The "Good Ol' Days" Live On at Wilderness Valley
From the archives
Thu, May 13, 2010 - By Dan Harrison
Gaylord, January 11, 1999: "This is a real old-fashioned winter," was the consensus at the seventh Wilderness Valley Classic cross-country ski race held last Sunday. With the entire state wrapped in a thick white blanket, it was easy to "Think Snow," as nearly a hundred skiers tested their wax and their mettle on the scenic, challenging course. The event, largest in Michigan to feature the classic kick-and-glide technique, is a collaboration between Wilderness Valley, the Ullr/Maybury Nordic Ski Team, and sponsor Harbor Springs Natural Spring Water.
One by one the racers left the starting gate, each looking for their best race against the clock. The pale winter sun gave way to swirling snow, as the mercury slid from the teens toward zero. In the men's 22 kilometer event, victory went to 47-year-old Tim Triebold, of Concord, who bested previous winner Milan Baic, of Williamsburg, and John Gravlin of Linwood. Fastest woman over the 11 kilometer distance was Wendy Anderson, of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, followed by Kathy Cook-Dowd of Cedar, and Homer native Roxanne Barton. Brothers Max and Michael Weir of Rapid City paced a field of eleven junior men to take gold and silver, while Mancelona's Trevon Cole earned the bronze. Among the junior women, Williamsburg's Katie Willis handily overcame Traverse City teammates Tricia Plum and Danielle Correll.
As the awards were handed out, ski director David Smith praised the efforts of volunteers and contestants alike. "This is the smilingest, happiest bunch of people. It's such a pleasure to welcome them back year after year-- it's a lot of fun for me." There was praise from the racers for the course layout and grooming, which allowed them to carry speed through the trail's trademark exhilarating descents. "There aren't many cross-country races where you can catch air," quipped one finisher over a bowl of chili.
Ten youngsters took to the snow in the one-kilometer Youth Race. "The girls were really competitive," noted timer Bob Yankus. "You'd have thought it was the Olympics." Each received a participant medal at the finish. "My kids skipped a birthday party to come here," one onlooker remarked, "it's a great way for the family to spend the weekend."
Place Rank Name City Class BIB Time 1 Willis Katie Williamsburg F13 63 0:46:24 2 Plum Tricia Traverse City F13 64 0:50:15 3 Correll D. Traverse City F13 85 0:51:32 4 Gushurst C. Portage F13 76 0:54:32 5 Dawson N. Farmington F13 82 0:58:52 6 Kreft Katie Traverse City F13 73 0:59:18 7 Straton Whitney Traverse City F13 61 1:02:17 8 PrenticeCaitlin Traverse City F13 70 1:03:08 9 Ross Rebecca Traverse City F13 72 1:04:54 1 1 Anderson Wendy Cuyahoga F.,OH F30 90 0:44:55 2 1 Cook-Dowd Kathy Cedar F40 95 0:48:49 3 2 Barton Roxanne Homer F40 77 0:53:05 4 3 CockrellSara Grawn F40 79 0:55:15 5 2 Baic Carrie Williamsburg F30 89 0:56:38 6 4 Witte Lynne Mt. Clemens F40 81 0:56:51 7 3 Krapohl Kaye Traverse City F30 78 0:57:26 8 