FEATURES

The All Star Team...

Monday, 12 December 2016 23:10

Yesterday we revealed some of the reasoning behind the determination of men's Team MInnesota. Today we attempt to make sense out of the women's list.

The reason we use the expression "make sense" here, is that the women's talent pool is deeper than ever, and the ladies are, more than ever, very evenly matched.

When discussing the men's list, we described the 4th and 5th positions as basically interchangeable. On the women's list, it can be argued the positions two through ten are somewhat interchangeable. We could argue that there was a nine-way tie for 2nd, and not be too far off. We, therefore, do not look at women's Team Minnesota as a ranking of athletes, but as an All Star Team.

Let's look at the list:   ...

1. HANNA GRINAKER - Rookie of the Year, Triathlete of the Year and Performance of the Year. Four wins, two producing course records, thee 2nds, all in fast times, and her lowest finish, a 4th at Superior Man in a half IM PR of 4:41:31.

Yes, she was a clear #1 pick for all five Selectors.

2. DIANE HANKEE - Three wins in nine starts, she excelled at half IM--she raced in FIVE of them--and her win against the deepest women's du field of the year (in the US, not just MInnesota) at Apple earned a POY nomination. Her 2nd at Lake Waconia in 1:31:42 was also stellar. The performance that beat her there (Hanna's) won the POY.

3. CHRISTINA ROBERTS - She only raced in the region's most competitive events. In eight starts, she posted three wins, two of which--Timberman and Lake Minnetonka-- received consideration for POY nominations. In her seven tris, she never missed the podium. She set a half IM PR in a 3rd place effort (behind long distance stars Nicole Walker, our pick for Canada's amateur Athlete of the Year, and Kortney Haag) at Superior Man (4:40:34).

4. DANI VSETECKA - She only raced five times, but all of those efforts were stellar. Her 4:34:56 2nd-place performance at Texas 70.3 was the fastest half of the year by a MInnesota woman. Here record was two wins and three 2nds. Her amateur CR at Falls Du was POY nomination-worthy, and her clocking at One Last Tri was ridiculously fast.

5. KORTNEY HAAG - Two wins in eight starts, including the fastest women's Olympic performance of the season (2:10:08 at Buffalo), and the fastest time by a Minnesota woman in a Minnesota half - 4:36:34. Kort only raced in the most competitive events. Her least noteworthy effort was a 5th at Racine, which was a run-heavy 43 mile duathlon, not a 70.3 tri.

6.GABY BUNTEN - All three of Gaby's wins were impressive. Her W at Trinona produced a CR. At RochesterFest she had to outrace Kortney Haag and Bridget McCoy. And at Turtleman, her winning time--1:59:41--was sick. The only Minnesota woman who beat her this year was Hanna Grinaker.

Bad luck prevented Gaby from finishing higher on this list. A great swimmer, the cancellation of the swim at Racine resulted in a 10th place finish. And she was one of the many athletes who were directed off course at Mooloolaba 70.3 Worlds. Had there not been special circumstances at one or both of those races, Bunten would likely have placed higher on this list.

7. ERIN HYNDMAN-FARRENS - How could a woman who raced as brilliantly as Erin did, finish in 7th place? Winner of the Most Improved award, her resume featured two wins and PRs at Olympic distance (2:12:53), half IM (4:43:13) and full IM (10:02:29). Once again, we need to remember that, arguably, places two through ten are interchangeable.

8. SUZIE FOX (photo L)- On paper, Suzie's resume appears worthy of the TOY award and the top spot on Team Minnesota, accolades she received in 2015. She won five of the six races she entered. Injured for most of the year, her volume (for her) was low (she raced in 19 mulitis in 2015) and she won most of her races with medium-dazzle (for her) performances. Her winning time at Copper Creek, for instance, was 3:04 slower than her winning time at the same race the year before.

Is Suzie the eighth best multisportswoman in Minnesota? No way! Were seven 2016 resumes better than hers? Not necessarily. 

9. LISA LENDWAY - Great volume (10 races), two wins with seven total podiums.

10. BRIDGET MCCOY - Three wins in seven starts, the highlight of which was her W at Brewhouse Olympic.

This list could be shuffled in a number of ways, but none would feel right. Placing Erin or Suzie or Bridget in the Top 5 would look correct, but dropping Chistina or Dani or Kort out of the Top 5 would look and feel very wrong.

In the end, the Selectors probably weren't right, but they probably weren't wrong, either.

Here are the next six women who  also received serious discussion for placement on Team Minnesota '16.

11. MAGGIE WEISS. 12. NICOLE HEININGER. 13. SHEENA DAUER. 14. KELLY TROM. 15T. CHERYL ZITUR. 15T. ANGELA KIDD.

Top Photo (L-R) - Suzie Fox, Erin Hyndman-Farrens, Kortney Haag, Dani Vsetecka, Christina Roberts, Diane Hankee, Hanna Grinaker.