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Guys of Yesteryear...

Tuesday, 17 March 2015 01:10

Chatting with a longtime member of the MMA Selection Committee recently, we asked each other some "coulda" and shoulda" questions. Over boutique coffee, we talked about how difficult it is to make Team Minnesota, and how much more difficult it would be if athletes hadn't moved away, or retired, or gotten career-ending injuries. Since a significant percentage of Minnesota's multisport athetes had adopted the lifestyle after 2009, it is likely that they have never heard of some of the talented men and women of yesteryear.

Being totally into the history of our sport, we thought it would be cool to do some name-dropping. Here are some of the men who have made past editions of Team Minnesota but have not raced, locally at least, in the last five-plus years.

- DAN COHEN - Decorated tri coach last earned a spot on Team Minnesota in 2010. Dan has twelve career wins, was Rookie of the Year in 2000 and won the Most Improved award in 2006. Dan is a muscular guy who looks a lot like former Vikings linebacker Ben Leber. He was married not long ago to Kat Schlaefer (photo L), who has great legs and is an occasional HOOT!, and they have a new baby girl who is very, very cute and is doomed to being above average in every way....

 - ROB GILLES - A resident of Fargo, Rob was #1 on Team Minnesota back in 2001, the year he was considered for US AOY. Also in '01, he won the Performance of the Year award and was named Minnesota Triathlete and Duathlete of the Year. He had a really cute girlfriend back then. He may have married her.

- SAM HAUCK - Rookie of the Year in 2006, he also won the POY and MI awards in 2008, the year he was nominated for Triathlete of the Year. The two-time Team Minnesota member started med school in Nebraska in 2009. A bright guy, he's probably saving lives and raking in the Big Bucks these days.

- SAM JANICKI - In his rookie season in 2010, Sam won six races and finished 2nd in the Rookie of the Year voting. He was ranked 7th on Team Minnesota. Since then, the adventurous, fun-loving Sam has been elsewhere doing other stuff.

- DOUG DAVIS - One of the nicest human beings on the face of the earth, DD is a Minnesota mulsiport pioneer. A Team Minnesota member in 2000 and 2001, Davis has racked up double digit wins in his career.

- NEIL MILLER - A member of Team Minnesota in 2007, Neil moved to Oregon after the 2009 season. A great guy who is prematurely bald, he probably thinks that "Portlandia" is a HOOT (It is!), and like everyone in Oregon, probably sips some herb occasionally.

- JEREMY SARTAIN - Named Rookie of the Year in 2005, he earned spots on Team Minnesota in 2006 and 2007. A motorcyle accident in '08 has kept him on the sidelines ever since. As an event director, event consultant and volunteer, Jeremy continues to me a major presence on the local endurance scene. A great guy with a great family, Jeremy is very smart and prefers craft beers to weakass American lagers.

 - CHUCK SMITH - Rookie of the Year in 2003, a year in which he placed 6th overall at Nationals, Chuck is a two-time MN TOY nominee and has been ranked in the Top 3 on Team Minnesota twice. He raced briefly as a pro. Today he is married and directs the awesome Lake Marion Triathlon. He has a twin brother who looks exactly like him, suggesting that there must be something to this genetics stuff. You can tell the brothers apart easily, though. Phil likes to wear ball caps and Chuck doesn't like to mess up his hair. He has good hair.

 - CURT WOOD - Curt is very tall and has made Team Minnesota on several occasions. At Nationals in Oregon in 2008 he was totally reamed. Penalized for an unavoidable and uncorrectable mishap, his 8th-plave overall / 1st 30-34M finish was amended to 19th overall and 2nd place 30-34M. That sucked. Curt is married to Christine, who is an awesome photographer, and they have several really cute kids (photo above). If you squint, Curt looks a little like Chris Hemsworth.

An article --"Girls of Yesteryear"--about some of the women of Team Minnesota, circa 2000-2010, will post later in the week.