FEATURES

Once Again, Cheryl is Female Grand Master of the Year!

Sunday, 16 November 2025 00:10

By Bonnie and Clyde

Once again, there is a stellar group of F- Grand Master of thhe Year nonimess: Jan Guenther, Julia Weisbecker and Cheryl Zitur.

Bonnie – This category appeared to be a toughie until I took a deeper dive, after which I concluded that Cheryl Zitur was clearly the most deserving of the F-GMOY. Two outright wins,where she outraced several younger credentialed athletes. Her 2nd behind TOY nominee Cami Eckhoff at Buffalo Sprint was just as impressive, and her 4th place overall finish at Timberman Olympic was an AGR.

Finally, there is a definite spot for Cheryl in the Top 6 on 2025 Team Minnesota, whereas Julia and Jan are projected to place between 11th and 15th.

Clyde - My two frontrunners for the female GMOY honor were Jan and Cheryl. Jan was competitive at long course races (predominantly) this season, whereas Cheryl was fast at local short course races. Like Bonnie, I thought this would be a tough category to pick a winner. In the end though, I do agree with her that Cheryl should be awarded ...

this year's GMOY honor. I picked Cheryl largely because of her two age group records (Timberman Olympic and Northwoods). Also, the 60 year-old’s second place at Buffalo was only four and a half minutes adrift from 39 year-old Cami Eckoff’s winning effort, which is in contention for Performance of the Year. She also won overall at Maple Grove Sprint, showing head-to-head she is competitive against other credentialed athletes. So, again, Cheryl is my pick for the 2025 GMOY.

Conclusion: Cheryl Zitur is 2025 Female Grand Master of the Year.