Race Previews
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. ...
It's also possible that someone like ELENA HENGEL, our state's current frontrunner for 2024 Female Triathlete of the Year, may show up.
If Becky and Elena don't make the trip to Baxter, JACQUELYN BACIGALUPI will step into the favorite role. She's a four-time LCT winner. Her path to #5 won't be easy as 2023 runner-up MELISSA GOBLE is returning. She's a relative newcomer to the sport and having another year of training and racing under her belt will make her more formidable this time around.
Last year's 3rd and 4th place guys—JASON CRISP and SEAN PICKLE—are returning. Both men are racing well this season. Jason has two 2nds, both behind Blankenheim, and Sean has three Ws, the most recent being at Young Life Sprint last weekend.
We anticipate at least one Age Group record to fall. In fact, we'd be surprised if TIM BROWN didn't crush the 65-69M mark by at least fifteen minutes. Also, if MARY DEEG, 62, can go 47-seconds faster this year than last, she will rewrite her division's record. It she rocks like she did at Green Lake, another AGR should come her way.
We will receive an updated list later this week and plan to update this preview on MTN or MTN Facebook. RACE WEBSITE
