Brown and Palomaki win 50K Vasa in very cold conditions

After finishing second in the Noquemanen 50K Classic two weeks ago, and 15th in the Boulder Mountain Tour last week, the Vasa Ski Club's Eli Brown came back to Michigan to place first in the 50K North American VASA freestyle. His time of 2:26:03 was more than three minutes faster than the Cross Country Ski Headquarters' Alex Vanias (2:30:41). And former "troll" Steve Kuhl who moved back the Marquette several years ago showed he was still in good form by taking 3rd overall in 2:30:41.

Angela Palomaki of Autrain ran away with the women's win, finishing in 2:54:14. Kaitlyn Patterson (Cross Country Ski Headquarters) finished second in 3:13:25, with Team NordicSkiRacer's Lindsey MacDonald just a short ways back in third in 3:17:30.

It was a cold day, with the race starting temperature hovering around 0F. Michael Seaman (35th overall) commented, "It was really, really cold in the hollows, say -10F at least. Otherwise sunny skies and the best snow conditions in several years."

Place	Bib	First	Last	City	State	Age	Gender	Time
1	23	Eli	Brown	Williamsburg	MI	40	M	2:26:03
2	18	Alex	Vanias	Leroy	MI	22	M	2:29:20
3	1	Steve	Kuhl	Marquette	MI	36	M	2:30:41
4	20	Benjamin	Lannin	Traverse City	MI	35	M	2:31:28
5	19	Daniel	Yankus	Walled Laek	MI	31	M	2:31:42
6	15	Ryan	Halstead	Grayling	MI	25	M	2:31:54
7	25	Matthew	Palomarl	Autrain	MI	34	M	2:32:37
8	14	John	Ohearn	Traverse City	MI	32	M	2:32:57
9	36	Ryan	Harris	Grayling	MI	22	M	2:34:53
10	17	Ross	Williams	Williamsburg	MI	20	M	2:36:02
11	24	Tim	Jenema	Williamsburg	MI	43	M	2:37:49
12	5	Andrew	Stevens	Marquette	MI	36	M	2:38:52
13	2	Scott	Howard	Traverse City	MI	43	M	2:39:53
14	7	Kyle	Rambo	Marquette	MI	47	M	2:41:39
15	13	Denny	Paull	Cheboygan	MI	48	M	2:42:01
16	3	Glenn	Goodman	Bellaire	MI	46	M	2:45:07
17	33	David	Lomas	Sault Ste Marie	ONT	23	M	2:45:28
18	16	Jim	Harrington	Petoskey	MI	47	M	2:47:36
19	10	Dell	Todd	Grand Rapdis	MI	45	M	2:47:44
20	8	Jonathan	Morgan	Milford	MI	48	M	2:47:48
21	22	Pete	Skellenger	Traverse City	MI	35	M	2:47:54
22	31	Alex	Smith	Ann Arbor	MI	28	M	2:48:50
23	6	Steve	Andriese	Traverse City	MI	47	M	2:48:51
24	30	Stephen	Smigiel	Rockford	MI	46	M	2:49:25
25	614	Steve	Seager	Grayling	MI	54	M	2:52:11
26	9	Ken	Dawson	Farmington hills	MI	62	M	2:54:04
27	27	Donald	Fedrigon Jr.	Williamsburg	MI	55	M	2:54:05
28	26	Angela	Palomaki	Autrain	MI	32	F	2:54:14
29	29	Walter	Meeker	Traverse City	MI	58	M	2:54:55
30	12	David	Grant	Marquette	MI	44	M	2:55:18
31	32	Robert	Fairman	Ann Arbor	MI	55	M	2:55:29
32	613	James	Doull	Petoskey	MI	53	M	2:58:48
34	618	Pete	Darlenzo	Paw Paw	MI	63	M	2:59:18
35	607	Michael	Seaman	Mt. Pleasatn	MI	48	M	3:01:58
36	11	Doug	Heady	Ann Arbor	MI	55	M	3:01:59