5 Mueller-Brum C. Rockford F40 80 1:04:57 9 4 Smith Diane Lansing F30 157 1:05:07 10 5 Webb Sarah Hubbard Lake F30 84 1:08:08 11 1 Murray Jean Mt. Pleasant F50 94 1:12:13 12 2 Schaefer Jean Grafton, Oh F50 86 1:16:44 13 3 Caldwell Beth Ann Arbor F50 92 1:18:58 1 Weir Max Rapid City M13 87 0:36:54 2 Weir Michael Rapid City M13 88 0:39:50 3 Cole Trevon Mancelona M13 93 0:40:06 4 Zehnder Jake Harbor Springs M13 91 0:44:03 5 Morgan Keven Williamsburg M13 62 0:44:44 6 Coles Kevin Traverse City M13 68 0:44:55 7 Kreft Jim Traverse City M13 74 0:46:17 8 Yankus Dan Milford M13 83 0:47:01 9 Sutton Andy Traverse City M13 66 0:48:15 10 Woodard Jeremy Interlochen M13 75 0:52:33 11 Maki Gregg Traverse City M13 69 1:05:36 Weitz Josh Traverse City M13 67 1 1 Triebold Tim Concord M45 120 1:14:49 2 1 Baic Milan Williamsburg M35 139 1:16:19 3 1 Gravlin John Linwood M40 145 1:17:28 4 1 Smigiel Steve Cedar Springs M30 138 1:18:21 5 1 Byar Christian Williamsburg M25 106 1:20:29 6 2 Peterson Curt Midland M45 127 1:21:09 7 3 Brundage Bill Traverse City M45 105 1:21:21 8 4 Fultz Dick Grayling M45 150 1:23:33 9 5 Dawson Kenneth Farmington M45 101 1:23:47 10 2 Vajda Matthew Traverse City M35 149 1:23:52 11 2 Quillinan Mike East Lansing M40 128 1:23:59 12 3 Barton Bruce Homer M40 119 1:24:07 13 4 Weingartz Chris Oakland M40 155 1:24:26 14 2 Morgan Jon Milford M30 104 1:24:37 15 3 Green Jamie Dexter M35 107 1:24:41 16 1 Anderson Tom Big Rapids M50 141 1:27:47 17 5 Bladel Randal Granger, IN M40 116 1:28:26 18 4 Ashbeck Herb West Bloomfield M35 154 1:28:56 19 2 Smigiel Steve Ada M50 136 1:30:45 20 3 Clary Ed Amherst, OH M50 130 1:31:26 21 2 McEnaney Pat Ann Arbor M25 151 1:32:18 22 4 Johnson Peter Whitehall M50 153 1:33:44 23 6 Kostrzewa John Traverse City M45 115 1:34:38 24 6 Westphal Steve Traverse City M40 134 1:35:18 25 5 Keenan Michael Scottville M50 152 1:35:22 26 6 Kaltz Bill Pinckney M50 103 1:35:37 27 7 Gushurst Tom Portage M45 124 1:35:41 28 7 Mills Fred Roscommon M40 144 1:36:09 29 5 Webb Jon Hubbard Lake M35 129 1:37:02 30 1 Haefner Bill Waterford M60 111 1:37:15 31 8 Ames Ken Gaylord M40 133 1:39:29 32 7 Wright Hap Walloon Lake M50 148 1:41:51 33 8 Anderson Lloyd Cuyahoga ,OH M50 140 1:42:01 34 9 VanDalson John Traverse City M50 110 1:42:26 35 10 Cihak Dan Muskegon M50 117 1:42:43 36 9 Madorski Mark Leonard M40 147 1:43:01 37 3 Feldkamp T. Ann Arbor M30 132 1:43:12 38 11 Weir Richard Rapid City M50 108 1:43:18 39 4 Dehner Mike National City M30 156 1:45:17 40 8 Zlobicki Z. Farmington M45 109 1:47:55 41 12 Heffner Jim Williamsburg M50 114 1:48:24 42 13 Brumbaugh Ernie Rockford M50 118 1:52:01 43 2 Caldwell John Ann Arbor M60 143 1:53:54 44 14 Schaefer Phil Grafton, OH M50 131 1:55:41 45 9 West Bob Allegan M45 137 1:56:54 46 10 Ruffner Spencer Tecumseh M45 146 2:01:41 47 10 Young James Sterling Hghts M40 122 2:02:51 48 15 Wilson Terry Rochester Hills M50 125 2:07:00 49 3 Sturtevant John Columbia City M60 112 2:07:41 50 11 Davis Jim Dewitt M40 135 2:21:40 51 4 Stevenson M. Rochester Hills M60 142 2:38:15 52 Kuhn Thomas Birmingham M35 121 2:44:45