Race Coverage

Perpetuating the Legacy...

Thursday, 18 August 2011 03:00

And Cathy Yndestad has cracked the overall women's Top 3 twice. She placed 2nd in '08 at Hagg Lake near Portland, Oregon, and 3rd in '09 at Tuscaloosa, Alabama. CY finished 2nd in the AOY polling in 2008, then won that prestigious title in 2009.

The 2011 AG Championships are Saturday in beautiful Burlington, Vermont. Will a Minnesotan reach the podium? Will the legacy be perpetuated?

We totally think so. In fact, there are three guys that are podium-worthy, starting with Dan Hedgecock (photo L), who many around the country, including a prominent official at USAT, consider to be the prohibitive favorite to WIN. Then there's 2010 AOY HM Patrick Parish and last year's 30-34M National Champ, Matthew Payne.

No, we're not predicting a podium sweep. That would be too much to ask. But we can dream, can't we?

We will, however, boldly predict that Dan, Patrick and Matt will crack the overall Top 10, which, interestingly, is not unprecedented. That happened back in 2004 in toasty, sweaty Shreveport, Louisiana. Twins Chuck and Phil Smith placed 6th and 7th respectively, and Brian Bich slipped into the 10th spot.

We are so anxious for Saturday's race to get underway that, as a precaution, we will be wearing Depends all week. MTN will post results as soon as they are available.

Will any Minnesota girls excel in Burlington? We think so. We predict a Top 10 finish for Claire Bootsma (Photo R) and a Top 3 in her 20-24W AG. And we believe that Jessica Rossing will place in the Top 20 and earn her second consecutive Team USA berth.