Straits Striders Win Michigan Cup!
Michigan Cup
Sun, Mar 19, 2006 - By Mike Muha
Congratulations to the Straits Striders, the 2006 Michigan Cup Champions! The Striders fought off strong efforts by both the Cross Country Ski Headquarters and Team NordicSkiRacer.com to finish the season with 27,923 points, only 329 more than the Headquarters. NordicSkiRacer came up third with 25,135 points.
The Straits Striders had a narrow lead going into the relays, and added to that lead by winning the relays by a mere 50 points over the Cross Country Ski Headquarters.
The Striders were helped by strong individual performances by team members, including:
- Daniela Gebhart, 2006 Michigan Cup Women's Overall Champion
- Tracy Hardin, 3rd place, Overall Women's points
- Amy Wilks, 10th place Overall Women's points
- Denny Paull, 5th place, Overall Men's points
- Chris Wiengartz, 9th place, Overall Men's points
The Striders were also helped by the outstanding participation of its club members in races. Twenty-four members completed at least 5 races. Another four members complete 4 races. (Chris Wiengartz did 12!). Because the Michigan Cup counts a racer's best five races, skiers who complete at least 5 races maximize both their individual points and the team's points. Overall, 56 Straits Strider members gained points for the team.
Finally, the Straits Striders fielded 15 teams in the Michigan Cup Relays, winning the Coed 150 & Over and the Female 150 & Older categories.
Although the Cross Country Ski Headquarters had even greater participation (34 members completed at least five races, 67 members gained points for team, and 18 teams races at the relays), the Straits Striders had just enough higher placings in the results to pull off the Championship. The Headquarters put in a valiant effort all the way to the end.
|
Percentage of Points | |||||
| Team | Total Points |
Individual Points |
Relay Points |
From Individual Points |
From Relay Points |
| Straits Striders | 27,923 | 23,395 | 4,528 | 84% | 16% |
| Cross County Ski Headquarters | 27,594 | 23,073 | 4,521 | 84% | 16% |
| Team NordicSkiRacer.com | 25,135 | 21,919 | 3,216 | 87% | 13% |
| Grand Rapids Nordic Ski Team | 20,419 | 18,876 | 1,543 | 92% | 8% |
| Cross Country Ski Shop | 16,348 | 15,501 | 847 | 95% | 5% |
| Traverse Nordic Ski Club | 17,533 | 17,495 | 38 | 100% | 0% |
| Ohio Nordic | 4,440 | 4,440 | 0 | 100% | 0% |