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Time to Explain....

Monday, 12 November 2012 03:30

gang (Nick Morales / TriJuice.com Photo - Most Improved Elite winner Suzie Fox, MMA Co-Host Bob Powers and Master of the Year Heidi Keller-Miler. Suzie and Heidi drank many, many beers before, during and after the party.)

The MMA selection process is a highly democratic deal. Committee members study resumes and results, paying special attention to stuff like field quality, head-to-head performances, racing volume, versatility, i.e. whether athletes excelled in a single area, say, short course triathlon, or in multiple areas, i.e. short course tri, long course tri and duathlon; and speed.

It's not enough to simple win races. There is so much more to consider.

The Committee then gets together a half dozen times to discuss their ideas and observations, often loudly and not without occasional rancor. Somehow the members manage to remain friends. They then return to their homes and email their pics, i.e. their rankings of the nominees in each category, to the Committee Chairman. Prior to awards ceremony, only the chairman knows all the winners. (Sure, the other committee members know who the slam dunk winners are, e.g. Dan Hedgecock's and Michelle Andres' Performances of the Year, which were arguably the Performances of the new century.)

Tomorrow we will share the overriding rationale behind the selection of the men's MMA winners. Here, we will discuss the women.

ruth * TRIATHLETE OF THE YEAR - Ruth Brennan Morrey

This was one of the slam dunks. Ruth raced nine times, winning convincingly on eight occasions and placing 2nd once. Every victory produced a course record and she established herself as, arguably, America's premier amateur female 70.3 racer.

* LONG COURSE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR - Ruth Brennan Morrey

Another slam dunk category. How could America's best 70.3er NOT be Minnesota's LDAOY?

* DUATHLETE OF THE YEAR - Ruth Brennan Morrey

This was a surprise award. DOY was supposed to be a coed category, and as such, 2012 National Champion Patrick Parish, who won all three of the dus he entered this year, was named official Minnesota Duathlete of the Year. The Committee, however, asked itself how a woman, who despite not winning a national or world championship, nevertheless demonstrated that she had no female peers on either a regional or national level AND was probably capable of beating the entire current crop of American pros, could go away empty-handed. Yes, her three du wins in 2012 demonstrated that level of dominance. Who, pro or amateur, could have matched her 17-flat opening 5K at Apple? And then closed with a 17:56. And in a violent storm, no less. Yup, she was deserving and the Committee was happy to expand its format.

PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR - Michelle Andre's Amateur Course Record @ Ironman Wisconsin

The slamminest of this year's slam dunks. Michelle's 10:05:30 not only lowered Wisconsin's amateur course record by 8:04, it boasted a margin of victory over the 2012 runner-up of 19:50. Next, it lowered Jan Guenther's Minnesota amateur state record (10:24:44 at IMOO '02) by a hefty 19:14. (PS - Minnesota's pro female record is Tina Paulson's 10:22, set at Madison, also in 2002.) Michelle significantly raised a bar that hadn't moved in a decade.

MOST IMPROVED ELITE - Suzy Fox

The least slam dunky of the women's categories. Ruth initially received a ton of Committee support until they noted that she concluded her 2011 season with a dominating win at the ITU Long Distance World Champs. That's hard to significantly improve upon. Next, her climb from 5th on Team Minnesota in 2011 to 1st this year was assisted by Becky Youngberg's maternity leave and the fact that Michelle didn't race often enough to, by rule, make the Top 5 again. Also, 2011 Team Captain Claire Bootsma, while having an impressive year, did not have a blemish-free season.

Still, Ruther belonged in the MI conversation.

Next, Elaine Nelson appeared to be the new fave. A rookie in 2011, she did not make Team Minnesota. But in 2012 she won four of the five races she entered plus finishing a terrific 8th overall at USAT AG Nationals and ultimately, though not uncontroversially, placed 5th on The Team. Obvious winner, huh?

No.

Next, the Committee scrutinized Suzy Fox's 2012 scorecard. She raced brilliantly in short course tris, setting PRs and CRs along the way. She also, as in 2011, raced brilliantly in duathlon, winning once (CR at Oakdale) and setting PRs in 2nd place efforts (behind Ruth) at Apple and Gear West. The she figured out how to race fast at long distances; something that had eluded her in his first three years of racing. She dominated at Pigman and popped a 10:38 AG win in her rookie IM effort in Madison. She went from 9th in Team MN 2011 to 3rd this year.

Why then, did Suzy get more support than Elaine? In two word: Versatility and Volume. She was a star across the distance and discipline boards, whereas Elaine raced only in short course triathlons. Elaine raced brilliantly in all five of her multisport efforts. Suzy raced brilliantly in all 12 of her tri and du efforts.

MASTER OF THE YEAR - Heidi Keller-Miler

Yes, this was a slam dunk. Heidi and Angie Schmidt were the only nominees in this category to have been undefeated by fellow Minnesota-based masters in 2012, though Angie has one more race on her schedule (Ironman Cozumel). Heidi, however, consistently excelled against deeper fields, winning outright on one major occasion at Lake Waconia, wherein she outraced eventual Team Minnesotans Steph Solfelt, Kortney Haag and Andi Myers. She also claimed the Elite Masters crown with a 5th place overall finish at Life Time Tri - Minneapolis. This was HKM's 3rd MOY since 2007.

JUNIOR OF THE YEAR - Greta Danielson

Not quite a slam. What most impressed the Committee was that Greta, who narrowly missed receiving the JOY in 2011, consistently faced, and excelled against, our state's elite adults. And unlike her fellow female nominees, she was never beaten by another junior. Her stiffest competition in this category came from male nominee, Tyler Hecht.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - Heather Lendway (photo R - Heather hanging out after a football game.)

Not a slam. Though Brian Sames received substantial Committee support, Heather demonstrated superior consistency (six starts, six podiums!) and managed to win two races outright. Bad luck (going off course) at Maple Grove Olympic hurt Brian and may have given the edge to Heather, who finished 3rd behind Cathy Yndestad and MI nominee (11th on Team MN) Christina Roberts.

ED. The purpose of these cursory explanations is not to persuade or invite agreement. Instead, the goal is to simply demonstrate diligence. The Committee takes its responsibility seriously and prides itself on working extremely hard, and they worked harder than ever this year.

BONUS STUFF - We received this email yesterday from Dawn and Joe Keller, who are totally cool people: