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Usual Suspects Prevail at Green Lake...

Wednesday, 12 August 2026 00:10

22nd Green Lake Triathlon Coverage - Three hundred and forty-six athletes signed up for this year's races (Intermediate and Sprint) and those who showed up on race day were gifted with generally hospitable weather, though there was some noticable wind out on the bike course.

As the races unfolded it became clear that three of the four returning winners would lead the way once again. This is because two-time Sprint champ Sean Pickle is out for the season with a leg injury, which opened the door for last year's silver and bronze medalists to step up, which they did.

Two-time winner (and three-time runner-up) Kevin Mitchell, who was coming off a win in his home state of South Dakota on Saturday, was first into T2. He looked strong enough to win, but last year's third place Steven Mills, thanks to his 18-minute three mile run split, would overtake Mitchell en route to a 1:19 margin of victory.

Willmar's Mick Quinn, who typically lands in the men's Top 5 here (both Intermediate and Sprint), filled out the men's Sprint podium.

It looked like Cassie Nemecek was poised to win her first tri, that is until race morning when two-time defending Sprint champ Gretchen Amundson decided to register. Cassie had a great race, turning in a time that was 1:45 faster than her 2025 2nd place clocking, but Gretchen also bettered last year's time allowing her to claim her third consective win at GLS.

Lapsed triathlete Cindy Schlafmann, now 60, finished 3rd, proving that she's still some of the "stuff" that defined her successful racing two decades ago.

2025 Intermediate winners Jacob Niemann and Amy Preusser threw down faster times than last year, which resulted in even wider margins of victory on Sunday. For Niemann, his 1:54:22 was a whopping 7:28 beter than last year's time. For Preusser, her improvement was 1:01. Her 2:02:51 put her 16+ minutes ahead of second placing Allie Van Stone, who finished 24-seconds in front of two-time GLO winner Merilea Osterlund.

The men's silver and bronze were awarded to Ryan Preusser, who is enjoying a breakout season, and Michael Wente.

Kudos to race management who once again produced a terrific event. RESULTS

Minnesota Excellence!

Monday, 10 August 2026 00:10

2026 AGE GROUP NATIONALS - Milwaukee, WI - MTN applauds all the Minnesota triathletes who participated in last weekend's National Championships. - Below are the Loon State athletes who finished at, or near, the top of the overall and Age Group leaderboards. Note that Heather Lendway has won her fourth overall National Olympic Distance title, making her first irst woman to do so. It is also possible that her 2:06:09 is the fastest time by a Masters women in Nationals history.

Olympic Triathlon - Overall Women (Top 25)

1. HEATHER LENDWAY, 42, St. Paul - 2:06:09 (Margin of victory: 1:53!)

5. GRACE BUSCH, 24, Mankato - 2:11:05

Olympic Men - Top 25

13. KYLER WILLIAMS, 17, Zimmerman - 1:58:49

15. MICAH WARNING, 30, Rochester - 1:59:32

Olympic Age Group Women - Top 5s

20-24 - 1. GRACE BUSCH, 24, Mankato - 2:11:05 (MOV - 1:44!)

35-39 - 5. KATIE DEREGNIER, 38, Farmington - 2:21:51

40-44 -1. HEATHER LENDWAY, 42, St. Paul - 2:06:06 (AG MOV - 8:11!)

45-49 - 2. TIFFANY KARI-CIZMAS, 46, Duluth - 2:21:44

Olympic Age Group Men - Top 5s

17-19 - 1. KYLER WILLIAMS, 17, Zimmerman - 1:58:49 (MOV - 4:05!)

30-34 - 5. MICAH WARNING, 30, Rocherster - 1:59:32

55-59 - 5. THADDEUS INGERSOLL, 56, St. Paul - 2:11:03

Sprint Triathlon - Overall Women (Top 25)

14. SHANNON BRAUN, 43, St. Paul - 1:09:48

Sprint Triathlon - Overall Men (Top 25)

8. MICAH WARNING, 30, Rochester - 58:32

Sprint Triathlon Age Group Women (Top 5s)

35-39 - 4. COLLEEN BAKER, 35, Minneapolis - 1:16:25

35-39 - 5. SAMANTHA LEMAY, 35, Osseo - 1:16:33

40-44 - 4. SHANNON BRAUN, 43, St. Paul - 1:09:48

60-64 - 2. CHRISTEL KIPPENHAN, 61, Bemidji - 1:15:26

Sprint Triathlon - Age Group Men (Top 5s)

16-19 - 5. CORBIN DEICHMAN, 18, Mankato - 1:04:46

30-34 - 2. MICAH WARNING, 30, Rochester - 58:32

"I Never Looked at My Watch"...

