|
Season Finale!. . . Washington Cup Winners Decided!
Saturday Results . . . . Sunday Results . . . . Final Season Points List . . . . Season Shooting Stats . . . . Pictures The final two races of this winter's Washington Cup series were held last weekend (March 10 & 11) at Stevens Pass Nordic Center. Predictions of nasty winds and rain dampened turnout only a little as most were eager to make strong finishes in these final races. Oddly enough, Saturday morning was beautiful and sunny all the way through the zero period. But, as the women came in for their 1st standing shoot, a light rain began to fall. Showers were intermittent the rest of the day and the dampness was evident when the men came in to soaked mats for their prone rounds... "Squish....Ahhh, how nice." Carol Stuhley topped the women's field in Saturday's Mass Start, with Arminda Phillips in 2nd, Sybille Wilbert in 3rd, Mandie Majerus 4th and Marie Garrett in 5th. The men's race saw Aaron Scott dominate once again, with fast skiing and great shooting. Speedster Sean Kato finished 2nd. Dave Anana shot well and skied to a 3rd place finish just 20 seconds ahead of Doug Reid in 4th. 5th place Steve Eastwood handily beat Jay Bender in 6th, with four fewer misses and a faster ski time. Bender gave the crowd some fun by dogging Jr. Men's Chris Fletcher all the way around the last loop, the two fighting an exciting battle to the finish line (won by Fletcher). It was good to see the uncontested Junior Champion work for his finish! Isabelle Anana won the girls 5k race, missing only one target and thus skiing her first penalty loop. Having never been there before, she had to be reminded which direction to go around! Chris Fletcher skied his second to last race as a Junior. Had he been scored with the senior men he'd have been in 6th. We look forward to the competition from you next season, Chris! Skiing up to the range on Sunday presented competitors with winds strong enough to knock a few people down along the way. By the time zero began things had died down only a little as a 4 click breeze continued. Winds remained through the prone rounds of the first heat, and finally began to die out. By the beginning of the second heat wind had dropped to almost zero, a cause for sight corrections in that heat. Arminda Phillips led the women's field, shooting well and skiing only one penalty loop. Carol Stuhley was 2nd, Mandie Majerus 3rd, and Marie Garrett 4th. Sybille Wilbert, who was in the running for the Cup championship, did not make it up on Sunday due to illness and slipped to 4th in the overall season points totals. Dave Anana outskied and outshot the rest of the men's field, doing only two penalty loops to finish first. Dave Shaw was a close 2nd with excellent shooting and only two penalty loops. Sean Kato was 3rd, Steve Eastwood 4th, also with excellent shooting, Aaron Scott 5th, Jim Slyfield 6th, and Jay Bender in 7th. Chris Fletcher was once again atop the Jr. Men's category, his last day as a Jr., but would have finished 4th among the Sr. Men. Isabelle Anana continues to show her shooting prowess with another clean race to win the Jr. Girl's division. Kudos to all those involved for the fantastic efforts, both with set-up Saturday morning, and break-down Sunday afternoon. Also, a big THANK YOU to our faithful volunteer range officials and scorers, Bob Vallor, Jim Fletcher, Joe Roth, Rich Terry, Ann Eastwood, Lara Sirois, and Christy Anana. We really appreciate your willingness to stand out there in sometimes nasty weather to help us! Afterwards all returned to the SPNC lodge for awards and our biggest and best prize raffle yet. Thanks to all our generous sponsors (see logos at right). The big prizes this time were a stone grind from Nordic Ultratune and a season nordic ski pass for next year from Stevens Pass Nordic Center! Thanks, Mike and crew, for all you do for us. Dave Anana took the time to go back over all of this season's races and compile shooting statistics for all of us. With a few notable exceptions, most of us have some work to do! Check it out (see link at top). Thanks Dave! The final standings in the Washington Cup Series: Jr. Girls - Isabelle Anana 1st Jr. Men - Chris Fletcher 1st Sr. Women - Arminda Phillips 1st, Mandie Majerus 2nd, Marie Garrett 3rd Sr. Men - Aaron Scott 1st, Dave Anana 2nd, Doug Reid 3rd Congratulations all on a great season! |