37	701	Suneel	Apte	Shaker Heights	OH	51	M	3:04:16
38	35	Don	Camp	Grand Haven	MI	60	M	3:04:27
39	810	Fred	Mills	Roscommon	MI	58	M	3:08:54
40	615	David	Walsh	Erie	PA	54	M	3:10:21
41	712	Allen	Sorgenfrei	Bloomfield Hills	MI	48	M	3:13:01
42	34	Kaitlyn	Patterson	Cadillac	MI	22	F	3:13:25
43	709	Julian	Kuz	Ada	MI	48	M	3:14:33
44	813	Tanner	Pinney	Holland	MI	33	M	3:15:30
45	605	Tim	Hughes	Traverse City	MI	51	M	3:17:00
46	702	Lindsey	MacDonald	Ann Arbor	MI	27	F	3:17:30
47	718	John	Chadwick	La Grange Pak	IL	48	M	3:17:47
48	619	Peter	Bruning	Traverse City	MI	55	M	3:18:13
49	28	Bud	Ward	Williamsburg	MI	65	M	3:18:41
50	713	Mark	Camp	Darien	IL	49	M	3:20:12
51	806	Stephen	Wychock	Girard	PA	47	M	3:21:08
52	811	John	Schuld	Westlake	OH	55	M	3:21:51
53	616	Steve	Brown	Traverse City	MI	55	M	3:22:12
54	711	John	Britton	Zanesfield	OH	50	M	3:22:16
55	609	Timothy	McClure	Roscommon	MI	54	M	3:23:44
56	801	Bryce	Dreeszen	Interlochen	MI	56	M	3:24:02
57	703	Jeffrey	Shepard	Harbor Springs	MI	63	M	3:24:39
58	716	William	Greene	Traverse City	MI	53	M	3:24:56
59	707	Ron	Rzepecki	Fairview	PA	42	M	3:27:42
60	714	Ann	Wagar	Gaylord	MI	47	F	3:27:50
61	1014	Knute	Gundersen	Okemos	MI	22	M	3:28:14
62	1008	Theo	Von Wallmenich	Alma	MI	42	M	3:29:54
63	708	John	Ott	Traverse City	MI	56	M	3:30:07
64	807	Mason	Palmer	Traverse City	MI	33	M	3:30:09
65	805	Lee	Warnaar	Grawn	MI	58	M	3:30:12
66	608	Steve	Smigiel	Ada	MI	67	M	3:31:53
67	705	Paul	Heflin	Downers Grove	IL	48	M	3:32:55
68	710	Karen	Kirt	Lake Leelanau	MI	45	F	3:33:23
69	715	Fern	Spence	Traverse City	MI	45	F	3:33:37
70	904	John	Harris	Holland	OH	58	M	3:38:10
71	601	Gussie	Peterson	Traverse City	MI	63	F	3:39:33
72	812	Bob	Richards	Villa Park	IL	64	M	3:44:27
73	808	William	Kircher	Butler	PA	55	M	3:44:33
74	910	Doug	Endicott	Traverse City	MI	52	M	3:45:59
75	907	John	Arntzen	Roscoe	IL	50	M	3:52:09
76	803	Jan	Merka	Clarksville	MD	39	M	3:52:24
77	1003	Page	Stoutland	Arlington	VA	52	M	3:58:04
78	912	Hilary	Witbrodt	Auburn	MI	32	F	3:59:11
79	717	Donnelle	Super	Girard	PA	38	F	4:10:53
80	1010	Todd	Soule	Holland	MI	50	M	4:11:00
81	1007	Joshua	Wittenberg	Palatine	IL	27	M	4:11:17
82	905	Tom	Holdorf	Grand Rapids	MI	56	M	4:13:40
83	1015	Ellis	Boal	Charlevoix	MI	68	M	4:15:48
84	902	Dennis	Murphy	Traverse City	MI	61	M	4:25:22
85	1012	Hans	Kuningas	Crystal Lake	IL	37	M	4:35:11
86	1018	Margaret	Walsh	Chicago	IL	56	F	4:45:46
87	911	Dave	Whitlock	Mancelona	MI	66	M	4:47:20
88	1013	Richard	Proctor	Ann Arbor	MI	67	M	4:52:47
89	1016	Rian	Mintek	Allegan	MI	61	M	4:53:28
90	1005	Peter	Heflin	Milwaukee	WI	53	M	5:16:01
91	1020	David	Barkhausen	Lake Bluff	IL	63	M	5:32:42

Brown and Palomaki win 50K Vasa in very cold conditions

Michigan Cup: North American Vasa

Sat, Feb 9, 2013 - By Mike Muha