FEATURES
August Athletes of the Month...
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Wednesday, 30 August 2017 23:10
Today we reveal Minnesota's ATHLETES OF THE MONTH for August. To be eligible, athletes must have turned in at least TWO outstanding performances. The AOM's are presented by Excelsior Running in Apple Valley, and MTN.
ROOKIE OF THE MONTH - JAKE BRAAM, 26, Elysian (photo below)
- A clear winner, the lanky Braam raced three times in August. The placed 2nd at Waseca and Green Lake, and 8th against a strong field which included several of our region's fastest collegians at Maple Grove.
JUNIOR OF THE MONTH - TAYLOR LUNDQUIST, 17, Maple Grove (photo L)
- Like Braam, Lundquist was a slam dunk selection. A prolific racer, she was the outright women's winner at Big Lake Sprint and Young Life Sprint. She set a junior CR at Brewhouse Sprint, where she placed 6th. She finished the month with a 3rd place (1st junior) overall women's finish at Lakes Country.
Mankato teen CARTER DEICHMAN also received serious consideration in this category....
MALE MASTER OF THE MONTH - BROOKS GROSSINGER, 40, Mayer
- Brooks raced twice--Waseca Sprint and Northwoods--in August, claiming the overall title both times.
FEMALE MASTER OF THE MONTH - DIANE HANKEE, 40, Lino Lakes
- Diane's August scorecard features two record-setting performances, first at YWCA Women's Tri, where she was 3rd amateur in MR time, then at Maple Grove Olympic, where her 4th place overall women's finish in 2:13:33 shaved more than 15-minutes from the prior MR. Christel Kippenhan also received serious consideration in this category.
GRAND MASTER OF THE MONTH - PAM STEVENS, 64, Sartell
- Pammy raced twice in August, placing 7th overall in both events (Big Lake Olympic and Green Lake Olympic), and crushing her AG's records each time.
MALE PERFORMANCE OF THE MONTH - KEEGHAN HURLEY, 21, Dent - Victory at Young Life Olympic
- This was a toughie. Four performances were considered--Andy Wiberg's CR at Superior Man 41.5, Brooks Grossinger's speedy victory at Northwoods, Mike Ward's matching Nick Nygaard's CR at Brewhouse Sprint and Keeghan Hurley's convincing win at Young Life Olympic--and it was determined that Hurley's 1:58, which was a nine-plus minute margin of victory was the most deserving.
FEMALE PERFORMANCE OF THE MONTH - GABY BUNTEN, 25, Forest Lake - 5th place overall @ USAT Nationals.
- Gaby cracked the overall Top 5 at Nationals in Omaha, which we believed trumped the other performance that received serious consideration: Christina Roberts' dominant victory at Superior Man (4:37:04).
MALE TRIATHLETE OF THE MONTH - BROOKS GROSSINGER, 40, Mayer
- For the reasons described above--two wins in August, both by significant MOVs--Grossinger is also our AOM pick.
FEMALE TRIATHLETE OF THE MONTH - CHRISTINA ROBERTS, 31, St. Louis Park
- Two races in August, yielding two victories. First, she once again claimed the amateur title at the YWCA Women's Tri. Then she PRed in a resounding win at Superior Man Half IM. Kortney Haag was also considered for the TOM.
