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U.S. Biathlon Nationals a success atop Donner Summt

Sylas Wright
swright@sierrasun.com

The Auburn Ski Club Training Center overcame diminishing snow conditions to host a successful three days of racing at the 2015 U.S. Winter Biathlon National Championships this past weekend.

“Given our conditions, it went absolutely as well as it could have,” said former Olympic biathlete Glenn Jobe, now the biathlon program director and coach at Auburn Ski Club. “We had three great races with really strong participation. It was just a fun event. It was nice having some of the top biathletes from across the country here to compete.”

The national event began with the Sprint competition Friday and continued with the Pursuit and Novice races Saturday. It concluded Sunday with the Relays.



Despite the lack of snow, Auburn Ski Club managed to maintain a 1.5-kilometer loop for the event, thanks to concerted efforts by executive director Bill Clark and his staff.

“Bill Clark just did an incredible job pushing, plowing and hauling snow each day after the races so that we could ski the next day,” Jobe said. “We had stockpiled enough snow and were prepared enough to continue having races on decent snow conditions.”



A number of Truckee/Tahoe locals fared well, with Patrick Johnson, Buff Wendt, Sam Zabell, Peter Carroll, Dave Eastwood and Phillip Violett capturing victories in their respective classes, and Jordan McElroy earning a couple of top-three finishes. Johnson, who trains out of Auburn Ski Club, won national titles in both the Sprint and Pursuit races and was the top male shooter.

The following are the top three results in each class. Find complete results at auburnskiclub.com or farwestnordic.org, and a photo gallery here.

RESULTS

FRIDAY — SPRINT (top 3)

Girls

1. Katherine Gruner

2. Ariana Woods

3. Rylie Garner

Master Women 1

1. Buff Wendt

2. Sabine Arnold

Youth Women

1. Claire Waichler

2. Elise Putnam

3. Grace Gilliland

Junior Women

1. Maddie Phaneuf

Women

1. Clare Egan

2. Kelsey Dickinson

3. Katrina Howe

Junior Men

1. Paul Everett

2. Jordan McElroy

3. Jakob Ellingson

Men

1. Patrick Johnson

2. Michael Gibson

3. Max Durtschi

Youth Men

1. Peter Carroll

2. Sam Zabell

3. Jake Pearson

Boys

1. Eli Nielsen

Master Men 1

1. Kyle Boschen

2. Dave Eastwood

3. Ted Hulbert

Master Men 2

1. Scott Waichler

2. Dave Cleveland

3. Dan Warren

SATURDAY — PURSUIT (top 3)

Women

1. Clare Egan

2. Kelsey Dickinson

3. Maddie Phaneuf

Master Women 1

1. Buff Wendt

2. Sabine Arnold

Youth Women

1. Claire Waichler

2. Elise Putnam

3. Jade Wood

Girls

1. Rylie Garner

2. Katherine Gruner

3. Grace Gilliland

Men

1. Patrick Johnson

2. Max Durtschi

3. Michael Gibson

Junior Men

1. Paul Everett

2. Jakob Ellingson

3. Jordan McElroy

Youth Men

1. Sam Zabell

2. Peter Carroll

3. Jake Pearson

Boys

1. Eli Nielsen

Master Men 1

1. Dave Eastwood

2. Clayton Mendel

3. Walter Warwick

Master Men 2

1. Dave Cleveland

2. Scott Waichler

3. Dan Warren

SATURDAY — NOVICE

1. Cale Woods

2. Nikolas Burkhart

3. Nick Pullen

SUNDAY — RELAYS (top 3)

1. Phillip Violett

1. Maddie Phaneuf

1. Scott Waichler

2. Jakob Ellingson

2. Jade Wood

2. Dan Warren

3. Michael Gibson

3. Clare Egan

3. Sabine Arnold

BEST SHOOTER AWARD (top 3)

1. Maddie Phaneuf (5 misses)

2. Kelsey Dickinson (6 misses)

3. Rylie Garner (7 misses)


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