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Noah, Corbin & Sean are 2024 JOY Nominees...

Tuesday, 22 October 2024 00:10

By Garfunkel

Historically, the Minnesota Multisport Honor (MMH) for Junior of the Year (JOY) has been a coed category with 3-4 nominations per season. Over the last 6 seasons or so, due to a larger number of speedy juniors (aged 19 and under) turning in 3+ excellent results per season, we’ve given out MMHs for guys and girls. This year, too few junior girls turned in the requisite number of elite results, and the 2024 JOY will thus again be a coed category with only young men earning nominations. We hope this changes in 2025, but for now, here are the 3 juniors that Simon and I agree earned a JOY nomination:

Noah Billings, 18, Rochester:
3 overall wins, an Iowa state sprint-distance championship, and the winner at USAT’s Youth and Junior Nationals (non-drafting). Noah also stepped up to race olympic and half distances this year....

Corbin Deichman, 16, Mankato:
Corbin, summoning his elite swim and run speed, won 3 races, out-dueling Billings at Maple Grove sprint. He finished on the overall podium at 2 other races as well. (Note: Corbin excels at draft-legal racing, but only non-drafting results are considered for the MMHs).

Sean Pickle, 19, St. Cloud:
Sean started racing in 2022 we believe, and has quickly made his way to elite junior status. In 9 starts this year, Sean had 4 overall wins and finished on the overall podium 3 other times.

NOTE: In order to be taken seriously, junior boys are measured against the standards set by previous teen stars, like Kyle Swenson and Nick KlonneThe boys listed here compare favorably with those guys. Teen girls are measured against junior elites like Grace Busch, Bella Buenting and Greta Danielson and we believe that the girls considered for JOY nominations this season are a year or two away from being competitive at that level. - Simon