01 November 2022 00:10
Though there was no shortage of viable female Most Improved candidates last season, both Matt and Damon agree that the MI honor should go to either ELENA HENGEL or CAMI ECKHOFF. Matt chose to favor Eckhoff, so Damon was tasked with arguing on behalf of Hengel.
ELENA HENGEL, 25, Wayzata - At first glance Elena's 2021 resume looked like it deserved to be considered for a Rookie of the Year nomination. A second look told a different story. Though she podiumed in two races--2nd at Maple Grove Sprint and 3rd at Turtleman Sprint--her times were not competitive from a historical perspective. At Maple Grove, her time was 1:16:39, a result than wouldn't have cracked the Top 10 this year, or in most prior years.
At Turtleman, her time would have been eight minutes slower than this year's winning time. Still, it was her first year, and she had shown "promise."
She certainly delivered on that promise in 2022. Her first race produced a win in a fast 1:06:10 at Buffalo Sprint, the 4th best in the seven-year history of the current course. She follwed that with a 3rd place finish at Lake Minnetonka, where she was ten minutes faster than her 18th place finish there in 2021....
AJ, Preston, Heather & Maggie...
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Sunday, 30 October 2022 00:10
Who do Matt and Damon believe is the 2022 Male Triathlete of the Year? They are still discussing this, and agree that there are two especially strong candidates, but neither are ready to name the TOY yet. Here, in alpha order, are the two athletes and their 2022 resumes under consideration:
- AJ MANNING, 34, Fargo (photo) - AJ had a spectacular season, winning three (Amateur title at Buffalo Olympic, Course Record at HyVee Sprint, and CR at Green Lake Olympic) of the five regional races he entered. His 14th overall place at Olympic Nationals (2:00:16) also helps his case. He set two course records, one of which is a slam-dunk POY nominee, and in his two confrontations with fellow TOY frontrunner Preston Youngdahl, he is 1 - 1.
- PRESTON YOUNGDAHL, 32, Plymouth - On Minnesota soil, Preston won four of the five races he entered, and placed 2nd in the other. His course record at Clearwater Olympic and amateur title at Maple Grove Olympic are POY nomination-worthy. He also lowered his personal half-iron best, posting a 4:12 (6th place overall) at Ironman 70.3 Madison...
