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Friday, 26 September 2014 00:10

MINNESOTA MULTISPORT AWARDS - Here are the official male nominees in the MOST IMPROVED category:

CHAP ACHEN, 45, Red Wing - Achen's best season ever featured three wins in five starts, including a 4:15 at Square Lake Half. Additionally, he was Top Master at Trinona (5th overall/ 2nd amateur) and Life Time - Minneapolis (8th overall).

RYAN BAILEY, 24, Wayzata - While racing in Colorado in 2013, Bailey's best effort was a 9th at Boulder Peak. This year he won two races, one in CR time, and finished just four seconds behind winner Kris Spoth, a possible Triathlete of the Year nominee, at One Last Tri.

JOSH BLANKENHEIM, 34, Duluth (photo) - After a two-year layoff due to injuries and the opportunity to catch up on his hunting and fishing, Blank returned to the tri scene with a vengeance. He podiumed in four of his six starts, including at win at Capitol City Sprint.....

NATHAN HOFFMAN, 31, West Haven - Nate came from nowhere to earn a Duathlete of the Year nomination, which also justifies his MI selection. In 2014 he won the USAT National Sprint Du and the Fall Classic Du. INterestingly, his best race of the season was probably his 3rd place finish behind David Thompson and Matt Payne at Oakdale, where his time was smokin' fast (1:01:21).

Also receiving serious consideration in this category were MARCUS STROMBERG (37, Buffalo), BROOKS GROSSINGER (37, Mayer), BENNETT ISABELLA (32, Burnsville), JAKE COOLEY (25, Grand Forks - photo L), ERIC HENDRICKSON (34, Hopkins), DAVID PHILLIPS (28, Maple Grove), and CASEY MILLER (28, Baxter).

UPDATE: MTN apologizes to Marcus Stromberg, Brooks Grossinger and David Phillips, who received support in this category but their names were not included in this stroy's initial posting. Sorry, guys. We did not have a complete set of notes when this was first written.

OFFICIAL NOMINEES PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED:

Master of the Year - Male:  Chap Achen, Brian Bich, Kevin O'Connor, Tony Schiller

Master of the Year - Women: Heidi Keller-Miler, Tracy Serreyn, Ann Snuggerud, Cheryl Zitur

Duathlete of the Year (Coed) - Dani Fischer, Diane Hankee, Nathan Hoffman, Matthew Payne

Rookie of the Year (Coed) - Emy Everhart, Laura Greer, Nick Nygaard, Kelly Thom

Junior of the Year (Coed) - Mitchell Clayton, Paige Danielson, Christopher Lam, Lauren Steinke

Grand Master of the Year (Coed) - Neil King, Bill Schmitt, Pam Stevens, Greg Taylor

Most Improved - Women - Gaby Bunten, Dani Fischer, Christina Roberts, Cheryl Zitur