Tag: Nick Proell

Doherty and Geraghty-Moates Top-Twenty in Youth Biathlon Sprints; Turning Point for U.S. Team?

Sean Doherty fighting for seconds at the end of his 13th-place sprint effort. Photo: Judy Geer.

In the first four days of racing in Kontiolahti, Finland, American hopes for its biathletes just hadn’t panned out. In race after race at the World Youth and Junior Championships, the U.S. racers were held back by one thing after another. They notched a few finishes in the high 20’s and 30’s – and mostly placed far lower on the results sheet.

On Friday, two Americans broke out of the slump and raced into the top-twenty, collecting the best results of their careers so far.

“Just got back from the venue and definitely with more of a smile on my face,” U.S. coach Algis Shalna told FasterSkier after the race.

Sean Doherty of Conway, New Hampshire placed 13^th in the youth men’s 7.5 k sprint and Tara Geraghty-Moates of West Fairlee, Vermont placed 18^th in the youth women’s 6 k sprint.

Geraghty-Moates clocking in the ninth-fastest ski time of the day. Photo: Judy Geer.

“I’m stoked,” Geraghty-Moates told FasterSkier in an e-mail. “Everything has been going smoothly: the coaching staff here has been completely on their game, the wax has been fast, the weather is warmer than we predicted… I’ve just been having a stellar week so far, and I’m hoping to keep the trend going.”

Doherty, who could not be reached for comment, missed a single shot and finished 1:48 behind winner Johannes Thingnes Bø of Norway. Bø, whose older brother Tarjei won the overall World Cup last season, raced to a colossal 50-second victory. Behind him, the field was tightly packed; Doherty was 56 seconds from the podium and eight from the top ten.

“Great shooting and fast skiing put him in a competitive position for pursuit race,” Shalna said of Doherty’s performance. “The pursuit will be very challenging for all of them and will require a lot of effort to control the emotions on the range and speed control on the skiing course.”

The result was reminiscent of Doherty’s other successes this year, including 12^th– and 14^th-place finishes and a strong relay leg at the Youth Olympic Games.

For Geraghty-Moates, the 18^th-place finish is a big improvement. She had placed 44^th in Monday’s individual race, and her top finish at 2011 World Youth Championships was 57^th. In those races, she had been plagued by poor shooting, but on Friday she only missed two of ten targets.

Sam Dougherty, 35th place. Photo: Judy Geer.

“I’ve been pretty happy with my shooting so far,” Geraghty-Moates wrote. “All my races are consistent with the results I’ve been having so far this year – all way better than last year.”

A former standout nordic combined athlete who has a cross-country background, Geraghty-Moates picked up biathlon in 2010. Shalna, who is one of the Vermonter’s coaches back in the States, was impressed with how far she’d come in a short period of time.

“Tara had an excellent performance that exceeded my expectations,” he said. “Most importantly her shooting performance was beyond my goals for this race. Considering the level of competition and being only her second year in biathlon, 80 % shooting is a very solid performance.”

Predictably, Geraghty-Moates, who has a history of top-five finishes at cross country junior national championships, was quick on her skis.

“She had 9^th-fastest course skiing time, and it was only 54 seconds from the winner and nine seconds from the [second-fastest skier],” Shalna said. “This is a pretty good example how a competitive former skier can get among the best in the world in biathlon if you have skiing speed, even with the the short amount of time for shooting.”

Of course, things didn’t go perfectly. After being thrilled to clean her prone stage, Geraghty-Moates succumbed to pressure in standing.

“I was in sixth coming in to the standing, but I made the mistake of looking at the result board coming into the range before standing and realizing that if I cleaned I had a shoot at the medals,” she wrote. “Of course then I proceeded to miss two shots, but that was predictable.”

Nick Proell, 40th place. Photo: Judy Geer.

