Saratoga Summer Biathlon Race Results

Fri, Jul  4, 2008 - By Douglas E. Hoover

The 2008 Summer Biathlon season continued last weekend with two races hosted by the Saratoga Biathlon Club in New York.

The women’s competition was a dual between veteran biathlete Deb Nordyke of New York and recent Kent State University graduate Stephanie Blackstone of Pennsylvania. In Saturday’s sprint race, Nordyke shot 70% on the range, while, Blackstone shot just 20%. However, Blackstone used a strong run to prevail by 30 seconds in the 4.3km race. In Sunday’s 4.8km mass start, Blackstone improved her shooting to 40%, while Nordyke shot an uncharacteristic 50%. With continued strong running, Blackstone prevailed for a second time. Both women could be contenders to qualify for the IBU World Championships at next month’s trials.

The men’s field was led by Pennsylvania’s Doug Hoover on both days, as he shot 90% in the 4.3km sprint and 70% in the 7.2km mass start. In the sprint, second and third place went to Eli Walker and Gary Brackett, respectively. In the mass start, Joseph Iwan and Zbysek Skrabal were second and third, respectively. Brackett, Iwan, and Skrabal are all expected to compete in the National Championship next month.

Complete results of the weekend races are copied below:

SUMMER BIATHLON AT SARATOGA BIATHLON CLUB
Day, New York Saturday, June 21, 2008

WOMENS SPRINT - 4.3k with 70m penalty loops - 50m targets
Place Athlete State Class P S Time % Back
1 Blackstone, Stephanie PA Senior 4 4 0:22:44 115.91%
2 Nordyke, Deb NY Master 3 0 0:23:14 114.06%
3 Bielli, Cheryl Novice 5 5 0:35:08 70.04%

MENS SPRINT - 4.3k with 70m penalty loops - 50m targets
Place Athlete State Class P S Time % Back
1 Hoover, Douglas PA Senior 0 1 0:18:33 111.50%
2 Walker, Eli Senior 1 0 0:22:02 94.88%
3 Brackett, Gary Master 2 2 0:22:18 93.61%
4 Courbois, Bryce Novice 3 1 0:22:41 91.78%
5 Connor, Jack Master 2 1 0:24:48 81.69%
6 Ross, Jerry Master 2 2 0:25:16 79.46%
7 Bielli, Thomas Master 5 2 0:29:27 59.50%
8 Tran, Tin NY Senior 2 2 0:31:01 52.03%
9 Connor, Brendon Novice 4 3 0:32:06 46.86%
10 Sherer, Robert OH Senior 4 3 0:37:18 22.05%
11 Schreiner, Curt * NY Master 4 2 0:45:44 -18.18%
12 Steg, Nikolas Novice 4 4 0:48:11 -29.87%
* 4 minute penalty for two missed penalty loops.

SUMMER BIATHLON AT SARATOGA BIATHLON CLUB
Day, New York Sunday, June 22, 2008

WOMENS MASS START - 4.8k with 70m penalty loops - 50m targets
Place Athlete State Class P P S S Time % Back
1 Blackstone, Stephanie PA Senior 3 3 2 4 0:33:09 104.72%
2 Nordyke, Deb NY Master 2 3 3 2 0:36:26 95.28%

MENS MASS START - 7.2k with 70m penalty loops - 50m targets
Place Athlete State Class P P S S Time % Back
1 Hoover, Douglas PA Senior 0 1 3 2 0:34:37 110.74%
2 Iwan, Joseph NJ Master 2 1 3 4 0:39:47 97.42%
3 Skrabal, Zbysek NY Master 0 2 2 0 0:41:57 91.83%
4 Moffett, Tom NY Senior 0 2 3 5 0:46:09 81.01%
5 Connor, Jack Master 4 2 3 2 0:47:53 76.54%
6 Tran, Tin NY Senior 3 2 3 2 0:49:27 72.50%
7 Sherer, Robert Senior 2 3 3 2 1:01:32 41.34%

The USBA Summer Biathlon National Championships and World Championship Team Trials are just four weeks away. The Pennsylvania Biathlon Club will host the event at the Whitetail Preserve in Luzerne County, July 18-20. Entry forms must be postmarked July 3. So, if you intend to compete, you should get your entry form in the mail as soon as possible. You can download the entry information at the Pennsylvania Biathlon Club website (http://www.pabiathlon.org ) or the United States Biathlon Association website (biathlon.usoc.org).

Below I have copied the remainder of the 2008 summer biathlon schedule, which continues this weekend in Tukwila, Washington:

2008 SUMMER BIATHLON SCHEDULE

6/26, Tukwila, WA
Jay Bender
[email protected]
http://www.wabiathlon.org/

7/5, Harvard, MA
Fred Beihold
508-655-5902
[email protected]

7/12, West Yellowstone, MT
Sara Hoovler
406-599-4465
[email protected]
http://rendezvousskitrails.com/biath.html

7/13, Bozeman, MT
Clarissa Werre
406-924-2284
[email protected];

7/13, Western New York Summer Biathlon at Rush, NY
Bill Lilly
585-223-9513
[email protected];
http://www.westernnybiathlon.com ;

7/17 to 7/20, USBA National Championships & IBU World Championship Trials
Whitetail Preserve, Black Creek Township, Luzerne County, PA
Douglas Hoover
814-832-2857
[email protected];
http://www.pabiathlon.org

7/19, Holderness, NH
Fred Allen
603-968-9944
[email protected];
http://pemi.org/biathlon.html

7/26, Tukwila, WA
Jay Bender
[email protected];
http://www.wabiathlon.org

8/2, Harvard, MA
Fred Beihold
508-655-5902
[email protected];

8/9, Oil City, PA
John Sims
814-354-2802
[email protected];

8/16, Saratoga, NY - Cross Country Race and Biathlon Clinic
Tom Moffett
518-643-8477
[email protected];
http://www.saratogabiathlon.20m.com/index.html

8/16, Tukwila, WA
Jay Bender
[email protected];
http://www.wabiathlon.org

8/16, Holderness, NH
Fred Allen
603-968-9944
[email protected];
http://pemi.org/biathlon.html

8/17, Vernon, NJ
Chris Rogers
908-722-9327
[email protected];
http://www.njbiathlon.org

8/24, Saratoga, NY
Tom Moffett
518-643-8477
[email protected];
http://www.saratogabiathlon.20m.com/index.html

9/4 to 9/7, North American Summer Biathlon Championships
Chris Lindsay
613-748-5608 x4
[email protected];
http://www.biathloncanada.ca

9/20 to 9/21, Tri-State Championships at Oxford, NJ
Chris Rogers
908-722-9327
[email protected];
http://www.njbiathlon.org

9/22 to 9/28, IBU Summer Biathlon World Championships
Haute-Maurienne Vanoise, France
http://www.biathlon-hautemaurienne.com/

9/27, Yakima, WA
Jay Bender
[email protected];
http://www.wabiathlon.org

Submitted by:
Douglas E. Hoover
E-Mail: [email protected];