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Thompson & McGregor Throw Down POYs....
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Sunday, 22 November 2020 23:10
Photo - Though DKT and Shyanne McGregor were overall Performance of the Year recipients, we thought it would be cool to post a pic of phenomenal 55-year-old CHERYL ZITUR, whose overall victory at Square Lake Sprint was the POY for a Minnesota Grand Master and is arguably the Overall AG POY.
MINNESOTA MULTISPORT AWARDS - Most would agree that SHYANNE MCGREGOR's 9:47:52 at Ironman Florida was the clear women's 2020 PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR. The second best performance by a woman last year? Once again, that belonged to the mother of three from Duluth. Shyanne's dominant win at Graniteman Clearwater was a special effort.
If there was a bronze medal for POY, that would go to DIANE HANKEE for her victory at Green Lake Olympic.
Male POY came down to a battle between a former pro--DAVID THOMPSON--and a current one--TED TREISE. Teddy's (He probably hates to be called Teddy?) win at Graniteman Clearwater was impressive. JOSH MORK needed to set an amateur course record in order to place 2nd, 1:10 behind Treise. It should be noted that Clearwater was the most competitive men's race of the season.
Was Ted's effort the POY, though? Not quite...
Shyanne & AJ!
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Thursday, 19 November 2020 23:10
2020 MINNESOTA MULTISPORT HONORS - The MOST IMPROVED honors are bestowed on the male and female athlete who overtake established elite athletes on TEAM MINNESOTA. If, for instance, an athlete was ranked 9th in 2018, then jumped to, say, 5th in 2019, they would likely garner a MI nomination, and perhaps even the honor.
Sometimes, though, it is the heretofore unranked athlete who earns a spot on Team Minnesota for the first time that wins. That will be the case this year, as all four nominees were unranked in 2019. And it is usually the athlete that ranks the highest that wins when this happens.
That is how it shook out this year.
Let's start with the women. With her 9:47:52 at Ironman Florida and her decisive victory at Graniteman Clearwater, both POY nominated, it was obvious that SHYANNE MCGREGOR would rank at, or near, the top of Team Minnesota this year, thus she was the clear MI choice for the Selectors. It should be noted that she didn't, as they say, come out of nowhere. Had her IM Florida result been allowed in 2019--Honorees were determined before that November race, thus her effort was added to this year's resume--there would have been a spot for her on Team MInnesota, though most likely in the 5th - 10th range.
Shyanne's competition for the MI was ANNA RAINER, who did indeed come out of nowhere, thus her placement on Team Minnesota actually represents greater personal improvement. There were many seasons where Anna's resume would have earned her the MI, but since she will place behind Shyanne on the 2020 Team, McGregor takes the honor. And let's not forget her 9:47. The Selectors give etra weight to outstanding IM performances.
Diane and Kevin Are Masters of the Year!
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Monday, 16 November 2020 23:10
MIN
NESOTA MASTERS OF THE YEAR - DIANE HANKEE, 43, and KEVIN O'CONNOR, 49, have been named this year's MASTERS OF THE YEAR, honors they have earned eight times between them.
Diane was once again a slam dunk selection, while Kevin faced serious competition from Marshfield, Wisconsin's PATRICK ALLAIRE, 42.
Hankee raced thrice in 2020, winning each times. Her victory at Green Lake Olympic was arguably the female Masters Performance of the Year. Her competition was first-time nominee SARAH HUNTER, 46, who raced often (4 times) with solid results, especially in her final two races, which were in northen Iowa. That she was outraced by fellow 40-plussers in both of her Minnesota appearances further cleared the path for Hankee....
Tim & Lisa are GMOY Honorees...
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Saturday, 14 November 2020 23:10
2020 MINNESOTA MULTISPORT HONORS - On the surface, the battle for male GRAND MASTER OF THE YEAR looked like a tight one. Rookie nominee TIM BROWN, 62, of Blaine, and perennial nominee LUKE HARNED, 67, of Mahtomedi, raced in the same four races last season, winning their respective AGs each time. Those events were the Graniteman triathlons, Square Lake Sprint and Fall Classic Duathlon.
A closer look at their performances, though, revealed that, according to MMH's Age Grading formula (-.5% per year of age difference after age-41), Brown was the clear winner. In all four events, Tim's margin of victory over Luke was more than 2.5%.
For instance, for Harned to match Brown's 1:16:15 at Big Lake, he'd had to throw down a 1:18:11. Luke's time was 1:19:56. The Committee therefore congratulates Tim Brown as the men's 2020 GMOY honoree....
Macy Iyer is 2020 Female Junior of the Year!
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Wednesday, 11 November 2020 23:10
Photo - Macy Iyer and her mom / #1 fan Leslie)
2020 MINNESOTA MULTISPORT HONORS - Selecting the Female JUNIOR OF THE YEAR was more difficult than usual. No single girl dominated last season, as say, ARIANA WERTS did a few years back. Ariana (19, Rochester) was nominated again this year, despite not having claimed a junior girls title in the races she did. In other words, several girls raced a high level and took turns beating each other.
2019 female JOY BELLA BUENTING (17, Chanhassen) was not in contention this year, despite her Junior Performance of the Year effort at Graniteman Big Lake, where she placed 2nd overall among the women. Big Lake was her only tri start, and athletes needed at least two outstanding performances to be considered for honors.
Other than Bella, only two girls took home one or more junior titles in 2020: MACY IYER (16, Edina) and SIMONE LUNDQUIST (18, Osseo). Both girls have been nominated before.
The competition between Macy and Simone in 2020 was fierce, and there are strong arguments for both of them. In the end, though, MACY IYER was named female JOY....
