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Minnesota's Possible National Honorees...

Monday, 02 January 2017 05:10

Historically, Minnesota athletes have had more than their share of athletes honored at season's end by USAT. In the 90s, Tony Schiller and Kristin Miller were frequent honorees. Since the millennial turn, a plethora of Loon Staters have earned AOY, DOY, MOY, GMOY and HM honors. Matt Payne (photo L), for instance, was named US Male Duathlete of the Year in 2015 and 2014. There is a chance he'll win that title for 2016.

David Thompson, Ruth Brennan Morrey, Dan Hedgecock and Patrick Parish have all been honored as Elite US Duathletes of the Year. Part-time Minnesotan Gwen Jorgensen has been named Elite Triathlete of the Year on three occasions.

If our info is correct, since the turn of the century, only Colorado boasts more award winners and HM recipients than Minnesota.

Pretty cool, eh? ...

How will Minnesota athletes fare when the 2016 awards are announced later this month? We're sorry to say that our athletes won't be quite as prominent this time around, but there should be a few who pick up an Honorable Mention.

Does this mean that no Minnesotan will win an overall title?

Not necessarily.

Here are the athletes that are being considered, and a guess on our part as to how they will do.

TRIATHLON - Because Minnesotans, in general, did not rock at Nationals like they have in the past, the number of our state's candidates were lower than usual. In fact, only two--Cheryl Zitur (51, Corcoran) and Jan Guenther (57, Mound - photo R)--of our athletes will receive serious consideration. The women's MOY list is longer than usual this year, thus Zitur's chances of picking up an HM  again seem slim. If seven or more HMs are named, however, then her chances improve dramatically.

As for Jan, we believe that if at least five HMs are named in the Grand Masters category, Guenther will be honored.

So, we predict that one Minnesota athlete--Jan Guenther--will be honored in the Triathlon category.

The DUATHLON category is a very different story. Several Minnesotans are being considered:

ELITE DOY - Patrick Parish has won this award before and could win again this  time around. What needs to be determined is the eligibility of dual citizen (Aus./ US) Chris Legh. If Chris is eligible, we think he will win. PP should come out of this with, at least, an HM.

MALE DOY - Two MInnesotans are being considered:  Wade Cruser and Matthew Payne. If we had were allowed to vote, Matt would finish 2nd in this category, and Wade would be 4th. Matt would finish behind a 43-year-old Californian, who raced brilliantly in 2016. If USAT decides to give that athlete the DuMOY, then Matt could win the DOY. If five HMs are named, both Matt and Wade should receive honors.

FEMALE DOY - Jenn Scudiero (33, Eagan), will be considered. If five HMs are named, we believe that Jenn will be one of them. FYI, Scudiero won the US DOY in 2013.

MALE MASTERS - Four MInnesotans will be discussed in this category: Mike Buenting (42, Chanhassen), Derek Hager (55, Minneapolis), James Hannon (57, Rochester) and Kevin O'Connor (45, Medina). In our opinion, Hannon is a slam dunk to, once again, earn an HM. Whether one or more of the other Minnesota considerees are honored depends on how many HMs will be named.

FEMALE MASTERS - Two Minnesotans--Jeanne Fleck (51, Proctor) and Manuela Knispel (45, Shorewood)-- will be considered. Our fingers are crossed. We believe that Knispel deserves to win the MOY and we hope that USAT agrees. Fleck has a solid shot at an HM. Once again, this depends on how many HMs the Federation decides to name in this category.

The MTN Guys have selected their their own AOYs and DOYs (plus HMs) and are anxious to see how our list matches up with USAT's. We suspect that there will be some significant disagreements, but that's what makes it fun. Per a long-standing agreement, we will not post our picks until after USAT posts theirs.