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Rematches....
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Tuesday, 20 August 2024 00:10
Photo (L-R) - Josh Blankenheim, his daughter Finley, and Jason Crisp.
LAKES COUNTRY TRIATHLON PREVIEW – Including it's predecessor, the “Whipple Wave Triathlon,” this two-name event—Lakes Country and Baxter Triathlon—has been around for a quarter century. It's a very cool race made even cooler in recent years with upgrades to Whipple beach and park.
From a competitive standpoint, we are very excited about he rematch of last year's top two guys—JOSH BLANKENHEIM and SPENCER SYVERTSON--both of whom are racing brilliantly this season. Maybe, just maybe, WADE CRUSER's 2018 race record will be replaced.
What about MICHELLE ANDRES' women's race record, her 1:04:27 set way back in 2014? Is it in jeopardy?
Maybe. That's because BECKY YOUNGBERG, who is not currently registered, has been popping up at races lately, only to walk away with dominant victories. It needs to be said that the list of entrants we are consulting is more than a week old, thus other competitive athletes may have, unbeknownst to us, signed up. ...
Cami & Brandon Are the "Real Deal"...
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Sunday, 18 August 2024 00:10
YOUNG LIFE TRIATHLON COVERAGE – We like to make performance predictions, and it's cool when we are correct, although that is usually a result of stating the obvious. Yes, we correctly predicted that BRANDON LEE and KADIE HOKANSON would win Young Life's Olympic race, and that SEAN PICKLE and CAMI ECKHOFF would prevail in the Sprint, but few would have bet against those picks.
What we like even more than being correct, is being surprised, which often means that being wrong is more fun than being right. There were some cool surprises at yesterday's tris, which were celebrating its platinum-plus-one (21st) anniversary.
Examples of pleasant surprises included the fact that while we were correct about Leee winning the men's Olympic men's race, and that NICK JASMER, ANDREW MOEN, DAVID LEWIS and BRETT WINKLEMAN would be among the top finishers, we were wrong about the order. We picked Jasmer to finish 2nd. When Nick saw our preview post, he responded to noting that Fargo's NATHAN MEYETTE (photo) deserved to be on “Podium Watch,” our words not Nick's. He was right. Nathan finished 2nd overall....
On The Radar...
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Saturday, 17 August 2024 00:10
As we reach the two-thirds mark of the 2024 Minnesota tri season we are impressed with the emergence of athletes that were not on our radar a year ago. In alpha order, here are a few who have captured our attention this season:
KAITSY BAKER, 24, Plymouth
A rookie, Kaitsy has cracked the Top 5 in both of the tris--Clearwater Sprint & Northwoods--she's entered this season. She's already riding at a 20 mph clip and running sub-7. She will only get faster with each race.
NICK JASMER, 32, Menagha
Nick showed “promise” in 2023, but we weren't ready to embrace him fully because his effort at Timberman Olympic was not competitive. This year is much different. His results are very good and will only get better with time. We like his trajectory. Here is his 2024 scorcard to date:
1st @ Average Jo
2nd @ Hoot Lake (Behind Corey Nygaard)
3rd @ Northwoods (Behind Blankenheim and Grossinger)
4th @ Alexandria (Sprencer Syvertson, Corey Nygaard & Easton Syvertson...
Brandon & Cami...
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Thursday, 15 August 2024 00:10
YOUNG LIFE TRIATHLON PREVIEW - The 21st edition of the Young Life Olympic & Sprint Triathlons will happen this Saturday (8/17) on the scenic northern shoreline of Detroit Lake in, appropriately, Detroit Lakes. Though online registration has closed, 10 race-day walk-ups will be allowed. 294 athletes are currently enrolled in the traditional triathlons, with another 29 registered in the paddle tris....
Becky Returns. She and Preston Did What They Do...
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Wednesday, 14 August 2024 00:10
Photo - Women's Olympic podium and a baby.
20th GREEN LAKE OLYMPIC coverage - Eleven men have broken 1:50 on GL's Olympic-esque (.75 - 22 - 6) course, though never more than three in a single year, and that happened back in 2012. At the very least, that was destined to be at least matched last Sunday. 2023 champ COREY NYGAARD, who is faster this year than last, JOE ADRIAENS, a consistent sub-2-hour guy at full Olympic distance, and the seemingly invincible PRESTON YOUNGDAHL, a late registrant who has won 10 of the 11 Minnesota tris he's entered since returning to his homestate in 2021.
Talent wasn't the only factor that portended fast times for the men. The conditions were perfect. Mild temps, low humidity, negligible wind, flat water.
Only two woman had ever broken two hours here, and it appeared on paper that times closer to 2:10 would land on the podium. Then, like Youngdahl, BECKY YOUNGBERG showed up on race morning. Becky is the course record holder here, having done so back in 2018. She came into the race with three wins in five starts this season. Though the clear favorite, there were several Green Lake vets, like two-time winner MERILEA OSTERLUND, and BECKY LEIS, a two-time runner-up here, hoping to round out the Top 3. Additionally, AMY PREUSSER, who has been turning in very solid performances for the last two seasons, was enrolled....
