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Danielson is Junior of the Year...

Wednesday, 29 October 2014 01:10

Minnesota Multisport Awards - Last Saturday evening, PAIGE DANIELSON (photo) was named 2014 JUNIOR OF THE YEAR. Here's why:

Though her resume appeared, at first glance, to be matched by fellow St. Cloud resident and ROY nominee Lauren Steinke, a closer look revealed that her (Paige's) scorecard was, in the opinion of all of the Selection Committee members, slightly superior. In her four non-drafting tris (we did not include her three DL races), Steinke, then age 14, never finished lower than 5th overall woman. She set AG records in three of those races. Brilliant. Hard to beat, right?

Danielson, 18, also raced four times, setting divisional CRs each time and finishing no lower than 4th in her regional starts. At Du Nationals she was Top Junior, placing 18th overall and her AG margin was more than 12-minutes. Moreover, her time--1:34:52--would have put her on the podium in the 20-24 (2nd), 25-29 (3rd) and 30-34 (2nd) AGs.

The goal of the JOY is to find the teen multisport athlete who is competitive with "credentialed" adult racers and has turned in times that rival or exceed existing divisional CRs. Like her...

two-time JOY sister Greta, and Minnesota's most decorated (4 x JOY) Junior female Beth Zirbes, Paige Danielson did everything necessary to earn the award.

As for nominees Mitchell Clayton and Christopher Lam, both had impressive resumes, but neither was able to match Danielson's consistent excellence. Both guys raced often and well, but were occasionally beaten by fellow juniors. In at least seven starts, Lam was able to rewrite two AG records. The prolific Clayton had at least eight AG titles, including two divisional CRs.

All of this year's talented JOY nominees will be eligible for the same award in 2015. We wouldn't be surprised if all four earned nominations again. If that were to happen, it would be a first in the 17-year history of the MMAs.