Both Doherty and Geraghty-Moates have had to get creative with their training this year, given the lack of snow in New England (as with many other parts of the U.S.). While competing against the best biathletes in the world might be intimidating when on-snow training has been scarce, Geraghty-Moates said that in a way, it had prepared her well.

“I think the shitty conditions we’ve had back east actually ended up helping me because I’ve been skiing up Storrs Hill [alpine] ski area for a lot of my training,” she explained. “This means that the hills here don’t look über huge even when they’re half a kilometer long.”

Geraghty-Moates had said after the relay that the course suited her, and that the hills “kept me on my toes.” Friday’s conditions made her even happier.

“Today it was warm and a little icy which made the fast course even faster, a plus in my book,” she said.

The rest of the U.S. team struggled to keep up with Doherty and Geraghty-Moats. Anna Kubek, who had led the U.S. women in the individual with a 30^th-place result, missed half of her shots and placed 67^th, missing the 60^th-place cutoff for Sunday’s pursuit. The result was an unexpected blow to the American squad.

“The race did not go well for Anna, who is a great young athlete,” Shalna lamented. “Her shooting was not as good what she is capable of, but biathlon can be a roller coaster and the less experienced you are, the more roller coaster rides you get.”

Mikaela Paluczek and Melissa Manning will be joining Kubek as spectators on Sunday after placing 65^th and 71^st. Both are first-time international competitors.

“None of the last three girls made the pursuit race on Sunday, but for all of them the races over the last week were a priceless experience for becoming better biathletes in the future,” Shalna said.

On the men’s side, Sam Dougherty and Nick Proell placed 35^th and 40^th after missing two and one shots respectively. They are separated by just 12 seconds – less than the time it takes to ski a penalty loop – and Dougherty is just 13 seconds from the top thirty and less than a minute from the top fifteen going into Sunday’s pursuit.

Jake Prince rounded out the squad, placing 80^th with five penalties.

Results: youth men’s sprint / youth women’s sprint

Melissa Manning, exhausted after her final effort of the championships. Photo: Judy Geer.

February 24, 2012
YOG: Men’s Biathlon 10km Pursuit—Homberg delivers Gold for Germany, Bittersweet 7th for Canada’s Stuart Harden

SEEFELD IN TIROL, Austria

Canadian Stuart Harden in the finish pen, moments before he learned of his 2 minute penalty

In his address to the competitors and spectators who packed the bleachers of the Bergisel stadium during the Opening Ceremonies of the inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, IOC President Jacques Rogge emphasized the importance of the Games with respect to the core Olympic values. “You have a chance to be true champions, not only by winning medals, but by conducting yourself like Olympians,” Rogge told the 1,078 Youth Olympians in attendance.

YOGGL, the mascot of the Games, was on hand to spark some serious enthusiasm in the fans. He's a lucky charm for athletes and is a vivid example of the Innsbruck 2012 motto "be part of it!"

Today in Seefeld, the true spirit of an Olympian was epitomized by young Canadian Stuart Harden who crossed the line in first position, but was regulated minutes after his finish to 7^th place after being penalized for failing to ski his single penalty loop of the day. Gold went instead to Germany’s Niklas Homberg. Rene Zahkna of Estonia took Silver, finishing 9.5 seconds behind Homberg, and Fangming Cheng—yesterday’s winner—added a Bronze medal to his collection, finishing 14.6 seconds off the pace.

2002 Gold Medalist and Canadian YOG Team Leader Beckie Scott was on hand with husband Justin Wadsworth and son Teo to take in today's Biathlon Pursuit action

How it unfolded–

For today’s Biathlon Pursuit, the 50 competitors completed four laps of a 2.5km course and shot four times during two prone and two standing stages. Yesterday’s champion, Fangming Cheng of China, set out first with a 21 second advantage over Rene Zahkna of Estonia and a 27 second cushion on Aristide Begue of France.

But it was the fourth starter, Stuart Harden of Calgary, who would prove to be biggest threat to the top starters. Harden and Coach Chris Lindsay devised a pre-race strategy in which Harden would combine progressively more aggressive skiing with his reliably consistent shooting to fight for the podium. Both had high expectations coming into the event.

