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From the FasterSkier archive — posts syndicated from athletes’ and coaches’ own blogs between 2004 and 2012, kept online as published. Current coverage is at fasterskier.com.

Tag: Hannah Streinz

  • Cervenka Sweeps Youth/Junior Biathlon Trials; 15 Named to U.S. Team

    Cervenka Sweeps Youth/Junior Biathlon Trials; 15 Named to U.S. Team

    "The youth men's sprint podium on Dec. 28 in Jericho was (l to r) Jake Pearson, Vasek Cervenka and Eli Nielsen. Cervenka topped every race at Youth and Junior Biathlon Trials. (Photo: USBA)
    The youth men’s sprint podium on Dec. 28 in Jericho was (l to r) Jake Pearson, Vasek Cervenka and Eli Nielsen. Cervenka topped every race at Youth and Junior Biathlon Trials. (Photo: USBA)

    The United States Biathlon Association (USBA) held three days of youth and junior biathlon trials racing in Jericho, Vermont, January 28-30. At the end of the series, USBA named this year’s team to Youth and Junior World Championships.

    The competitions are slated for February. But the location is pending. The Championships were scheduled to be held in Ostrov, Russia, but the event was stripped from Russia due to allegations of state-sponsored doping and manipulation of anti-doping samples at other competitions previously held in the country.

    Vasek Cervenka of Mount Itasca was the most successful athlete of the week. Cervenka, a youth competitor (under 19), nevertheless topped all men — including the junior racers (under 21). Cameron Christiansen of Nisswa NW finished 20 seconds back, besting the junior men’s field.

    Cervenka then extended his lead in the next day’s pursuit. Cody Johnson of the Outdoor Sports Institute passed Christiansen to finish 31.1 seconds behind Johnson and take the junior win.

    On day three it was back to sprint racing with Cervenka taking another vicotry, this time a 10.9-second win over Travis Cooper of National Guard Biathlon.

    In the opening women’s sprint, Amanda Kautzer of Loppet Nordic Racing took the win. Like Cervenka, Kautzer is a youth but also topped the junior field. Hannah Streinz of the Outdoor Sports Institute placed second (+42.2) and the top junior.

    But in the pursuit fellow youth Chloe Levins of Mountain Top Nordic raced to the front with only two penalties, besting Lexie Madigan of the Auburn Ski Club – who also had just two penalties – by 1:35.4. Nina Armstrong of Harvard College, the top junior, finished +4:54.2 with 11 penalties.

    Then in the last day’s sprint, Madigan topped Levins by 15.5 seconds, with Armstrong again the top junior, +1:24.9.

    USBA also named the athletes for the IBU Junior Cup (January 26-29 in Pokljuka, Slovenia) and the IBU Junior European Championships (February 1-5 in Nove Mesto Na Morave, Czech Republic). The women’s team will be Ellingson, Levins, and Kautzer, and Cervenka, Christiansen, Cooper, and Johnson will comprise the men’s team.

    Youth and Junior World Championships team nominations

    (from USBA press release)

    Youth Women
    Chloe Levins (Rutland, Vt./Mountain Top Nordic Ski Club)
    Amanda Kautzer (Plymouth, Minn./Loppet Nordic Racing/Michigan)
    Lexie Madigan* (Truckee, Calif./Auburn Ski Club)
    Grace Gilliland (Eagle River, Alaska/Alaska Biathlon)
    Helen Wilson** (Eagle River, Alaska/Anchorage Biathlon Club)
    *Lexie Madigan is below the age described in the IBU Rules and is awaiting confirmation for her participation.
    **Helen Wilson is named as First Alternate to the team in the event that any member is not able to participate.

    Youth Men
    Vasek Cervenka (Grand Rapids, Minn./Mt. Itasca)
    Jake Pearson (Casper, Wyo./Casper Mountain Biathlon Club)
    Alex Kilby (Anchorage, Alaska/Alaska Winter Stars)
    Eli Nielsen (Stehekin, Wash./Methow Valley Biathlon)

    Junior Women
    Siena Ellingson (Minnetonka, Minn./Loppet Nordic Racing)
    Hannah Streinz (Hersey, Maine/Outdoor Sports Institute)
    Nina Armstrong (Lake Placid, N.Y./Harvard College)

    Junior Men
    Cameron Christiansen (Pequot Lake, Minn./NNW)
    Travis Cooper (Kenai, Alaska/National Guard Biathlon)
    Cody Johnson (Fort Kent, Maine/Outdoor Sports Institute)
    Peter Carroll (Truckee, Calif./Auburn Ski Club Biathlon Team)

    Trials Results

    December 28 – December 29 – December 30

  • Wednesday Workout: 4 x 1 k Head-to-Head Racing with MWSC Biathletes

    Wednesday Workout: 4 x 1 k Head-to-Head Racing with MWSC Biathletes

    Maine Winter Sports Center (MWSC) biathlete Brendan Cyr finishes his second round of prone shooting during a late-December workout at the Fort Kent Outdoor Center in Fort Kent, Maine.
    Maine Winter Sports Center (MWSC) biathlete Brendan Cyr finishes his second round of prone shooting during a late-December workout at the Fort Kent Outdoor Center in Fort Kent, Maine.

