Biac, Hallstrom, Patterson and Kamm top Muffin Pursuit

Michigan Cup

Mon, Feb  23, 2009 - By Mike Muha

Who would have believed it? After 14 inches of fresh snow in less than 24 hours, the tracks for the 4 Km Classic + 4 Km Freestyle Pursuit Muffin Race were rocket fast. Groomer Kevin spent then entire afternoon and evening on Saturday - between 1:00 and 7:00 pm regrooming the entire trail system at the Cross Country Ski Headquarters in Roscommon over and over to pack down the heavily falling snow. He was back out at 3:00am Sunday morning ensuring primo racing conditions.

All photos by Bob Ampulski

The race course at consisted of one loop through Rolling Hills and Tall Pines using classic technique, then a second loop over the same trails using skating technique - the same loop traditionally used for the Michigan Cup Relays in March. The tracks were so fast that two-thirds of the juniors doublepoled the classic portion of the race in their skate equipment, saving time by not having to transition from classic to skate gear in the pursuit transition zone.

The race began with a mass start, girls and boys together. Team NordicSkiRacer's Brendan Biac had the fastest time of the day, finishing the 4 Km classic and 4 Km freestyle in a combined time of 26:11. Baic also posted the fastest classic and freestyle times as well. Ross Williams and Greg Brown Brown, also in the J1 Male 14-19 age division, finished second and third in 2:33 and 29:22.

 

Formal attire was optional

 

In the J1 Female division, Kaitlyn Patterson picked up her 6th Michigan Cup win, finishing the pursuit in 31:34. She also had the 6th fastest classic and 9th fastest freestyle time - boys and girls combined. Maria Frick was second in 35:03, with Kayla Keenen third in 39:05.

In the J2 division, ages 7-13, Kristina Kamm won the girls race in 50:55. In the boys race, Lars Hallstrom bested Anthony Cook, 43:35 to 52:07.

In the 6 and under division, around 20 kids raced a short course with everyone winning a medal. The medals were donated by Beth and Jack Caldwell from all the many medals they have won over their many years or racing. Kids were running around excitedly with Vasa, White Pine and other medals around their necks. Their parents were even more excited!

It was a hungry race crowd - Bob Frye had to dig deep to find enough Pork BBQ for everyone.

Currently, the Cross Country Ski Headquarters has some of the best skiing all season.

See more photos at http://web.me.com/ontrackrr/Muffin_2009.

PLACE	BIB	LAST NAME	FIRST NAME	CITY	CL Time	CL Rank	FS Time	FS Rank	Time
J2 Female 13 & Under - 8 Km
1	198	Kamm	Kristina	Gross Point Woods	26:44	2	24:11	2	50:55
J2 Male 13 & Under - 8 Km
1	199	Hallstrom	Lars	Ann Arbor	23:50	1	19:45	1	43:35
2	200	Cook	Anthony	Freeland	27:31	3	24:36	3	52:07
J1 Female 14-19 - 8 Km
1	147	Patterson	Kaitlyn	Cadillac	16:06	6	15:28	9	31:34
2	149	Frick	Maria	Traverse City	17:04	15	17:59	17	35:03
3	167	Keenan	Kayla	Traverse City	19:44	20	18:21	18	38:05
4	161	Hertler	Kate	Traverse City	21:42	25	19:52	21	41:34
5	148	VanDommelen	Kaylee	Traverse City	21:24	24	21:42	26	43:06
6	157	Ward	Anna	Traverse City	22:49	26	21:25	25	44:14
7	153	Bosma	Alonza	Lake City	37:10	30	30:51	29	1:08:01
J1 Male 14-19 - 8 Km
1	156	Baic	Brendan	Walloon Lake	13:27	1	12:44	1	26:11
2	163	Williams	Ross	Williamsburg	13:28	2	13:05	2	26:33
3	152	Brown	Greg	Traverse City	14:55	3	14:27	4	29:22
4	164	Buttrick	Bobby	Traverse City	15:20	5	14:03	3	29:23
5	162	Cover	Evan	Traverse City	15:13	4	15:28	7	30:41
6	179	Lance	Alex	Traverse City	16:51	11	14:31	5	31:22
7	168	Keenan	Ryen	Traverse City	16:07	7	15:28	8	31:35
8	160	Enquist	David	Traverse City	16:08	8	15:29	10	31:37
9	165	Norris	Micah	Traverse City	17:20	16	15:17	6	32:37
10	158	Padden	James	Traverse City	16:52	12	15:48	11	32:40
11	150	Icard	Joel	Williamsburg	16:09	9	16:37	13	32:46
12	169	Jacobson	Alan	Traverse City	17:00	14	16:27	12	33:27
13	166	Heimburger	Matt	Traverse City	16:50	10	16:58	14	33:48
14	151	Trubec	Spencer	Traverse City	16:58	13	17:33	15	34:31
15	145	Roberts	Travis	Lake City	18:21	19	17:34	16	35:55
16	180	Lance	Josh	Traverse City	18:06	18	18:33	19	36:39
17	178	Frye	Jimmy	Roscommon	17:57	17	19:10	20	37:07
18	155	Roach	Shawn	Traverse City	20:09	21	20:15	23	40:24
19	181	Labonte	Scott	Traverse City	20:48	22	20:12	22	41:00
20	159	Bruning	Andrew	Traverse City	21:09	23	20:40	24	41:49
21	182	Gabalis	Garrett	Roscommon	26:19	28	26:15	27	52:34
22	154	Bosma	Daniel	Lake City	25:32	27	30:27	28	55:59
23	146	Roberts	Kyle	Lake City	28:29	29	31:31	30	1:00:00