Bramante and Hall Prevail in Snow Storm at Mt Itasca NorAm
Biathlon
Fri, Dec 19, 2008 - By US Biathlon Association
Blizzard conditions created challenging shooting conditions at Mt Itasca for NorAm # 2 on Sunday. The high winds and snow made shooting very difficult and the ski tracks slow. Nevertheless, the results were surprisingly tight. Carolyn Bramante and Zach Hall were able to keep their shooting together in spite of high winds, both shooting (2,0).
Dartmouth alums took all the podium positions in the womens race with Bramante 06 in first, Susan Dunklee 08 in second, and Sara Studebaker 07 in third. Dunklee has been training with a Development Team coach James Upham for only 4 months, and she put together a great performance in what was her first biathlon race on snow. The mens winner, Zach Hall, is also a Dartmouth alum, class of 2007.
The men's winner, Zach Hall, National B Team, took first by twenty seconds over Jesse Downs the National B Team/Army World Class Athlete program. In third was Sam Morse of the Army National Guard, 5 seconds behind Downs. The tight mens race should lead to some exciting races in the sprint, pursuit and mass start that are scheduled for later in the week at Mt Itasca.
In the Youth Womens race, Addie Byrne of Mt Itasca was first shooting (2,1). She was followed by Grace Boutot (2,4) and Hillary McNamee (1,4) of Maine Winter Sports Center.
The second sprint of NorAm # 2 race scheduled for Monday, Dec 15th has been cancelled due to extremely cold temperatures (-7F) and high winds (20-30mph).
NorAm # 3 will proceed as scheduled on Dec 18, 20, 21.