FEATURES

On The Radar...

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...

TEVIN NEEGAARD, 25, Maple Grove (Top Photo)

Nothing in his past suggested that this guy would become a star in our region. When he cracked the Top 10 at Ironman 70.3 Texas to kick off this season, he opened our eyes. His time was 4:17:00, a 23-minute improvement on his PR at the half IM distance. Then he won at Fairmont Sprint in a time that just might be a course record. At that race in 2023, he placed 4th in 1:08:49. This time around he threw down a 54:32. Big swing! More recently, he podiumed at Chisago Olympic, which boasted a deep men's field. Tevin is a shoo-in for a post-season “Most Improved Triathlete” nomination.

Other athletes were are closely watching include NATHAN LASELLE (21, Maple Grove), EASTON SYVERTSON (25, Paynesville), RAYCHEL TONG (16, Minneapolis), MELISSA GOBLE (41, Brainerd), BENJANMIN WELCH (34, Duluth), HAYDEN NISULA (14, Thunder Bay, ONT), and KATHRYN BARTHELMES (38, St. Paul).