National Champion Snowshoe Racers!

Post-race and early in the race, Mitch Kasyon and Sam Lewis were the class of the national snowshoe field. Contributed photos.

 

Special to Colorado Track XC by Darren Brungardt

 

Snowshoe Season Ends on High Note

 

Snow is a mandatory element of a snowshoe race, and it was in short supply the day before the race in Cable, WI, home of the 2011 USSSA National Snowshoe Championships.  The roller coaster golf course turned snowshoe race course, designed much like an NCAA cross country course with loops close together so competitors see each other the entire race, was not in the best of shape as race day approached.  Sections were barren and had to have snow moved onto them from other areas of the venue at Lakewoods Resort.  This wasn’t the first time this had happened at the big race.  In 2007 the race course, this time held in Minneapolis, MN, was completely snow free two weeks before the race, that is, until two massive storms dumped two feet of snow on the race course.  Racers were delighted that year with the snow, but this year they were depressed to see balmy race conditions in the 40s and 50s the day before the race.

 

What happened that night was somewhat of a snowshoe racing miracle.  As soon as midnight struck, tiny white snowflakes descended onto the race course.  These snowflakes had a lot of friends join them, and by 7:00 AM a fresh 3.5-5 inches of snow had blanketed the course.  The sight was dramatically different that morning: trees were covered in a thick white coating of snow and the grassy golf course was now a perfect snowshoe racing course.  It was officially snowshoe racing time, and Colorado’s two high school state champions, Boulder High’s Samantha Lewis and Cheyenne Mountain High’s Mitch Kasyon, were excited and energized to take on the challengers of the US.

 

The race start was a fast one.  Both boys and girls raced together, along with those college freshmen that were still under 19.  Kasyon sneaked out into second place and drafted off of a boy closely, and Lewis followed him in the seventh position.  The start was downhill, and their first uphill fast approached 200 meters in.  From this point on, our two Colorado snowshoe racers decided to take over the race.

 

Kasyon jumped out to a lead that he would not relinquish for the rest of the race.  His endurance, strength, speed, and great coaching he receives down at CMHS were all of the tools that he needed to be successful in his quest for a national title.  His hard work this off-season paid off and he cruised home to a victory in a time of 26:04, setting a PR for himself at the distance of 5K.  He was followed by Ben Palladino, a college racer at Paul Smith College in upstate New York, in a time of 28:15.  Paul Seliger of Wisconsin rounded out the podium in a time of 31:15.  He also raced in the relay the next day, and split was an unofficial time of 22:00 for a 5K, a time that is extremely rare in snowshoes.  His realy team finished second, as Kasyon moved the team from 4^th to 2^nd.  Kasyon will have a chance to defend his individual title in 2012 one more time as he races in this same category.

 

Lewis’s race was exciting.  She, too, passed the boys, minus Kasyon and Palladino, and finished 30 seconds ahead of Carolyn Stocker, another college racer from Massachusetts.  Her time of 29:08 was a PR; breaking her PR she set in 2010 at the Colorado High School Snowshoe State Championships.  Stocker tried closing in on Lewis, but could not muster the strength to reel in the Boulder-Snowshoe-Laser on the downhill finish.  Lewis’ victory was most impressive given the fact that she was the third racer across the line in the race, beating all but two of the boys.  Her back-to-back championships are also impressive.  She matched former Golden High runner Anna Lieb’s historic mark of back-to-back snowshoe championships.  The 2012 race will give Lewis the chance to pull back-to-back-to-back championships, an accomplishment that has not been seen in snowshoe racing.  Wisconsin’s local hero, Michayla Heil, wrapped up the podium with a time of 32:41.

 

The two Colorado racers were all smiles afterwards, and it was a delight to see them represent the state of Colorado so well.  As Lewis and Mitch switch out from snowshoes to track spikes, the strength and conditioning that they built this off-season will carry them far into May.  If you are at a meet with Boulder High School or Cheyenne Mountain High School this spring and see those two fierce competitors rounding the track in the 800, 1600, the 3200, or the 4x800 relay, make sure to congratulate them on their victories in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.  Also, make sure to ask them about the 2012 National Championships.  They will be held in Colorado next year at the site of the Colorado High School Championships in Frisco, CO.  The racing will be in your backyard next year, so no excuses not to get out into the snow and challenge yourself this winter!

 

Junior Women

 

 

 

 

 

Junior Men