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Luke, Daniel, Craig, Thomas & Jeffrey...

Saturday, 25 March 2023 00:10

Today, Matt and Damon are looking at the 2022 resumes of our state's Grand Masters, i.e. men age 60-and-up, women age 55-and-up. They are looking for AG wins and records, understanding of course, that not all records are equal. A divisional record at older and typically more competitive races--Apple, Buffalo, Chisago, Maple Grove, for instance--are more "attention-grabbing" than at a small and/or younger race. Still, the smaller races sometime produce very fast AG times and Matt and Damon do not want to overlook or discount those efforts.

In needs to be mentioned that GM athletes are measured against some very high standards. World class age group athletes like TONY SCHILLER and JAN GUENTHER have garnered most of the GMOY titles recently, doing so on the heels of their talented predecessors --NEIL KING, GREG TAYLOR, BEN EWERS and PAM STEVENS. 

High standards, indeed.

Here, in alpha order, are some of the men that are currently in the GMOY nomination discussion: ...

LUKE HARNED, 70, St. Paul - A perennial GMOY nominee, Luke spent most of his 2022 season rocking the 65-69 AG. "Prolific" and "successful" are terms that describe his racing. In 2022 he won his AG at Apple, Timberman Sprint, Turtleman Srint, Maple Grove Sprint, Hopkins (AG Record) and One Last Tri Sprint.

DANIEL KIRK, 76, Blaine - A two-time GMOY nominee, Daniel posted AG wins at Timberman Sprint, Hopkins (AG Record) and Square Lake Sprint.

CRAIG PETERSON, 60, Minneapolis (top photo) - Craig cracked the overall Top 10 in his three regional starts, winning his AG each time and rewriting the 60-64M record at Timberman Sprint.

THOMAS ROHMAN, 75, West Haven - If only two outstanding performance are needed for nomination eligibility, Thomas, himself a two-time GMOY nominee, would be one of Damon's picks. His divisional wins at Clearwater Sprint and especially at AG record at Chisago 70.3, his first effort at the distance, demonstrate his ability to redefine the performance standards for Minnesota men over age-75.

JEFFREY WARSHAW, 61, Minneapolis - This guy is a stud! Check out his 2022 resume: AG win at Buffalo Olympic, AG win at Steelhead (MI) 70.3 (4:49:01), AG win at Tri West Olympic (2:17:16), AG Record at Chisago 70.3 - 4:54:27, and a bronze medal finish at St. George (UT) Ironman World Championships.

Also considered:  JEFF GILMER, 63, Annandale and BILL MINGE, 71, St. Louis Park.