Race Coverage

Walker & Hoot Lake Coverage...

Monday, 31 July 2017 06:10

Fun Bringers (L-R) - Tiff, Leanne and Nicole.

WALKER TRIATHLON - Saturday's race, contested under ideal conditions on beautiful Walker Bay, was won by 2016 Rookie of the Year nominee JOEL LAFRANCE, and JACQUELYN BACIGALUPI, whose last name is Italian for "kiss of the wolf." Cool, huh? For LaFrance, the win was the 2nd of his young career.  For Bacigalupi, it was her 3rd career W, and her second consecutive victory at Walker. 

Joel's closest challenger was, unsurpringly, DAVID LEWIS, who was also 2nd the last time he raced here, which was in 2011. Third place went to THOMAS LOEGERING of West Fargo. He was 7th here in 2016, and more than two minutes faster this time around.

Just as unsurpring was TIFFANY KARI's silver and LEANNE BRONSON's bronze medal efforts. Bronson won the inaugural version of this race back in 2010.

Do you know Tiff and Leanne? They are both HOOTS!

Other outstanding performances were turned in sisters TAYLOR and SIMONE LUNDQUIST. Taylor, 17, took the junior title for the second straight year, and placed 4th overall for women. She also managed to break 1:20, her 1:19:07 the second fastest teen time in the eight-year history of the race. Simone, only 14, finished 6th overall in 1:24:56.

Divisional course records were set by NEIL KING, 67, whose 1:18:43 placed him 11th overall and lowered the 65-69M mark by an elephantine 26:01,  JAN HANDLOS, 63, took her own 60-64W mark down from 1:30:14 to 1:28:28, and JOHN ROHDE. Rohde, 72, lowered his own 70-74M mark by a ton.  RESULTS ...

HOOT LAKE TRIATHLON - KEEGHAN HURLEY made the successful transition from road and cross country racing to triathon last Saturday at Hoot Lake. Also a fast swimmer, Hurly, 21, from tiny Dent, Minnesota, out-raced the event's deepest men's field in many years, perhaps ever, en route to a 2:38 margin of victory. Keehghan certainly has a bright future in multisports, if he chooses to take that path.

KIERANN TOTH nipped JOELLEN KOHLMAN-PETRICK by twenty seconds to take the women's title. The Fergus Falls event had 149 finishers.  RESULTS