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Friday, 12 November 2010 04:00

Photos L-R - Former Minnesota Rookies of the Year Joyce Bourassa - Emily (& Lars) Finanger - Morgan Luzier - Nate Kortuem

Minnesota Multisport Awards - This is the first installment of "MMA History Stuff," wherein we playfully introduce you to past award winners and update you on what they're doing these days....

If we know what they're doing these days, that is.

Let's start with the Rookies of the Year:

* 2009 - SUZIE FINGER - The totally cute Suzie followed up her debut season with a very solid one in 2010. She won once and made five podiums. She hangs out with former ROY and current super tri coach Dan Cohen. They eat chicken wings and drink smoothies.

* 2008 - KORTNEY HAAG - Fast and fertile, Kort went on to win the Most Improved award in 2009. Her 2010 season was abbreviated by pregnancy (Derek's fault?) but there should still be a place for her on Team Minnesota. Next to the definition of "Sweetheart" in the dictionary is a picture of Kort.

* 2007 - JEANNE FLECK - After three fantasterific seasons, Jeanne missed 2010 due to injury. Fleck won the MI and MOY awards in 2008. Jeanne has a terrific sense of humor and enjoys extremely salty food.

* 2006 - MARTA LEWINSKI - Health and injury issues have been unkind to Marta; her competitive career has never really gotten the chance to take off. Ms. Lewinski is very nice, good at her job and, according to Suzie Finger, an excellent cook. We hope to post some of her healthy recipes this winter.

* 2005 - JEREMY SARTAIN & SARAH KOLPIN (photo L) - Before relocating to Pittsburgh to complete her medical residency, Kolpin, the 2006 World Duathlon Champion, raced in 33 multis, winning 13 times, setting nine course records and landing on 25 podiums. A wonderful person and bass fisherperson, we still miss her immensely.

Winner of the MI award in '07 and the Thorpe Running Inspiration trophy in '08, Jeremy has fought a long and hard uphill battle since his nearly catastrophic motorcycle accident in the spring of 2008. He raced twice--Life Time Fitness and the Hawaiian Ironman--in 2008, both times on crutches. How amazing is that! He enjoyed a "decent" season in 2009, a year which featured a brilliant course record effort at St. Paul Olympic. Fatherhood, which he totally loves and is very good at, and other major life changes intervened in 2010. (He raced only once.) He's a super smart and cool guy and we often wonder what he'd look like with longer hair.

* 2004 - JOHN KEANE & KRISTIN RYGG - Keane, who ran at Notre Dame and looks a little bit like Tom Cruise (if you squint), never really fell in love with the multisport lifestyle. He's doing "other stuff" these days.

As with the culinarily astute Lewinski, health issues have plagued the chronically unlucky (long story) Rygg, who was living in Florida last time we checked. To know Kristin, is to love her. We wish her well.

* 2003 - CHUCK SMITH & KRISTEN WEAVER - Arguably the most successful male rookie in the last decade, Chuck went on to a brief pro career. Since 2006 he has raced sparingly, concentrating instead on his coaching and race directing. He founded and manages the Lake Marion Triathlon. He's handsome and doesn't say much.

Kristen, spelled with an "e" not an "i," followed up her rookie year with two more successful seasons. Since '06 she has raced infrequently and has concentrated on family and work stuff. An exuberant person, she's got a mouthful of beautiful teeth and she's not afraid to flash them.

* 2002 - MIKE GRUBA & JOYCE BOURASSA - An elite distance runner, Bourassa (pronounced "Borsa") raced well enough to bag the ROY but hasn't "multi-ed" since. We learned through a totally unreliable source that she now has between two and eleven children. Not sure.

Gruba has raced sparingly since 2005; probably so he could do stuff related to becoming a doctor.

* 2001 - NATHAN KORTEUM & EMILY FINANGER - Shortly after being named 2005 Minnesota Triathlete of the Year, Emily Deppe left the state. In 2006 she got her pro license and married totally cool guy Lars Finanger."Emmie" is quite shy and a very, very nice person.

In 2003 or thereabout, Nate moved to Florida and became a pro triathlete. A few years later he married Sarah Haskins, who has since emerged as America's premier short course female triathlete. He's probably responsible for that. At least partially. He now manages her career and still looks like a teenager.

* 2000 - DAN COHEN & MORGAN LUZIER - Dan is our state's all-time most muscular ROY and Luzier had the "biggest hair" of any MMA recipient ever. Winner of 12 career multis, Dan, who took home the Most Improved award in 2006, is a world class tri coach. After work he hangs out with Suzie Finger, eating chicken wings and drinking smoothies.

Morgan chose fitness coaching over multisports and currently helps people to look amazing in bikinis. Judging from the photo at the top of the page, her hair isn't as big as it used to be.

* 1999 - JOHNO MCLEOD & ALLIE LAWLER - Two very cool people who left Minnesota many years ago; McLeod for his native Canada; Lawler to Nebraska and then to Connecticut. Allie still races and Johno, whose hair is probably still sorta curly, still does whatever it is that he does.