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MAY ATHLETES OF THE MONTH...UPDATED...

Tuesday, 31 May 2011 03:30

Photos - L-R - Dan Hedgecock, Michelle Andres & Hannah Strom. Dan & Michelle photos by either Sarah Linder-Stenzel or Denny Johnson. Sarah'sphoto was stolen from her Facebook page.

Athletes of the Month - MTN's AOM's for May 2011 are Daniel Hedgecock, Michelle Andres and Hannah Strom. Hedgecock and Andres were judged to be May's most outstanding overall performers. Strom was our pick for dominant age group athlete.

Here's why?

Dan Hedgecock -

The 24-year-old St. Paul resident's May scorecard consisted of two humongous wins and a 4th place finish. Dan won the Midwest Multisport Series kickoff at Gear West on May 22, outracing 2010 US Athlete of the Year HM Patrick Parish, who was undefeated against local competition last season, Oakdale winner Matthew Payne and a plethora of other elites. Last weekend he ran away from the field at Apple, setting an amateur course record and winning by an unprecedented margin (3:57!). Back on May 1 he placed 4th in the Elite Amateur division of St. Anthony's Triathlon in St. Petersburg, Florida. That race was won by 2008 US Athlete of the Year runner-up Adam Webber (PA), who raced pro in '09, '10, James McCurdy (AL), who has been on the USAT AOY radar for the last two seasons, and Colin Riley (FL), a two-time medalist at the Best of the US Championships.

AOM Men's Runner-up: Sam Janicki. (Two wins--Cinco Du Mayo Du & Albert Lea Tri--and two course records in May for the 25-year-old from St. Paul. Facebook (photo L.)

Michelle Andres -

The 34-year-of mother of five from East Gull Lake was the surprise winner at Gear West Du, where she beat the deepest women's field of the year thus far. Two weeks earlier she crushed the women's CR at Chain of Lakes, thus she is two-for-two in multisport racing in 2011. FYI, in mid-April she popped a 3:06 at the Boston Marathon. Winner of eight races in her career to date, she hopes to pick up #9 next weekend at Buffalo Olympic.

AOM Women's Runner-up - Suzie Finger. (Her May resume features a win at Apple and a 3rd at Gear West Du. Suzie is 28 and lives in Chaska and really loves her new dog. (Facebook photo R.)

Hannah Strom -

Juniors rarely crack the overall Top 10 in regional races, but this amiable 17-year-old from Woodbury placed in the overall Top 5 in two races (Oakdale Duathlon and Albert Lea Tri) in May. Additionally, her margin of victory over members of her AG was elephantine.

AOM Age Grouper Runner-up - Pam Stevens. (2010 Grand Master of the Year, Pam, 58, set divisional records in May at Chain of Lakes, where she placed 5th overall!, and Apple. (Buffalo Tri photo L.)

Others receiving AG AOM consideration: Ben Ewers, Jr. (65, North Oaks), Charlie Roach (53, Lakeville), Larry Stracke (54, Sauk Rapids), Mike Colaizy (61, Osceola, WI)

AOM winnerswill receive prizes worth tens of dollars, though we haven't figured out what they will be yet. Winners should contact Darin (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).