Friday, 07 August 2026 00:10

By Tiffany Kari Cizmas

First time at the Shell Lake Lions Triathlon! What a fab event! The course was lovely and very well marked with volunteers at every corner. The organizers exuded love and pride for their event. It had a very homey vibe like a home cooked meal.

The race:

The swim was calm, nice, and short just the way I and most like it however extra short because the leader missed a bouy and everyone followed (thank you leader!) With all the splashing, arm swinging, and foggy goggles it can be hard to see anything except for the people around you when you take a quick breath so we all just followed unknowingly like a herd of swimming cattle (with goggles).

The bike route was beautiful with good pavement for much of it. It rolled through farmland and then around Shell Lake. Despite a rougher feeling week and no real taper my legs felt pretty solid. Did my best to hold a strong steady effort that I could potentially hold at the 40K distance in two weeks at Nationals. Today was just about practice which really dropped the stress and nerves. If I could only feel that way at every race.

As for the run I eased in and never looked at my watch. I find checking my watch for pace only gets in my head. I wanted to purely run by feel and not judge myself. I knew there was about 1.25-1.5 mile of slightly uphill gravel on the back half that would also slow my roll. Looking to see how much slower I would be going on that stretch is something that has taken me years to learn not to do.

To my surprise I ran better than I expected. Hit some paces I hope to see in two weeks at my A race. Pulled off a 1st overall for females and 5th overall. And course record for women.

The real reason I signed up for this race was to hang with my dear friend Deanna. She has mentioned it for years but the timing wasn’t right. This year I made it a priority and so glad I did! Thanks D for the bed, fun hang, the cheers, and fabulous lunch! Oh and the pictures! Maybe we’ll get you in a relay next year.

RESULTS

Jeron's Breakout!

Wednesday, 05 August 2026 00:10

2026 Graniteman Big Lake Sprint Coverage – Jeron Hall, 20, came into the race hoping to come away with his first career tri win. He felt confident that a sub-1:10 would do the trick. He'd need to go three-plus minutes faster than last year to make that happen.

It was his bike split that made his goal seem not only possible, but likely. He surprised himself when he crossed the finish line in 1:05:24. He was reasonably sure that later starters could not match his time, much less better it.

He was right.

As it turned out, Jeron was not the only guy to beat the 70-minute mark, though. Last year's runner-up Brenner Hohenstein (1:11:39 in 2025) turned in a 1:09:27. Last year's 4^th placer Ben Hall finished one place higher this time, his 1:12:34 proving to be 24-seconds faster than his 2025 time.

Knowing that pre-race favorite Andrea Myers, who had won two prior Graniteman Big Lake titles, started in a later wave, Alyssa Knese, pronounced Kah-naze-ee, was visibly anxious when she crossed the finish line ahead of the women's field. Then it was time to play the waiting game, and as Tom Petty so eloquently put it in song, “The Waiting is the Hardest Part.”

Myers, a 30-year multisport vet, has a victory-filled resume, her most recent being at Lake Rebecca, but she was unable to close the gap with Alyssa, who was visibly ecstatic when her victory was officially declared.

Andrea held on for second with 3^rd place earned by Maggie Werba, who placed 6^th earlier in the year at Graniteman Buffalo Olympic.

Werba, a former collegiate swimmer, is a neophyte triathlete who unsurprisingly has become addicted to the sport. She plans to file a race report soon. Stay tuned for that.

