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Winners Circle...
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Thursday, 22 August 2024 00:10
The 2024 tri season in Minnesota is winding down, and we thought it would be fun to look back to see who the most successful athletes are. We are not including successful Age Group athletes here. That will be featured in a later post.
So, who are the athletes that have won the most races this year. We've made a list and we doubt that many will be surprised by it. Know that all wins are not created equal.
Here are the winningest Men and Women who have won at least two races this season. thus far ( through the weekend of August 17-18):
PRESTON YOUNGDAHL, 32 (photo), Plymouth - 5
ELENA JASPER, 27, Deephaven – 4
BECKY YOUNGBERG, 49, Shakopee - 4
NOAH BILLINGS, 18, Rochester – 3
COREY NYGAARD, 29, Alexandria - 3
SPENCER SYVERTSON, 28, Alexandria - 3
SEAN PICKLE, 19, St. Cloud- 3
KADIE HOKANSON, 43, Alexandria - 3...
Rematches....
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Tuesday, 20 August 2024 00:10
Photo (L-R) - Josh Blankenheim, his daughter Finley, and Jason Crisp.
LAKES COUNTRY TRIATHLON PREVIEW – Including it's predecessor, the “Whipple Wave Triathlon,” this two-name event—Lakes Country and Baxter Triathlon—has been around for a quarter century. It's a very cool race made even cooler in recent years with upgrades to Whipple beach and park.
From a competitive standpoint, we are very excited about he rematch of last year's top two guys—JOSH BLANKENHEIM and SPENCER SYVERTSON--both of whom are racing brilliantly this season. Maybe, just maybe, WADE CRUSER's 2018 race record will be replaced.
What about MICHELLE ANDRES' women's race record, her 1:04:27 set way back in 2014? Is it in jeopardy?
Maybe. That's because BECKY YOUNGBERG, who is not currently registered, has been popping up at races lately, only to walk away with dominant victories. It needs to be said that the list of entrants we are consulting is more than a week old, thus other competitive athletes may have, unbeknownst to us, signed up. ...
Cami & Brandon Are the "Real Deal"...
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Sunday, 18 August 2024 00:10
YOUNG LIFE TRIATHLON COVERAGE – We like to make performance predictions, and it's cool when we are correct, although that is usually a result of stating the obvious. Yes, we correctly predicted that BRANDON LEE and KADIE HOKANSON would win Young Life's Olympic race, and that SEAN PICKLE and CAMI ECKHOFF would prevail in the Sprint, but few would have bet against those picks.
What we like even more than being correct, is being surprised, which often means that being wrong is more fun than being right. There were some cool surprises at yesterday's tris, which were celebrating its platinum-plus-one (21st) anniversary.
Examples of pleasant surprises included the fact that while we were correct about Leee winning the men's Olympic men's race, and that NICK JASMER, ANDREW MOEN, DAVID LEWIS and BRETT WINKLEMAN would be among the top finishers, we were wrong about the order. We picked Jasmer to finish 2nd. When Nick saw our preview post, he responded to noting that Fargo's NATHAN MEYETTE (photo) deserved to be on “Podium Watch,” our words not Nick's. He was right. Nathan finished 2nd overall....
On The Radar...
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Saturday, 17 August 2024 00:10
As we reach the two-thirds mark of the 2024 Minnesota tri season we are impressed with the emergence of athletes that were not on our radar a year ago. In alpha order, here are a few who have captured our attention this season:
KAITSY BAKER, 24, Plymouth
A rookie, Kaitsy has cracked the Top 5 in both of the tris--Clearwater Sprint & Northwoods--she's entered this season. She's already riding at a 20 mph clip and running sub-7. She will only get faster with each race.
NICK JASMER, 32, Menagha
Nick showed “promise” in 2023, but we weren't ready to embrace him fully because his effort at Timberman Olympic was not competitive. This year is much different. His results are very good and will only get better with time. We like his trajectory. Here is his 2024 scorcard to date:
1st @ Average Jo
2nd @ Hoot Lake (Behind Corey Nygaard)
3rd @ Northwoods (Behind Blankenheim and Grossinger)
4th @ Alexandria (Sprencer Syvertson, Corey Nygaard & Easton Syvertson...
Brandon & Cami...
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Thursday, 15 August 2024 00:10
YOUNG LIFE TRIATHLON PREVIEW - The 21st edition of the Young Life Olympic & Sprint Triathlons will happen this Saturday (8/17) on the scenic northern shoreline of Detroit Lake in, appropriately, Detroit Lakes. Though online registration has closed, 10 race-day walk-ups will be allowed. 294 athletes are currently enrolled in the traditional triathlons, with another 29 registered in the paddle tris....
