FEATURES
June Athletes of the Month...
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Wednesday, 29 June 2016 05:10
MT
N and Excelsior Running present their ATHLETES OF THE MONTH for June 2016: *
ATHLETES OF THE MONTH
Hanna Grinaker, 28, St. Paul & Kris Spoth, 28, White Bear Lake
In her first month of multisport racing, Hanna was unbelievable. She won twice (New Bri and Lake Waconia), both with resounding CRs. In her other two efforts--Liberty Half (4:47:07 despite riding long!) and Buffalo Olympic (2:10:58)--she placed 2nd. Several other women raced brilliantly, most notably Gaby Bunten (Wins at Trinona and RochesterFest) and Suzie Fox (Wins at Pigman Sprint and Copper Creek), but Hanna's meteoric emergence was unlike anything we've ever seen....
Kris' selection required a ton of thought and argument.This is because June 2016 AOM Matt Payne was also 
deserving. This one was almost too close to call. In the end, those who believed that Spoth's two wins--Trinona (CR) and RochesterFest--trumped Payne's CR victory at Buffalo and his 3rd at Du Nationals, overruled the Payne Train supporters.
Sean Cooley and Kevin O'Connor were also considered in this category.
PERFORMANCE OF THE MONTH
Hanna Grinaker's Course Record at Lake Waconia
Also considered: Sean Cooley's CR at Lake Waconia. Matthew Payne's CR at Buffalo Olympic, Kortney Haag's CR at Buffalo Olympic, Kris Spoth's CR at Trinona Sprint, Gaby Bunten's CR at Trinona Sprint, and Christina Roberts' win at Lake Minnetonka, where she finished less than five minutes behind the men's winner.
MASTERS OF THE MONTH
Cheryl Zitur, 51, Corcoran (photo) & Kevin O'Connor, 45, Medina
Both of these repeat winners were slam dunks, though others--James Hannon, Mike Buenting and Andrea Myers--were discussed. KO won Liberty Olympic (again!) and placed 2nd overall at Lake Waconia (MR) and RochesterFest. He also won the masters title at Pigman Sprint.
Cheryl won Buffalo Sprint in record time and set a masters record in a victorious effort at Liberty Olympic. She finished 6th (1st master) last weekend at Lake Waconia.
GRAND MASTER OF THE MONTH
Jan Guenther, 57, Mound (photo)
Jan
finished 4th overall at Liberty Half (55-59CR), and 4th overall as well at Lake Minnetonka. Also considered in this category was Pam Stevens, who won her AG at Liberty and Lake Waconia.
JUNIOR OF THE MONTH
Mitchell Clayton, 19, Forest Lake
Mitchell is the JOM for the second straight month. In June he won his AG at New Bri, Liberty Olympic and RochesterFest Sprint, where he placed 4th overall.
* Based on a minimum of two outstanding performances for the month.
