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July '17 Athletes of the Month...

Sunday, 06 August 2017 09:10

MTN / EXCELSIOR RUNNING JULY ATHLETES OF THE MONTH - To be eligible, athletes must have turned in at least TWO outstanding performances during the month in question.

MALE ATHLETE OF THE MONTH - SEAN COOLEY, 31, St. Paul (photo L)

- A slam dunk selection, Sean was dominant at Heart of the Lakes and Chisago Half. HM - NATHAN ANSBAUGH, 30, Minneapolis

FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE MONTH - Tie - KORTNEY HAAG, 38, Maple Grove (photo L)  & CHRISTINA ROBERTS, 31, St. Louis Park (photo below)

- Hours of thought and argument couldn't separate these two stars. Kort set a CR at Graniteman-Clearwater, then popped a 2nd place 4:39 at Chisago Half. Sub-4:40s are a really big deal. Roberts was victorious on back-to-back weekends at Timberman and Heart of the Lakes...  

MALE MASTER OF THE MONTH - BROOKS GROSSINGER, 40, Mayer

- Brooks not only set masters records at Timberman and Bertram Blast, he placed 2nd overall in both races. Slam dunk selection. HMs - DAVID HOLDEN, 47, Hudson, WI, and DAN ARLANDSON, 41, Burnsville.

FEMALE MASTER OF THE MONTH - DIANE HANKEE, 40, Lino Lakes

- Diane's overall 2nd at Heart of the Lakes, and 4th - 1st Master--at Chisago Half (4:47) gave her the edge over her 40-plus peers: HMs - ANDREA MYERS, 41, Plymouth. JENNIFER FITZHARRIS-FUNK, 42, Minneapolis.

JUNIOR OF THE MONTH - KYLE SWENSON, 15, Rogers

- Stardom runs in Kyle's family. His sister KRISTINA won the JOY last year. In July, Swenson was the outright winner at Heart of the Lakes Sprint, and placed 4th overall - 1st Junior--at Graniteman-Clearwater Sprint. HMs - ANDERS BROMAN, 17, Eagan. CARTER DEICHMAN, 16, Mankato.

GRAND MASTER OF THE MONTH - NEIL KING, 67, Nevis

- His AG wins at Timberman and Walker, where he crushed the divisional record and placed 11th overall, made this former GMOY a slam dunk selection.

MALE PERFORMANCE OF THE MONTH - SEAN COOLEY, 31, St. Paul - Victory at Chisago Half IM - 4:06:52

- The question in this category was WHICH of Sean's victorie's--Heart of the Lakes or Chisago--to select. Heck, his 2nd at Minneapolis (1:55!) may also have been a worthy pick. In the end, his 4:06 on a warm, wetsuit-free day in Little Sweden, got the nod. 

FEMALE PERFORMANCE OF THE MONTH - GABY BUNTEN, 25, Forest Lake - Victory at Minneapolis Triathlon

- Slam dunk pick! Gaby's 2:08 at Lake Nokomis was stunning, a breakout effort. The fact that she managed to beat Missourian DANIELLE DINGMAN, who came into the race as arguably the hottest amateur female tri / du-athlete in the US, told us that Bunten's win will be a contender for Performanceo the Year. HMs- CHRISTINA ROBERTS' win at Heart of the Lakes, and  KORTNEY HAAG's 2nd at Chisago Half