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2024 Kids Stuff...

Saturday, 07 September 2024 00:10

Who are the Juniors that rocked the hardest during the 2024 season. Below are what may be the frontrunners for Junior of the Year.

Boys - 

NOAH BILLINGS, 18, Rochester - The two-time JOY is a prolific racer, with at least ten completed tris on his 2024 scorecard. He won three of those races, including Junior Nationals. The only concern for the MMH Guys is that he finished behind fellow juniors on four occasions.

CORBIN DEICHMAN, 16, Mankato - Corbin won at least two (three?) races this year and didn't lose to a fellow junior in regional competition in his five (six?) starts. He was especially impressive in his win at Maple Grove Sprint where he outraced fellow elite juniors Noah Billings, Nolan Snyder and Kyler Williams. Concerns? His efforts at Nationals, however, were not as impressive as his regional performances against adult competition. (NOTE: For MMH purposes, perormances in DL races are excluded from consideration.) ...

SEAN PICKLE, 19, St. Cloud - Like Billings, Sean is prolific. And like Noah and Corbin, he occasionally wins races. He won four of the nine races he did this year, and was able to make three other podiums. He was undefeated against his fellow juniors, but never faced Noah or Corbin.

Girls - 

ADELINE ALTHAUS-KOTILA, 14, Minneapolis - We like the trajectory of this 14-year-old. In five starts, she Top 10ed every time, thrice in the Top 5. She did finish behind a fellow junior twice, however, and we do not age-grade, i.e. all teens are ranked together. We mention her here because she will be a major  force in junior competition for five more years.

RAYCHEL TONG, 16, Minneapolis - Three starts, three AG wins, two overall women's Top 3 finishes. Concerns? All three of her times were well off the course records. However, those records were set by former JOYs Macy Iyer, Greta Danielson and Grace Busch.