FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Gary Colliander
Minnesota Biathlon
[email protected]

March 17, 2001

 

North American Biathlon Championships - Sprint Race

Canmore, Alberta, Canada -- Gusting winds created tricky shooting conditions in today's Sprint Competition. Those who were lucky enough to come into the range while the wind was down were able to come out with few if any misses and a shot at the podium.

Jeremy Teela of Anchorage, AK stood on top of the podium at the end of the race today. Teela hit 8 of 10 targets and cruised to victory over Thursday's race winner Robin Clegg of Ottawa, while Dan Westover of Burlington, VT rounded out the top three. Hasting, MN native Dan Campbell was the top finisher for the Minnesota Biathlon Team hitting 6 of 10 to finish in 6th place. Teammate Ryan Cameron of Minneapolis finished in 9th with only 50% shooting (5 of 10 targets). Minnetonk's Andy Erickson finished in 12th place and Duluth's Ben Kremer finished in 17th. "It was a tuff day for our guys on the range," said coach Bill Meyer, "but they skied hard and still turned in some respectable results."

In the Women's Sprint Race, the top three from Thursday's Mass Start made a second trip back to the podium, but this time it was Duluth, Minnesota's Kara Salmela standing on top. Salmela's misses came in her standing stage where she missed two, but otherwise was flawless throughout the race. Thursday's winner, Andrea Nahrgang struggled in the range, but had the fastest ski split to finish in 2nd over Quebec's Martine Albert. St. Cloud's Jill Krause finished in 4th place and Brainerd's Jaime Mueller finished in 11th.

North American Championships will conclude tomorrow with the Men's and Women's Relay. U.S. Biathlon Nationals will begin next week with the first race on Thursday.

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