Race Coverage

Shyanne & Spencer!

Monday, 05 August 2024 00:10

Top Photo: BH Sprint champ Shyanne McGregor. Page 2 Photo: BH Olympic winner Spencer Syvertson.

BREWHOUSE OLYMPIC COVERAGE - Not since 2018 has a triathlete beaten JOSH BLANKENHEIM in his own backyard,  i.e. Duluth and environs, until yesterday, that is. Josh and Wade Cruser duked it in '18, with Wade coming out on top at Brewhouse Olympic. FYI, Cruser was the Triathlete of the Year  in back then.

Yesterday, Josh turned in his fastest Brewhouse performance ever, but he came up just 22-seconds short. He made up time on the bike and run, but SPENCER SYVERTSON's swim, along with his improved cycling, delivered him to the finish line in course record time. 1:50:17! This performance along with his RR at Alexandria and his 2nd at Lake Minnetonka make him arguably the frontrunner for 2024 Minnesota's Most Improved male triathlete.

Josh's 1:50:39 nuked BH's Masters record.

The final mem's podium sport went to Superior Wisconsin's RICHARD VANDEN BRANDEN, whose fine 1:56:57 on the 1200m - 24 mile - 10K course was highlighted by his signature strong running. According to his Facebook page, Richard is into hunting, fishing and country music.

Wisconsin's MADDY BLAIN, who had a brief stint as a pro triathlete a few years back, and many fine amatuer performances in her home sate since then, was a late registrant.  She bracked solid swim and bike spits with...

the fastest women's bike time of the day. The result was the second fastst  time on this six-year-old route. Her 2:01:42 was only 31-second's off ELAINE NELSON's best set in 2022.

Unsurprisingly, TIFFANY KARI CIZMAS finished 2nd (2:09:05), with Thunder Bay's JESSICA SHALLEY placing in the bronze medal position.

BREWHOUSE SPRINT COVERAGE - Every few years a woman wins a race outright. Heather Lendway was first overall at Hopkins last year. Dani Treise was outright winner at One Last Tri in 2019, and Superior Man. 41.5 in 2018. Becky Youngberg, Cathy Yndestad and Marnie Walth have all had similar experiences. 

Yesterday, it was SHYANNE MCGREGOR's turn to join this select sorority. A newly-minted pro this season, she raced like a professional at BH Sprint. All three of her splits were crushed, especially her bike, where she hammered at 25.5 mph. Her final time was 1:02:04, 16-seconds faster than seven-time BH Sprint overall  champ MIKE WARD, who claimed 2nd place time. McGregor's clocking was 2:59 better than the old women's course record, which she set back in 2019.

Second place was earned by four-time winner BETTINA KEPPERS, 41, who's 1:06:07 is a women's Masters record, and only four seconds off her fastest time on this course back in 2016. 

So you know, MTN's record-keeping distinquishes pro and amateur performances, thus Bettina is recognized as the women's amateur and masters winner, which raises her win total here to five. (NOTE: McGregor is 40, but as a pro, her records are categorized separately.)

CHRISTEL KIPPENHAN, 59, set yet another AG record, throwing down a 1:09:01, which lowers the 55-59W course best by four-plus minutes, and landed her in 3rd place overall in the women's race. Alongside Cheryl Zitur, 60, Jan Guenther, 65, and Julia Weisbecker, 58, and a few others, Minnesota  boasts one of our country's most formidable collections of female Grand Masters.

This year's Brewhouse races registered 386 adult athletes. Another 101 aspiring triathletes registered for the Root Beer Kids event.  RESULTS

ED. Check out the Duluth News Tribune's great coverage of yesterday's Brewhouse Triathlon: LINK