FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Salmela, Nahrgang make World Championship Team; Erickson qualifies for
European Championships
Lake Placid, NY --
In the final race of the U.S. Biathlon World Team Trials, it was a matter of
1 second over the course of 10km that decided the final spot on the Men's
Team. Strong gusts and whiteout conditions at times made it difficult in the
range for many athletes. In the end, it was Rob Rosser of Bend, OR edging
out Dave Gieck of Jackson Hole, WY by .07 points to gain the final spot.
Andy Erickson of Minnetonka was one of four athletes battling for the fourth
and final spot on the Men's Team, but fell short finishing in 13th place with
four penalties in the range. Erickson did qualify for the European
Championship Team, which is a 'B Level' World Cup and will compete in
Ridnaun, Italy and Haute Marriane, France later this month. Another battle
in today's race included Ryan Cameron of Minneapolis, who hit 9 of 10 targets
and battled the entire last loop with Rosser for 3rd place. Diving for the
finish a! nd collapsing in complete exhaustion, Cameron came up one second shy
of the podium, finishing in 4th place. Dan Campbell of Hastings again turned
in one of the faster ski splits of the day, but had six penalties, which put
him in 15th place, 2 minutes and 59 seconds behind the winner. In one more
close battle, Steve Scott of St. Paul went from 17 seconds behind the leader
to pull himself to within 2 seconds at the finish to take 2nd place in the
Jr. Men's race.
In the Sr. Women's race, Andrea Nahrgang of Wayzata got the race she needed
finishing 3rd with two penalties only 46 seconds behind Rachael Steer of
Anchorage, Alaska, who pulled off a sweep by winning all three Women's races.
Kara Salmela of Rogers also secured her spot on the World Championship Team
by finishing in 4th place with three penalties. Qualifying for the European
Championship Team from St. Cloud is Jill Krause who placed 6th with three
penalties. Wind gusts and blowing snow prevented Beth Kolb from have a
perfect shooting race. Kolb of Stillwater was clean through her prone stage,
but had three misses in standing; Kolb was still able to get her first
victory of the series by a margin of 16.5 seconds.
Sr. Men-Sprint Race-10km (prone, standing)
Pos Name Hometown Penalties Time
1 Lawton Redman 0 2 32:12
2 Dan Westover 0 1 33:04
3 Rob Rosser Bend, OR 1 1 33:30
4 Ryan Cameron Minneapolis 0 1 33:31
6 Brett Piper Lakeville 0 0 33:47
10 Andy Erickson Minnetonka 2 2 34:41
15 Dan Campbell Hastings 3 3 35:11
21 Ben Kremer Elk River 0 2 36:08
27 Jacob Beste Minneapolis 3 1 36:26
48 Andy Fischer St. Louis Park 2 2 40:06
49 John Kurtz St. Louis Park 0 3 40:16
Jr. Men-Sprint Race-10km (prone, standing)
Pos Name Hometown Penalties Time
1 Dominic Villeneuve Quebec 0 2 39:10
2 Steve Scott St. Paul 2 2 39:12
3 Guillaume Reid Quebec 0 2 39:16
Sr. Women-Sprint Race-7.5km (prone, standing)
Pos Name Hometown Penalties Time
1 Rachael Steer Anchorage, AK 0 0 24:44
2 Stacey Wooley 0 1 25:17
3 Andrea Nahrgang Wayzata 1 1 25:30
4 Kara Salmela Rogers 1 2 26:09
6 Jill Krause St. Cloud 1 2 26:33
9 Jill Troutner Minneapolis 1 1 27:35
10 Sarah Riley Proctor 1 2 28:34
11 Jaime Mueller Brainerd 0 2 28:38
14 Beth Ann Ellingson Grand Rapids 2 3 29:41
16 Annaliese Baumer Minnetonka 2 1 30:04
Jr. Women-Sprint Race-7.5km (prone, standing)
Pos Name Hometown Penalties Time
1 Beth Kolb Stillwater 0 3 29:23
2 Haley Johnson Lake Placid 3 3 29:39
3 Katy Demong Lake Placid 2 2 29:48
Photos (from MN Biathlon):
Beth Kolb on the top of the medal stand
Steve Scott, 2nd place
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