    Before the USA Youth and Junior Biathlon World Championship Team Trials kicked off this week (Dec. 27-30) in Anchorage, Alaska, FasterSkier caught up with the Maine Winter Sports Center (MWSC) biathlon program for a workout to help prepare athletes for the heat of the competition season. The workout can be done once or twice per training cycle and may be easily adapted into a cross-country workout.*

    FORT KENT, Maine — What could be better than a rugged set of intervals with Northern Maine’s finest. How about a rugged set of intervals with a rifle?

    Though not everyone can handle shooting with a simultaneously high heart rate, Seth Hubbard,  biathlon director and head biathlon at the Maine Winter Sport Center (MWSC), said a head-to-head shooting workout is essential for biathletes looking to improve both their skiing and shooting.

    “What we’re trying to do is recreate the pressure of coming into the range of a competition with other racers around,” Hubbard said on the phone.

    Left to right: MWSC Biathletes Brendan Cyr, Mikaela Paluszek, and elite athlete Russell Currier during a head-to-head shooting workout in late December at the Fort Kent Outdoor Center in Fort Kent, Maine. (Courtesy photo)
    Left to right: MWSC biathletes Brendan Cyr, Mikaela Paluszek and Russell Currier shoot during a head-to-head workout in late December at the Fort Kent Outdoor Center in Fort Kent, Maine. (Courtesy photo)

    In order to mimic the high stakes and stress of a race, the workout itself involves a 4 x 1-kilometer mass start, with shooting and 150-meter penalty laps to follow each 1 k interval loop.

    “What it does is it puts a lot of pressure on shooting well. You want to shoot fast, but you also want to hit your targets because the penalty loops, in comparison to the 1 k loops, are a pretty large percentage of the [workout],” Hubbard pointed out. 

    The shorter-distance interval loops allow athletes to push the pace without overexerting themselves too much prior to upcoming competitions, while also providing a practice scenario for shooting with a high heart rate and high pressure.

    “This is a workout we use as we get closer to competitions to mimic race efforts and race stress level,” said Hubbard, “It is also something we’ll use periodically throughout the year just to stay in touch with that stress of a shooting competition.”

    Brendan Cyr of Caibou, Maine, currently a post-graduate biathlete at the MWSC who plans to attend St. Lawrence University next fall, said the workout strengthened his preparation for the Youth and Junior World Championships trials taking place this week in Anchorage.

    “I like the workout because I get to practice shooting with a very elevated heart rate,” Cyr said during an in-person interview. “The head-to-head racing is also great preparation for competitions because [my teammates and I] generally hit the mats at the same time and have the added pressure of shooting with other athletes around.”

    Current MWSC biathletes in the program, in addition to Cyr, include Brian Halligan, Cody Johnson, Hannah Streinz, Mikaela Paluszek, Maddie Phaneuf, and elite athlete, Russell Currier.

    Brendan Cyr (MWSC) rounds the stadium of the Fort Kent Outdoor during a workout in late December in Fort Kent, Maine.
    Brendan Cyr (MWSC) rounds the stadium of the Fort Kent Outdoor during a workout in late December in Fort Kent, Maine.

    With a smaller team compared to previous years, Hubbard looks to expand the breadth of their program, as well as its depth.

    “We don’t just want to push to get numbers if they’re not going to be the people who are going to mesh well with the program and mesh well with the area,” Hubbard said.

    He added that the MWSC program continues to seek dedicated athletes willing to grow individually and athletically in the hillocks of northern Maine.

    “Whether or not they’re going to be the next Olympian, we want to draw in and develop more mature athletes. Mature in the sense that they’ve developed — as an athlete and an individual — a better understanding of planning, process, commitment, and goal setting, whether those are in life or skiing.”

    The Workout: Head-to-Head Shooting

    Warmup: 20-25 minutes easy Level 1 skate skiing

    Intervals: 4 x 1 k mass start with shooting and 150-meter penalty laps after each 1 k interval (depending on the amount of targets missed). Skiing should be continuous.

    – Shooting format is prone, prone, standing, standing

    – 1 k interval effort/pace should be race pace or just above race pace. “You’re trying to get race intensity experience — something that’s going to be a very challenging intensity to be shooting at,” Hubbard explained.

    Cool down: 15-20 minutes easy Level 1 skate skiing

    *Cross-country adaptation: Instead of shooting in between each 1 k interval, take approximately two minutes of rest before beginning the next interval piece.