“Stu was very happy with his race [yesterday’s Sprint]. Deep down, I think he’s anxious because he knows there’s an opportunity to be the first Canadian to come away with a medal here [at the Games]. Stu knows that if he has another race like he had yesterday, the medal will come to him,” Lindsay explained to FasterSkier in a trackside interview before the race start.

“The reality is, there’s nothing to protect here. 4^th or 10^th, it doesn’t matter. He [Harden] is going to ski a strategic race in the first half, and then ramp it up and see what kind of damage we can do,” said Lindsay moments before the race started, under the same ideal conditions which graced Seefeld for the past three days: crisp, firm tracks, blue skies tainted by nothing other than jet contrails, and calm winds.

Fans line the finishing straight in the Seefeld Biathlon stadium

As the competitors headed into the range after the first lap, it was clear that Harden was doing some serious damage indeed.

When race leader Cheng and sixth placed Homberg both missed two penalties on the first prone stage, Harden cleaned. And then he cleaned again, and again once more during the first shooting stage. The massive crowd began to rally behind the young Canadian who turned heads with his mechanically precise shooting.

“He’s a methodical shooter, not a speed shooter,” noted Lindsay.

By the time the racers headed up the sharp uphill heading into the range, it was clear that the final standing stage would determine the winner. The crowd went silent as Cheng and Harden stood side by side, taking their final shots of the day.

Canada's Stuart Harden and China's Fangming Cheng go head to head during the final shooting stage

Cheng missed, and missed again. Harden, who opted to take several breaths in between shots, missed the first shot but nailed the final four. Cheng took off first towards the penalty loops, having missed three shots, with Harden following close behind. With a penalty loop taking competitors roughly 15-20 seconds, Harden realized that he’d have a 30 second advantage on Cheng for the final 2.5km of racing. Gold was in his sights.

But then Harden turned left, onto the course, instead of right, which would have sent him onto his required penalty loop. It was a mistake that would cost him the victory.

No one recognized the error in time, and Harden continued his final loop, oblivious of his mistake and focused on holding off the notoriously fast Cheng.

Fangming Cheng of China completes one of his three required penalty loops following the final standing shooting stage. Harden is posted as race leader on the scoreboard.

“I think I can say I was having the race of my life,” explained Harden to FasterSkier after the race, “My mindset was go-go-go, and I simply missed the penalty loop. It cost me a penalty, and that’s what happened.”

As Harden raced up the final steep climb before the descent to the finish, the young Canadian seemed destined for a textbook victory. 2002 Gold Medalist and Canadian YOG Team Leader Beckie Scott was cheering with Harden’s parents at the finish, ready to congratulate the Calgarian. The crowd roared as the North American grabbed a flag from a fan and coasted to the line, no rivals in sight.

Yet the stadium quickly fell silent as Harden’s name appeared atop the score board with an asterisk beside it. Lindsay confirmed that his young skier had indeed failed to complete his final penalty loop, and he was penalized 2 minutes—the standard penalty for failing to complete a loop.

Stuart Harden slotting into the first position. Crowds fell silent after an asterisk appeared beside his name, indicating that the placing was in question

Harden stood in the finish pen after the race surrounded by three of his biggest supporters: his parents and his coach. The young athlete was clearly rattled, having gone from experiencing the euphoria of his first international win, to suddenly learning of the penalty and its effect on his result. Despite the commotion, Harden demonstrated experience beyond his years in recounting how his race unfolded.

“Despite the penalty, I could feel worse. I’m pretty happy with how I feel,” Harden told FasterSkier post race. Asked how he might learn from the incident, Harden replied, “I’m learning a lot from it, and I’m sure I’ll learn more. It’s only been a few minutes. I already feel better about it. You know, it’s never going to happen again. It’s just one more thing on my way to the World Cup, the World Championships, and the real Olympics—if I get there. I’m building up, and I’m still really confident in myself.”

