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Zilinskas and Mork are 2019 "Most Improved"...

Saturday, 30 November 2019 23:10

MINNESOTA MULTISPORT AWARDS - Here are the winners of the 2019 MOST IMPROVED honors:

Women Nominees: JENNA HORNER, JENNIFER FITZHARRIS-FUNK, JESSIE MAHER, RACHEL ZILINSKAS

WINNER: RACHEL ZILINSKAS

While it was obvious that Maher demonstrated the most "actual" improvement in 2019, two of the other three nominees--Horner and Zilinskas--posted the kind of results that would land them officially on Team Minnesota, with Fitzharris-Funk coming darn close to doing so, as well. Horner won two races and excelled in sprint and OLympic races, but Zilinkas demonstrated, in the opinion of three of the five Selectors, more versatility, racing admirably at half and full IM, as well as Olympic distance. Her 2nd place finish at Minneapolis in 2:08:46 was the kicker, though. That kind of speed is rare....

Male Nominees: JAKE KEEHAN, JOSH MORK, MICHAEL WEISSENBORN, ANDY ZABEL

WINNER: JOSH MORK

Four great nominees, two of which--Mork and Zabel--performed well enough to earn spots on Team Minnesota. Two of the five Selectors favored Andy, who was ranked 15th in 2018. His highlights included four wins and a PR (4:13:40) in a 3rd place finish at Chisago. It was clear that he would rank near the middle of the Top 10 this year.

Mork, however, raced well enough to receive a Triathlete of the Year nomination and a certain place in the Top 3 on Team MInnesota. Two of his winning efforts--Chisago and especially Square Lake--received serious consideration for Performance of the Year nominations.

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