Alex Vanais and Susan Vigland top White Pine Stampede 50k

Michigan Cup

Sun, Feb  2, 2014 - By Mike Muha

Superb conditions greeted racers in the 2014 White Pine Stampede. Termpertures were in the low to mid teens with very little wind. The tracks were firm and fast, and the skate lanes were in excellent shape. These were the best conditions the White Pine has had in years!

Skiers had expected somewhat slow conditions but were surprised to find only the occasional slow patch, but lots of faster snow overall. Just to give you an idea, one good classic skier estimated his time would be around 4 hours for the 50k, but actually finishing an hour faster.

New for 2014: The 50K came back! For the past several years, the White Pine Stampede's longest distance had been 40K. With a little trail rerouting this year, the length was increased back to it's original 50K.

For the first time ever, the 20K course was changed to end at Shanty Creek Summit instead of Schuss Mountain. The 50k and 20k racers divided, converged, divided, converged then divided on last time a 100 yards from the finish, with each distance having it's own finish area.

The fastest women were very fast this year: the top 50k, 20k and 10k women finished 12th, 6th, and 8th overall among all racers, including the men. Guys, you got girled this year!

See the full results for the 2014 White Pine Stampede cross county ski race (PDF). Highlights below...

Walt Meeker leads a pack in the 50k Freestyle. Photo by Cody Surles.

50K White Pine

Alex Vanais notched another win in his belt. Having already won December's WinterStart and Wintersonnewende, plus January's Frosty Freestyle, and Core Dame Marie, he finished in 2:12:33 in the 50k Freestyle division, with a comfortable margin over 2nd place Bob Smith (2:19:27). Glenn Goodman was third in 2:20:06.

Susan Vigland had a fast race and was the top 50k Freestyle women in 2:28:14, good for 12th overall (including the men). Kaitlan Patterson with second in 2:36:40 with Brenda Calrson third in 2:40:27.

The fastest 50k Classic skier went to Jim Harrington in 2:43:03. Randy Smith took second in 2:52:06, with Jacob Ellis third in 2:57:05.

Ingeborg Lundberg was the top women in 4:22:08, with Carol Mueller-Brumbaugh second in 4:46:37.

Brenda Carlson winning 3rd overall and her age class in the 50K. Photo by Cody Surles.

20K White Pine

In the 20k Freestyle, husband and wife team John and Erica O'Hearn were the top male and female, finishing in 1:00:08 and 1:04:32. Erica's race was fast: She was 6th overall, including men! Second and third in the men's division were Tim Jenema (1:02:02) and Brian Beauchamp (1:02:03). The second and third fastest women were Rebecca Davis (1:10:52) and Kathleen Kerr (1:17:55).

The 20K Classic title this year went to Mike Muha (1:26:48), who held off Jim Mowrey (1:27:16) and Karl Trost Sr. (1:27:53) for the win. The wome's title was taken by Caroline Urbain in 1:43:28. Second and third for the wome were Jennifer Brown (1:43:40) and Marnie Sutter (1:47:59).

Garrett Ruffner pulls Lars Hallstrom in the 20k Freestyle. Photo by Alyse Tarbutton.

10K White Pine

Sean Brownell was the fastest 10k skier, skating up and through the finish line in 26:50. Following Brownell were Mark Smith (27:02) and 30 seconds later, Nicholas Amato (27:32). For the women, Headi Schwab finished first (and 8th overall, including men) in 29:10. Kelly Peregrine was second in 29:35 (13th overall), with Emma Schwab in the 12 & under age category taking third (and 17th overall) in 32:45.

In the 20K classic, Keeter Edwards topped the podium in 33:59, followed by Mark Steffke in 42:37 and Barry O'Brien in 44:20. For the women, it was  Kyla Foley, Linda Maat, and  Joan Woods in 44:03, 56:57, and 1:00:37.