Harden wasn’t the only North American to experience ups and downs on the course today. Sean Doherty, who began the race in 12^th, moved up to 7^th place after missing one target in each of the first two prone stages. But in the first standing stage, Doherty dirtied, missing all five shots.

Sean Doherty of Conway, New Hampshire shoots during a prone stage of today's Biathlon Pursuit

“I kind of made a major mistake there. Obviously. But then I put my head down and just skied really, really hard, and worked my way back up to 14^th. So the day ended up alright,” Doherty told FasterSkier.

“I just lost it mentally a little bit,” explained the young American about his collapse in the first standing stage, “I didn’t feel that off, but just didn’t hold it together. Kinda wish I could have that one back.”

Doherty and teammate Nick Proell stood together after the finish, supporting one another after a challenging day. But like Harden, they’d each learned valuable lessons which would help them on their way towards success at the “real” Olympic Games. Proell ended up finishing in 40^th place, with a total of 8 penalties. Canadian Aidan Millar finished 32nd, finishing 5:33 back of Homburg.

Teammates nick Proell and Sean Doherty touch base with FasterSkier after the 10km Biathlon Pursuit

But both teams remained positive, optimistic and highly motivated for the upcoming Mixed Relay. Proell and Doherty joked that some serious Wiener Schnitzel for dinner might be just what they’d need to deliver strong performances later in the week.

While they didn’t manage to claim spots on the podium today, the North American biathletes personified perhaps what are the primary goals of this unique event: to give it all on course, to be part of the event, and to be a supportive member of a strong team.

“Stuart is the anchor for our team here. I think the actual happening here, the situation that Stuart found himself in, has actually buoyed up the spirits of everyone on our team,” reflected Coach Lindsay after the finish. “I think the rest of the team— because we’re very tight as a group—is anxious to help him realize the dream it’s obvious he had as he crossed the line today.”

Finishers from today's Youth Olympic Biathlon Pursuit event

If today’s performance was any indication, we’ll have plenty to look forward to from the strong North American biathletes at these Youth Olympic Games, both in the upcoming relay, and on the world stage in years to come.

Complete Men’s Biathlon Pursuit results

January 16, 2012
Del Frate Repeats, But Three New Victors Emerge at Day Two of Biathlon Junior Trials

Danika Frisbie (Vermont Collegiate Biathlon) and Tara Garaghty-Moates (Vermont Biathlon/Craftsbury) in line to start. Photo: Judy Geer.

The format and selection procedures at World Youth/Junior Biathlon Championships Team Trials were explained in Wednesday’s report on the sprint races.

A new day, a new format, and only one of four winners was able to remain at the top of the podium in the second day of competition at World Youth/Junior Biathlon Championships Team Trials in Anchorage, Alaska.

Andrea Mayo, 4th place junior women. Photo: Judy Geer.

That biathlete, Kimberly Del Frate of Alaska Nordic Racing and Alaska Biathlon, did so with aplomb, too: she finished more than three minutes ahead of second-place racer Danika Frisbie of Vermont Collegiate Biathlon in the junior women’s 10 k pursuit. Del Frate was by far the fastest skier in the field, and also had among the best shooting; her six penalties over four stages tied her with Frisbie and Silke Hynes, also of Vermont Collegiate Biathlon.

In a true pursuit, athletes start in the order that they finished in the previous sprint, with time gaps maintained from the final results, and shoot two prone stages and then two standing stages for twenty shots total. As in a sprint, missed shots mean a trip to the penalty loop. In selection races, the U.S. Biathlon Association jettisons the start order and time gaps, maintaining only the distance and shooting format.

So rather than extend an already minute-plus lead from the sprint, Del Frate started 18 of 20 bibs in the youth and junior women’s field, and instead worked her way through her competitors to be the third girl across the finish line. Del Frate’s twin sister Amanda placed third for the second race in a row.

