Race Coverage

Living Up to Expectations...

Tuesday, 16 July 2024 00:10

TIMBERMAN SPRINT COVERAGE - In ech of the four previous editions of this race, the battle for the Top Step was between TARA MAKINEN and BETTINA KEPPERS. Makinen, who has six career wins here, won in 2021, and Keppers won in 2022 and 2023, though her margin of victory last year was  only 14 seconds.

Tara opted not to race in this year's Sprint, choosing instead to race alongside her son in the Super Sprint, so it appeared that Bettina would not need her best effort in order to pick up her sixth career Timberman Sprint victory last Saturday.

But that's not how she races. Though basically unchallenged, she rocked her second fastest time ever here, bettered only by the course record she set in perfect conditions back in 2019. Outspliting the women's field in two of the three disciplines--she was especially dominant on the bike--she finished in 1:03:33.

Bettina, 41, set an AG record shaving almost aminute off Makinen's 2019 40-44W mark. CHRISTEL KIPPENHAN, 58, also lowered an age group record, one she set in 2022, doing so definitively. The old AGR was 1:06:44. On Saturday, she posted a 1:05:29, which landed her in 2nd place overall in the women's race. Like Keppers, Christel excelled on the bike....

The women's Top 3 was filled out by CLAIRE STARK, 33, who currently resides in Savannah, Georgia. (She has Minnesota ties.) She managed to crack the 1:10 mark (1:09:07), as did KAYLA NELSON, 25, (1:09:41).

Tying ADAM HIMES with seven career wins here was BROOKS GROSSINGER, who like Keppers, came into the race as a clear favorite and didn't disappoint. And like Keppers, he had plenty of time to recovery before the men's runner-up crossed the finish line. His time was 55:29, the fifth fastest in the ten-year history of the current sprint course. (Brooks owns the men's overall CR, a 52:52 set in 2019.)

As predictable as Grossinger's win, was SEAN PICKLE's 2nd and BENJAMIN WELCH's 3rd. Welch won two races in 2023 (Moose lLake and Shell Lake) and posted a 1:00:56 5th place effort at Timbemrna Sprint. Sean is a 2023 Junior of the Year nominee who recorded his second career win at Manitou Sprint last month.

As with the women, two divisional records were rewritten last Saturday, starting with Grossinger's 22-second lowering of JOHN SHELP's 45-49M mark, and LUKE HARNED, 71, whose 1:08:51 sliced 1:01 off NEIL KING's 60-64M record, set in 2021. SPRINT RESULTS

Photo : Bettina next to Phil Imholte. The other guy is Rod Raymond.