By a boot, Iverson hits finish first in Great Ski Race

Patrick Weaver’s run at a record-setting third consecutive Great Ski Race victory came up about a foot short — make that a Nordic ski boot short, rather.

The Subaru Factory Team member and two-time Olympian who won the race in 2000, 2003, 2005 and 2006 came down the final stretch neck-and-neck with Mark Iverson and Josh Smullin, setting up a photo finish after 30 kilometers of racing between Tahoe City and Truckee.

“They were literally almost touching shoulders,” said Nick Brown, a photographer positioned at the finish line. “Their positions were shifting the last 50 feet. It was amazing. ... They were traveling at unbelievable speeds.”

All three lunged for the finish, aware that the first boot to cross the line wins.

When the snow had settled, it was Iverson (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) who had prevailed by the narrowest of margins, with Smullin (Park City, Utah) a blink behind and Weaver (Bend, Ore.) taking the third spot. All three were clocked at 1:13.20, with only a fraction of a second separating the racers.

“There’s not a lot of ways it could have been closer,” Brown said.

While Weaver did not win for the first time in two years, he placed first in his age group, 30-39, while Iverson and Smullin took the top two spots overall and in the 20-29 age group.

Dominic Henriques of Tahoe City placed fourth overall (1:14.47) and third in the 20-29 age group, and was followed by Tav Streit of Reno (1:14.59), who raced in the 30-39 age group.

Rounding out the top 10 were Anders Haugen (1:15.39, 20-29) of Anchorage, Alaska, in sixth, Jonathan Pluvinet (1:15.40, 20-29) of Reno seventh, Kevin Hochtl (1:16.45, 20-29) of Vail, Colo., eighth, Carl Reid (1:16.45, 16-17) of Palo Alto ninth, and August Brautigam (1:17.51, 20-29) of Truckee 10th.

Truckee’s Marcus Nash (30-39) finished 11th overall in 1:18.54 and Rick Reynolds of Truckee (40-49) 13th in 1:19.20, respectively. Reynolds was first in the men’s 40-49 age group.

Beth Reid of Palo Alto was the first woman to cross the line, finishing 12th overall and first in the women’s 40-49 age group.

Other local racers in the top 25 overall were Jeff Schloss of Truckee, who placed 16th — second in his 40-49 age group — in 1:21.12 and Daniel Buchanan of Tahoe City, who was 25th in 1:25.31.

Division winners

David Stover, Male 50-59 (27th overall); Kristen Krone, Female 30-39 (38th); John Cobourn, Male 60-69 (116th); Jordan McElroy, Male 12-13 (126th); June Lane, Female 60-69 (132nd); Carol Lindsay, Female 50-59 (141st); Evan Dion, Male 14-15 (142nd); Ross Brennan, Male 18-19 (192nd); Jack Wilson, Male 70-79 (267th); Kayla Hudson, Female 16-17 (367th); Heidi Schroepfer, Female 14-15 (370th); Rachell Nadell, Female 12-13 (372nd); Pauly Buschmann, Male 10-11 (391st); Skyler Mullings, Male 1-9 (473rd); Heather Mcnair, Female 18-19 (505th); Sarah Williams, Female 10-11 (585th); Stephanie Dewald, Female 1-9 (677th); Beverley Biggar, Female 70-99 (772nd).

Check it out

The Great Ski Race is the only fundraising event for the Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue Team. With more than 800 racers in this year’s event, the race continues to be one of the largest of its kind west of the Mississippi River. For full results go to www.thegreatskirace.com/archive/results/2007.html.