Stockholm’s Currier shines on rollerskis

    JERICHO, Vt. — Maine Winter Sports Center athletes competed in the North American Biathlon Rollerski Championships Aug. 8 and 9 with some excellent results turned in by the athletes.     In the sprint race the first day, sunshine and cooler temperatures provided both racers and spectators with perfect conditions and a little breeze provided just enough of a challenge on the range to test the athletes’ nerves.
    MWSC teammates Bill Bowler of Wasau, Wisc. and Russell Currier of Stockholm started 2-1/2 minutes apart, but in the end were separated by just 2.4 seconds. Bowler bested Currier by the small margin with four penalties, two in each shooting stage to finish third overall. Currier missed two in prone and his final shot in his standing stage to finish fourth.  MWSC’s Walt Shepard of Yarmouth hit seven of 10 to finish 10th.
    Lowell Bailey of Lake Placid, N.Y. hit eight of 10 to win in a time of 24:44. The surprise of the day was Wynn Roberts of Battle Lake,  Minn., who shot a clean 10 for 10 to place second, 56 seconds back.
    Also competing for MWSC and racing up in the Junior Men’s field, Sam Humphries of Yarmouth placed fifth in a time of 23:35 with three penalties. Eliot Neal of Wilson, Wyoming placed sixth with five penalties (23:49) and Raleigh Goessling of Esko, Minn. placed seventh (23:57), also with five penalties.
    Ethan Dreissegacker of Craftsbury, Vt. won with four penalties in a time of 22:00.
    Racing up in the Youth Men’s race, the Yarmouth trio of Drew Grout, Tom Sullivan, and Chester Jacobs, representing the MWSC, placed ninth, 10th, and 11th with six, seven and four penalties, respectively.
    Tracy Barnes-Colliander of Fort Kent won the women’s race with three penalties and a time of 22:15.  Twin sister Lanny Barnes of Durango, Colo. placed second with two penalties, 14.6 seconds back. Haley Johnson of Lake Placid, N.Y. rounded out the top three with a time of 23:00 and four penalties.
    Caribou’s BethAnn Chamberlain placed seventh with six penalties and one of the day’s better ski times to lead the MWSC team. Teammate Meagan Toussaint of Madawaska placed 13th with nine penalties.
    MWSC racer Grace Boutot of Ft. Kent placed second with six penalties, finishing 1:58 behind winner Addie Byrne of Bovey, Minn., who shot clean.
    Also for MWSC, Andrea Mayo of Soldier Pond won the Youth Women’s race with five hits and a time of 22:47. Molly Susla of Yarmouth placed fourth with six penalties and a time of 26:05. Racing up, Tara Humphries of Yarmouth hit two of 10 to place sixth.
    In the second day of the event, the MWSC biathlon team turned in some strong finishes to end the week.  Strength on the range, ski course and in numbers, the team represented the MWSC blue and white with pride.
    Currier put on a shooting clinic in the pursuit race at Camp Ethan Allen. Currier, known more for his strong skiing abilities, cleaned three of four shooting stages and hit a total of 18 for 20. Playing “cat and mouse” with 2006 Olympian Bailey, Currier shot rapidly in his final two standing stages to finish it off as Bailey was doing laps in the penalty loop. Currier won in a time of 33:19, 27 seconds faster than Bailey.
    Jesse Downs of Jericho, Vt. rounded out the top three with four penalties and was 44 seconds back.  Bowler finished fifth, hitting 14 of 20 targets. Shepard was seventh with 15 of 20 shooting.
    Neal hit 14 of 20 to finish third in the junior men’s race in a time of 35:13. Ethan Dreisegacker of Craftsbury, Vt. won for the second day in a row with seven penalties and a time of 33:02. 
    Sam Humphries matched Neal on the range with 14 hits and finished in 35:53. Goessling struggled by hitting nine of 20 to finish eighth in 38:24.
    In the boys race, Grout finished first in a time of 44:16 with 14 penalties and Jacobs hit 10 of 20 to finish second in a time of 47:40.
    Barnes-Colliander won the women’s race again, hitting 15 of 20 in a time of 33:13. Chamberlain hit 12 of 20 to finish 10th.
    Boutot hit 14 of 20 to win the junior women’s race over Byrne. Boutot finished in a time of 37:26, good enough for eighth in the senior women’s race. Byrne finished in a time of 38:39. Hilary McNamee of Fort Fairfield rounded out the top three with 16 hits and a time of 40:01.
    Mayo hit 10 of 20 with a time of 40:28 to win the youth women’s race. Susla finished fourth with 11 penalties and a time of 44:13. Tara Humphries won the girls race with a time of 53:53 and 17 penalties.
    The U.S. Biathlon Women’s National Team will be training in Bethel through Sunday, Aug. 23. Joined by members of the Maine Winter Sports Center biathlon team, the group of 10 women will utilize the local surroundings in the final week of a three-week camp.
    The week in Bethel is intended to focus on volume (long distance) training.
    “The women are very excited to be here,” stated MWSC biathlon coach Gary Colliander. “The two weeks in Jericho were very good, very focused. Here in Bethel, the ladies will be able to still train very effectively, but will enjoy the more relaxing surroundings versus the military barracks.”    Members of the U.S. Women’s national team include Tracy Barnes-Colliander, Lanny Barnes, Annelies Cook of Saranac Lake, N.Y., Susan Dunklee of Barton, Vt., Laura Spector of Lenox, Mass. and Sara Studebaker of Boise, Idaho.
    The MWSC team includes Boutot, Chamberlin, Mayo and Byrne. Boutot, Mayo and Byrne are also members of the U.S. Junior National Team.