FEATURES

June 2021 Athletes of the Month!

Monday, 05 July 2021 00:10

Based on a minimum of two outstanding performances during the month in question, though for our purposed,  "June 2021" includes May performances, and in one case, an even earlier effort, the Minnesota Multisport Honors Committee had determined its AOMs. Our thanks to MIKE BUENTING, who reps "Speed Hound," for providing cool swag for the winners.

JUNE 2021 ATHLETES OF THE MONTH:  KYLE SWENSON & RACHEL ZILININSKAS

The men's AOM was contentious. Some of the Committee members favored DAVID KOPPEL, based on his two wins, the first of which--Buffalo Olympic--was arguably the men's Performance of the Month. In the end,...

though, Kyle, only 19, raced three times, each against strong competition, winning twice --Sarasota Sprint and Lake Minnetonka--and placing 2nd behind former pro / 2019 Minnesota Triathlete of the Year PATRICK PARISH. Swenson and Koppel will face each other for the first time at Heart of the Lakes on July 18. We are anxious to watch that confrontation.

Zilinskas was a slam-dunk selection. She raced twice and won both times by hefty margins. Not only that, both wins were against national fields, the first at St. George 70.3 North American Championships, the second at Des Moines (weather abbreviated) 70.3.

JUNE 2021 JUNIOR OF THE MONTH:  KYLE SWENSON & ISABELLA BUENTING

NOAH  BILLINGS, 15, had raced brilliantly in May and June, even winning on two occasions--Tri Clear Lake and Fairmont Sprint. His 4th place finish at Apple was jaw-droppingly good. Still, based on the qualitiy of the fields he faced,  Swenson, 19, raced well enough to be named the overall male June Athlete of the Month, it followed that he also recieve the JOM. 

Once again, field quality determined the honoree here. MACY IYER, 17, posted sterling results, two 5ths and a 2nd, while BUENTING, 18, only raced twice, recording a 4th and a 5th. Each girl dominated her AG in each race, but Bella had faced significantly stronger competition at both Buffalo Sprint, and especially Pleasant Prairie, which drew a national-level field. 

JUNE 2021 MASTER OF THE MONTH:  BROOKS GROSSINGER & DIANE HANKEE

This was the easiest category to determine. Both Brooks and Diane were considered slam-dunks. Brooks won against a strong field at Buffalo Sprint and placed 3rd overall / 2nd amateur at Apple. Diane was victorious at Apple, 4th (1st Master) at Buffalo Olympic and 8th overall / 2nd Master at the highly-competitive Des Moines (weather abbreviated) 70.3.

JUNE 2021 JUNE GRAND MASTER OF THE MONTH:  TIM BROWN & JULIA WEISBECKER

Tim, 62, continued to perform like he did in 2020, when he was the slam-dunk Grand Master of the Year. He not only dominated his AG at Apple, Buffalo Olympic and Manitou Olympic, but Age Graded comparisons with other GM categories (65-69, 70-74, 75-79) as well.

The women's GMOM was the most difficult category to determine. First, their were four outstanding candidates: JAN GUENTHER, 62, PAM STEVENS, 68, MEGAN WEBSTER, 66, and JULIA WEISBECKER, 55. The ever-amazing Guenther set AG records at Apple and Lake Minnetonka, cracking the overall women's Top 10 both times. Stevens won aher AG at Apple and set an AG record at Buffalo Olympic. Webster demolished her AG's records at Lake Minnetonks and Clearwater. Weisbecker, however, placed an astonishing 3rd overall at Apple, crushing her AG's record by a ridiculous margin (8:28!), then also won her division at Des Moines by a similarly ludicrous margin (6:58!). Her's were truly national class performances.

Though the Committee has not instituted a "Rookie of the Month" honor (we typically do not become aware of the freshman class until deeper into the season), as well as a "Most Improved" month-by-month category, we will mention that rookie CAMI  ECKHOFF (3rd @ Buffalo Sprint, 4th at Clearwater) has certainly gotten our attention, as has, among others, vastly improved KATIE DEREGNIER (2nd at Buffalo Olympic, 6th @ Des Moines).

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