Sprint AG Top 3s:

0019M – 1. Connor Heltemes – 1:14:52, 2. Jack Jendro, 3. Gavin Runke

0019W – 1. Adeline Hitter – 1:36:56, 2. Eden Hill, 3. Haley Huntley

2029M – 1. Jeron Hall – 1:05:24, 2. Brenner Hohenstein, 3. Derek Schlitz

2029W – 1. Maggie Werba – 1:17:11, 2. Kamryn Robarge, 3. Elizabeth Altman

3039M – 1. Ben Myers – 1:12:34, 2. Brandon Brogly, 3. Steven Boos

3039W – 1. Alyssa Knese – 1:14:11, 2. Michelle Deedrick, 3. Olivia Erickson

4049M – 1. Andrew Volkenant – 1:114:05, 2. Jason Neumann, 3. Joe Casey

4049W – 1. Sarah Thompson – 1:24:30, 2. Daniele Niedermaier, 3. Kristina Burrack

5059M – 1. Timothy Huntley – 1:16:22, 2. Scott Myers, 3. Daniel Klein

5059W - 1. Andrea Myers – 1:15:59, 2. Tonya Rak, 3. Jill Silvernail

6069M – 1. Jeff Gilmer – 1:18:55, 2. Paul Schroeder, 3. Jim Nack

6069W – 1. Mary Deeg – 1:25:07, 2. Judith Peters, 3. Patricia Reeve

7079M – 1. Mike Borneke – 1:43:25, 2. Joe Gryskiewicz

7079W – 1. Carol Gragert – 1:49:34, 2. Jan Rubsam

Preston & Amy Lead the Way!

Monday, 03 August 2026 00:10

2026 Graniteman Big Lake Olympic Coverage - In 2025, 324 triathletes / tri relay athletes registered for the Big Lake Triathlon. Yesterday's edition of this great event registered 404 people, an 80-athlete growth spurt. We hope this portends increased race attendance generally in the post pandemic era.

Favorites prevailed in the Olympic race. Amid mild, hospitable weather conditions, Preston Youngdahl and Amy Preusser outsplit all rivals in each phase, giving each significant time to relax and rehydrate as they waited for their challengers to finish. Preston's fast 2:08:39 on a course that boasts four extra miles of cyling was uber impressive, not only because it provided a corpulent margin of victory, but because it now means that Preston, Minnesota's three-time Triathlete of the Year, owns the four fastest times on the six-year-old expanded course.

Amy should have been tired and sore after her podium finish in brutal conditions at Chisago 72.4 (not a misprint) six days earlier. If she was, it certainly didn't show. Her 2:31:10 ranks 2nd behind Cami Eckhoff's 2021 effort on the expanded course, and was a 6:48 improvement on her runner-up clocking last year. Her 2026 scorecard now consists of two fast wins and a 3rd.

Placing 2nd behind Youngdahl was Steven Voss, who also finished in the silver medal position last year. Voss was 4:03 faster this time around.

Placing 2nd, 5:37 behind Presseur, was a 35-year-old Periodontist from Tampa, Florida with an elite amateur racing resume. Her name is Kailand Cosgrove and her race application suggests that she may be living in Hopkins. We sure hope that's true. She would be a wonderful addition to the women's tri scene here in Minnesota.

Graniteman Big Lake Sprint coverage, with AG Top 3s, will post on Wednesday on Preston &'s Facebook page.

Olympic AG Top 3s

0019M - 1. Aiden Laue - 2:52:14, 2. Miles Hjelle

0019W - 1. Emerson Vetter - 3:39:10

2029M - 1. Ryan Preusser - 2:31:10, 2. Kyle Sweeney, 3. Brendan Smith

2029W - 1. Amy Preusser - 2:31:10, 2. Floria Elliott, 3. Erin Ruis

3039M - 1. Preston Youngdahl - 2:08:39, 2. Bryan. Tinajero, 3. Peter Goldberg

3039W - 1. Kailand Cosgrove - 2:36:56, 2. Audrey Davison, 3. Emily Williams

4049M - 1. Steven Voss - 2:18:24, 2. Craig Scgroeder, 3. Daniel Hurka

4049W - 1. Kristen Sauders - 2:53:31, 2. Jillian Reiner, 3. Marissa Mahowald

5059M - 1. Don Steenson - 2:38:38, 2. Richard Geisen, 3. Tony Casassa

5059W - 1. Holly Graubins - 3:12:36, 2. Holly Gigure