Triebold-Rimer team finishes
first in 2005 Spike’s Challenge C-2 canoe race
Forty-six teams battle the
rain and each other in annual race to McMasters
Forty-six teams started the 2005 Spike’s Challenge C-2 race
– an event that includes the first four checkpoints of the 120-mile,
15-checkpoint AuSable River Canoe Marathon – and the team of Andrew Triebold
and Matt Rimer was the first to reach the finish line at McMasters Bridge.
Rimer and Triebold finished the course in 2:35:58. Brad
Bauer and Mo Harwood finished second at 2:39:28, Jim Harwood and Al Limberg
took third (2:41:53), Rick Joy and Bill Torongo placed 4th (2:42:56), and Tim
Valko and Clark Kent were 5th (2:45:42).
Rodney Halstead and Ryan Halstead (6th), Josh Taylor and
Jason Hall (7th), Colin Hunter and Ted Smutek (8th), Bruce Byrnes and Russ
Reker (9th), and Ray Trudgeon and Tom Trudgeon (10th) also finished in the top
10.
Pete Mead and Brad Gross took 11th, Matt Meersman and Sean
Casey placed 12th, and Kate Ellis and Todd Ellison – the top mixed team in this
year’s Spike’s Challenge – finished 13th. Wes Triebold and Tim Triebold (14th)
and Fred Mills and Joseph Seifert (15th) – the first place senior team –
rounded out the top 15.
John Hugus and Benjamin Hugus (16th), Steve Landick and Lynn
Capen (17th overall, 2nd mixed), Don Brooks and Mitch McMillan (18th), Todd
VanDeVen and Jon Webb (19th), Bill Schmitz and Al Widing Jr. (20th overall, 2nd
senior), Lynne Witte and Nate Winkler (21st overall, 3rd mixed), Fritz Hansen
and Mark Koenig (22nd), and Al Widing Sr. and Bob Bradford (23rd overall, 3rd
senior) all finished in the top half of the race’s 46 teams.
The race start on Sunday morning (July 24) was postponed
from 9 a.m. to about 9:20 a.m. due to weather issues. (Severe thunderstorms hit
the Grayling area during the early morning hours on Sunday. Heavy rain and
winds brought down trees and power lines, resulting in sporadic damage and
power outages in Crawford County.) Paddlers and spectators endured rain for
about the first hour of the race on Sunday, but the weather cleared up for the
finish.
The recent rain raised water levels and likely helped the
paddlers run a faster race. This year’s winning time by Triebold and Rimer was
about three minutes faster than last year’s winning time of 2:39:01 (set by
Triebold and Steve Lajoie), and times in general were faster throughout this
year’s list of finishers in comparison to 2004.
A complete list of results for the 2005 Spike’s Challenge
C-2 race is available at www.ausablecanoemarathon.org.
(Courtesy of the
Crawford County Avalanche)
Top 7 sprint teams finish in
same order during Spike’s Challenge C-2 race
Andrew Triebold and Matt
Rimer post best sprint time this year at 4:09.3
The top seven finishers in this year’s Spike’s Challenge C-2
race all placed in the same spots at the race’s sprints for position event on
Saturday.
During Spike’s Challenge sprints for position, paddling
teams complete a looped course to determine starting positions for the race
start’s run to the river on Sunday morning. The course for sprints includes
upstream and downstream paddling, navigation of a tricky area under a bridge
(twice), and a turn-around.
The winners of this year’s Spike’s Challenge C-2 race –
which ran from Ray’s Canoe Livery to McMasters Bridge on Sunday – were Andrew
Triebold and Matt Rimer. They also posted the best sprint time (4:09.3) this
year.
The teams finishing in 2nd through 7th place in the 2005
Spike’s Challenge also ended up in the same ranks during sprints. They were:
Brad Bauer and Mo Harwood, 2nd, 4:23.3; Jim Harwood and Al Limberg, 3rd,
4:31.6; Rick Joy and Bill Torongo, 4th, 4:32.0; Tim Valko and Clark Kent, 5th,
4:33.3; Rodney Halstead and Ryan Halstead, 6th, 4:35.9; Josh Taylor and Jason
Hall, 4:44.4.
Kate Ellis and Todd Ellison (8th, 4:46.5), Pete Mead and
Brad Gross (9th, 4:46.7), and Wes Triebold and Tim Triebold (10th, 4:46.9) also
finished in the top 10 at sprints for position.
A complete list of Spike’s Challenge sprints for position
results is available on the internet at www.ausablecanoemarathon.org.
(Courtesy of the
Crawford County Avalanche)
