On Saturday, the second day of racing at the U.S. Biathlon Fall Team Trials saw biathletes race mass start distance races outside Midway, Utah at Soldier Hollow (SoHo).
Clare Egan (USBA) won the women’s 10-kilometer event in 29:55.81 minutes. Egan, coming off a career best year on the IBU World Cup, shot clean while prone and missed two targets standing. Susan Dunklee (USBA), the winner of Thursday’s sprint race, placed second in 30:41.10 (1, 1, 3, 1). Joanne Reid raced to third in 30:41.10 (2,1,1,0). It was Reid’s second podium of the week at the Fall Trials.
The men raced 13.5 k on Saturday. Travis Cooper (USBA/National Guard Biathlon) backed up his win on Thursday with another victory in the mass start event. Cooper won in a time of 34:59.80 and missed a single target in his second standing bout. Paul Schommer (USBA) placed second in 35:06.28 (0,0,1,2). Third place went to Lars Hammernes Leopold (JNT). He crossed the line 0.41 seconds after Schommer and missed a single target in each of his standing stages. This was Leopold’s second podium of the trials at SoHo.
The Fall Trials conclude Sunday with a sprint race. The three-race SoHo series, along with results from the rollerski trials this summer in Vermont, are used to fill remaining start opportunities for Period 1 on the World Cup and Periods 2 and 3 on the IBU Cup.
