FEATURES

Kevin Vs Greg...

Wednesday, 13 November 2013 09:10

Master of the Year - Men - As with the women in the MOY category, wherein Jan Guenther edged-out Julia Weisbecker for the prize, the men's winner, Kevin O'Connor (photo L), won by a slim margin over Greg Taylor, who took home the MOY trophy last year. Kevin won it in 2011.

Before we explain the Committee's rationale for selecting O'Connor, we'll mention that the other two nominees--Brian Bich and Tony Schiller--also raced brilliantly, but their resumes lacked relative volume and long distance success. Kevin and Greg raced more often and excelled in both long and short races.

Let's look at their impressive resumes:

KEVIN O'CONNOR, 42, Medina -

1st amateur @ Pigman Sprint

1st overall @ Liberty Olympic - Course Record

1st overall @ Manitou Duathlon...

1st @ RochesterFest Olympic - Masters Record

1st @ Waseca Sprint - Course Record

1st amateur @ Pigman Half - Amateur CR - 4:07:52

5th overall / 1st Master @ Lake Waconia

7th overall / 2nd Master @ USAT Sprint Nationals

25th overall / 2nd 40-44 @ USAT AG Nationals - 1:58:15

GREG TAYLOR, 59, Yankton, SD (photo R)

1st overall @ Balaton FunFest Tri

2nd overall @ North Mankato

3rd overall / 1st Master @ Timberman - 2:03:57

2nd AG / 1st US @ 70.3 Worlds - 4:54:44

3rd AG @ USAT AG Nationals - 2:06:36

5th AG / 1st US @ Hawaiian Ironman - 9:58:44

14th overall / 1st 50+ @ Pigman Half - 4:29:31

After scrutinizing the two scorecards, who would be your MOY? And why did the committee select O'Connor?

We'll start with the fact that Kevin had six outright and/or amateur wins. Only St. Paul pro David Thompson won more often on Minnesota soil in 2013.

Next, two of Kevin's efforts received Performance of the Year nominations. Also, he picked up silver medals on back-to-back days at Milwaukee Nationals.

Still, Taylor received almost enough support to win. What hurt him, we suspect, was that Kevin's efforts were easier to quantify, whereas a win for Greg would require the Committee to trust various age-grading formulas, which are useful, albeit speculative, and as such, not definitive.

O'Connor and Taylor are being considered for USAT MOY HM status.