“We’re pretty even,” Kimberly Del Frate said of her sister in a recent profile in Alaska’s channel 11 news. “Sometimes I tend to be a faster shooter, but not necessarily more accurate. I get more nervous when she’s shooting next to me than when other people are because she’s my sister and that competitive sister thing.”

Ruzich on course. Photo: Judy Geer.

In the youth women’s 10 k race, Wednesday’s winner faced some challenges that ultimately dropped her to last in the field. Tara Geraghty-Moates of Vermont Biathlon and the Craftsbury Nordic Ski Club was having the best pursuit of her life until she cross-fired, or shot on the wrong “point” on the shooting range; she was assessed four penalties for missing her own target, but did not realize that she needed to ski penalty loops because she had hit the targets on the other point.

“This resulted in me getting a two minute penalty [per loop] for the loops I didn’t do, because I thought I had hit four out of five, not none out of five,” Geraghty-Moats told FasterSkier.

“Whoops,” she concluded.

Without the eight minute penalty, the Vermonter would have won handily – by a big enough margin that if she had skied four penalty loops, which typically take 20 to 25 seconds apiece, she still would have chalked up her second victory.

Instead, Vermont Academy racer Mikaela Paluszek picked up her first victory despite missing nine shots, which meant shooting just 55 percent. She edged Nisswa NW’s Jenna Ruzich by twelve seconds; Ruzich had only six penalties. Third place went to Melissa Manning of the Maine Winter Sports Center.

Near-perfect Smith. Photo: Judy Geer.

In the junior men’s 12.5 k pursuit, the sprint victor also suffered on the shooting range, although from more usual errors. Geraghty-Moats’ teammate Ethan Dreissigacker racked up ten penalties; while he shot just 50 percent, fellow junior national team member Casey Smith of Methow Valley Biathlon had a nearly perfect day, missing only two shots and collecting a two-and-a-half minute victory. Smith’s huge victory is all the more impressive because it is his first year as a junior, while the next three finishers are in their last year in the age bracket.

Maine Winter Sports Center athletes Raleigh Goessling and Ben Greenwald, both of whom represented the U.S. at last year’s World Junior Championships, finished second and third with seven and five misses, respectively.

The final race, the youth men’s 10 k, was the only one that proved to be a nailbiter. Throughout his race, Sam Dougherty of Alaska Biathlon held the lead. As the previous day’s winner, it didn’t seem surprising – but one minute and two bibs later, Nick Proell of Minnesota Biathlon hit the trails. Both skiers missed two shots in each prone stage, and then Dougherty had one penalty in the initial standing stage while Proell was perfect. In the final stage, Dougherty missed two shots, hit the penalty loop, and jetted off to the finish.

By the time Proell came into the range, he was leading based on splits. If he had cleaned, he would have had an easy victory – but he missed a shot and had to make a pit stop at the penalty loop before finishing.

In the end, the Minnesotan, who is set to compete at the Youth Olympic Games in January, was able to squeak out a five-second win over Dougherty thanks to superior shooting. Jake Prince of Alaska Biathlon finished third with four penalties and a time that was just 22 seconds behind Dougherty’s. All three men were repeat podium finishers for the sprint, meaning that they are virtually guaranteed spots on the World Youth Championships team – unless another racer can pop a big win in Friday’s culminating competitions, another set of sprints.

Full results (Excel spreadsheet)

Biathletes on the Kincaid Park trail system. Photo: Judy Geer.

Raleigh Goessling, Maine Winter Sports Center – 2nd place junior men. Photo: Judy Geer.

Ben Greenwald, Maine Winter Sports Center – 3rd place junior men. Photo: Judy Geer.

December 30, 2011
Youth Olympic Games Presents: Nick Proell

Nick Proell competing at the Elk River rollerski biathlon race in Minnesota this July. Proell finished second in the youth division behind Zean Baker. Photo courtesy of Nick Proell.

