Jericho, VT – Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, NY) in his first competition since the end of March, started a new season exactly where he left off, with a win in the 10K Sprint today at the Ethan Allen Firing Range.
Today’s rollerski biathlon competitions kicked off the new season for US Biathletes.
Burke covered the 10K distance in 25:08, with Jesse Downs (Jericho, VT) 1:01 back. Burke and Downs had a good battle, with both picking up one penalty in the prone stage. Downs matched that in standing, as Burke had two penalties. Burke’s overall faster skiing carried him to the victory. Third went to Zach Hall (Nikiski, AK), 1:41 back with two penalties.
Lanny Barnes (Durango, CO) took the senior Women’s 7.5K Sprint in 23:47, picking up three penalties. Denise Teela (Anchorage, AK), shooting clean, finished 30 seconds behind Barnes. Sara Studebaker (Boise, ID) with a single prone penalty finished just 6 seconds behind Teela.
Leif Nordgren (Marine-on-St. Croix, MN) scored a win in the junior Men’s 10K over fellow Minnesotan Wynn Roberts (Battle Lake) 27:35 to 28:59, as they had three and five penalties, respectively. Third went to Nick Petero (Ely, MN), with three penalties, 2:02 back.
Canadians Elisha Hurley, with three penalties, and Betsy Maudsley took one-two in the junior Women’s 7.5K, 26:34 to 35:23.
Ethan Dreissigacker (Morrisville, VT), with four penalties, took top honors in the youth Men’s 6K Sprint in 22:30. Raleigh Goessling (Duluth, MN) finished 50 seconds back, with the same number of penalties. Nick Michaud (Fort Kent, ME) finished third, 2:06 back with three penalties.
Addie Byrne (Bovey, MN) with one penalty took the youth Women’s 6K victory in 24:56, 52 seconds ahead of Alaskan Sarah Cresap, with three penalties. Third went to Grace Boutot (Fort Kent, ME), also with three penalties, 1:15 back.
US Biathlon B Team Coach Gary Colliander commented, “All of the coaches were pleased with how the competitions went today. I think most of the athlete’s bodies were a bit shocked at the level of intensity, as they have not had this kind of effort for several months. Overall, the women shot better today with Denise Teela going clean and several others with only one penalty. As expected, Tim Burke looked very good and Jesse Downs had a solid performance.â€
The competitions close on Wednesday with Pursuit competitions in all classes.
Source: USBA