(Note: This is the third in a series of interviews with athletes who will be competing at the first-ever winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria this winter. The first interview was with Sean Doherty and the second with Anna Kubek.)

When U.S. athletes toe the line at the first-ever Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria next January, the skiing equivalent of a Renaissance man will be among them.

Even though Nick Proell is just starting his junior year of high school at Saint Cloud Tech, he’s already done a lot in the ski world, from leading his team at the 2011 Minnesota state meet to winning the relay at 2011 Junior Nationals, racing in the Kortelopet, the 23k half-marathon of the American Birkebeiner, and now represnting the U.S. internationally in a totally separate sport: biathlon.

This summer, Proell has been taking a break from his whirlwind schedule to focus more specifically on biathlon. He joined the training trip to the Colorado Rockies with other members of the Youth Olympic Games squad, which included 100+ mile bike rides and conquering several 14,000-foot mountains.

FasterSkier caught up with the talented and busy high school athlete over e-mail.

FasterSkier: Can you tell me a little bit about your history as a skier? When did you start skiing?

Nick Proell: When I was in kindergarten some family members moved back to Minnesota from Washington and they introduced my family to cross-country skiing, so a couple times a month my parents forced me to go. Where I grew up there wasn’t many local cross-country skiing races for all ages and I liked more competitive sports, so when I was younger I was never introduced to competitive cross-country skiing. In seventh grade it all came into play when my cousin from Washington, Erik Rupert [who is now training at the Maine Winter Sports Center] talked me into joining the high school ski team. From then on I always wanted to be a better skier and athlete, the sport has been everything to me since then.

FS: What made you want to take up biathlon?

NP: Erik got me into the sport of biathlon my second year of competitive skiing. He always talked about how fun and challenging it was, so I tried it out with a local biathlon club, Greystone Biathlon. I also deer and grouse hunt so shooting came naturally my first time. It was one of the funnest sports I have ever tried.

FS: You’re a junior national champion in the relay, so you’ve obviously got the skiing part of biathlon down, too. How are the two coming together:

NP: I started shooting in eighth grade with my nordic ski coach and a couple other athletes once in awhile. Shooting always went pretty well for me. This summer I got a new gun though and it’s taken some time to get used to. I’m now starting to feel more comfortable with my positions.

FS: What club(s) do you train with, and how do you divide your focus between skiing and biathlon?

NP: When I started, I trained mostly with Nisswa Northwest with Bill Meyer. This past year I’ve trained at Mt. Itasca, in Grand Rapids, with Vladimir Cervenka. Last year I had rough time between high school racing, junior olympic qualifiers, and biathlon. This spring I made a commitment to myself to mostly focus on biathlon, and as part of my training I’m hoping to participate in a few high school races and JOQs.

FS: Have you ever raced internationally before?

NP: I trained in Altenberg, Germany for three weeks last summer and raced a few summer races. It went okay, but that was a year ago and a lot has changed.

FS: It’s pretty unusual for athletes to know this far ahead of time that they have made the team for a major international event. Has this changed your plans for the summer, fall, and early winter at all?

NP: Yeah, in some ways it has. I want to train the most efficiently this fall and winter so I can perform my best, so I enrolled in K12 Online High School. This gives me a more flexible schedule for training and a more rigorous class schedule.

FS: Not all of the teams have been announced yet, but for instance Canada will be bringing a very accomplished group of athletes, including Stuart Harden, who was 18th at World Juniors last year. How do you feel about the competition at this point?

NP: Competition will be stiff but I’m not going to worry too much about it. All I need to focus on is my best performance possible.

FS: What are you looking forward to most about the trip?

NP: Well, like any trip, I really like traveling to new places for training and racing. Austria will be a super awesome place to be because of the beautiful terrain and I look forward to meeting new athletes from my sport and other sports. Also just being apart of the inaugural U.S. Youth Winter Olympic Games team is an honor.

September 22, 2011